NBA Tank Rankings: Knicks hold draft lottery torch
By Brad Rowland
The Magic easily have the best current roster of any team on this list, but a 25-54 record in the Eastern Conference is impossible to ignore. Beyond that, Orlando has faltered down the stretch with some non-competitive basketball (Friday night’s effort against Toronto not withstanding), and it isn’t that difficult to place them among the league’s “elite” tanking outfits.
Though they have a strong young core led by Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic (among others), the Magic have managed to post bottom-five units in both offense (99.9 points per 100) and defense (105.4 points per 100). In the organization’s defense, the previous head coach (Jacque Vaughn) was clearly overmatched, but until a new system can be installed with a full offseason, it is unrealistic to think that Orlando can play quality basketball on a nightly basis.
The Magic had two lottery picks a season ago, hitting on Elfrid Payton with the jury still out on Aaron Gordon, and they’ll get another opportunity in the near future. It will be interesting to see what the roster looks like in a few months, but on the bright side, the foundation has been established.
Next: Los Angeles Lakers