5 free agency destinations for Festus Ezeli

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November 20, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors center Festus Ezeli (31) shoots the basketball during the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls at Oracle Arena. The Warriors defeated the Bulls 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

. East. Southeast. Orlando Magic. 5. player. 38

Assuming that the Detroit Pistons will be able to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs as either a seventh or eighth seed this spring, that would mean that the Southeast’s Orlando Magic would have the longest active playoff drought in the Eastern Conference entering 2016-17.

Orlando has struggled mightily since former superstar big man Dwight Howard skipped town after the 2011-12 NBA season, routinely losing 50+ games a seasons since Howard’s acrimonious departure from Central Florida.

While the Magic have an interesting young corps (Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, etc.) and the right head coach for a rebuilding project in former Magic point guard Scott Skiles, perhaps what the Magic need more than anything is a key reserve player that played in a winning organization that can help turnaround what is now a culture of losing in Orlando.

Ezeli could leave the Bay Area for the Sunshine State, pay no income tax in Florida, and help get the Magic to playing near .500 basketball in 2016-17 to vie for a trip to the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Orlando isn’t a good team by any means, but with the right injection of veteran leadership coming off the bench could go a long way in ending the Magic’s growing playoff drought in the East.

Next: 4. Washington Wizards

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