The Orlando Magic have been one of the most active teams in free agency thus far; will it be worth it in the long run?
The Orlando Magic have been one of the most active teams in free agency thus far, agreeing to deals with Evan Fournier, D.J. Augustin, Jeff Green and, most recently, Bismack Biyombo.
The Orlando Magic also completed a draft night trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder which netted them shot blocker Serge Ibaka.
With Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon already under contract, the Orlando Magic now face a tough decision on how to distribute their frontcourt minutes.
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Here is Orlando’s projected depth chart for the 2016-17 season:
- PG: Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin, CJ Watson, Shabazz Napier
- SG: Evan Fournier, Jodie Meeks
- SF: Jeff Green, Mario Hezonja
- PF: Serge Ibaka, Aaron Gordon
- C: Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Jason Smith
As you can see, there is a lot of young talent on that roster. In fact, of the 13 players listed above, three have been lottery picks in the last three drafts (Gordon, Payton and Hezonja) and six are 25 years of age or under (previous three plus Vucevic, Fournier and Napier).
Now, instead of continuing to rebuild and allow their young talent to grow and develop, Orlando has made some desperate moves in search of a return to the playoffs.
The question is: Is it really worth it?
Yes, this roster is deep and it has a better chance to make the playoffs than last year’s outfit. But, even if they make it there, they are probably just a first round knock over for one of the top four teams in the East.
Aaron Gordon is probably the biggest loser from all the Magic’s moves. He is now slotted behind Ibaka for the starting power forward position and even the starting small forward position, where some speculated he may garner some minutes, has been occupied by Green.
After an impressive finish to the 2015-16 season, it is disappointing we are not going to see more of what Gordon can do with more responsibilities.
Instead, we will have to watch Serge Ibaka, who has arguably peaked already, hold down the four spot and get a boat load of minutes for at least one season before he becomes a free agent.
Hezonja is also a big loser from these transactions. Many fans were anxious to see what Hezonja could do this season after an underwhelming rookie campaign.
He was taken 5th overall in the 2015 draft and still carries a ton of potential, but he will be stuck behind Fournier at the two and Green at the three.
In the end, the Orlando Magic are hurting themselves with these moves. They already gave up two young players in Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis in order to get Ibaka’s expiring contract and now they have locked themselves into a long-term deal with Biyombo despite already having Vucevic.
We can also expect to see the Magic try and retain Ibaka on a long-term deal. After all, they gave up real assets to get him and won’t want to lose him for nothing.
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If Orlando just stayed put and maybe acquired one of Ibaka, Green and Biyombo, they could still look forward to making a push for the playoffs this year without sacrificing valuable development time for their young stars.