NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 offseason needs for the Orlando Magic
By John Buhler
The Orlando Magic are a total mess heading into this offseason. Here are the five biggest offseason needs for this Eastern Conference bottom-feeder.
The 2016-17 Orlando Magic went all-in on trying to make the Eastern Conference Playoffs. They had not qualified since the end of the Dwight Howard saga and wound up extending their conference-worst playoff drought for another year.
The Magic finished the season 29-53 and in 13th place in the Eastern Conference. That was the fifth-worst record in basketball. Only the Brooklyn Nets, the Phoenix Suns, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Philadelphia 76ers were worse.
Trading for power forward Serge Ibaka with the Oklahoma City Thunder on 2016 NBA Draft night was almost as awkward as trading him to the Toronto Raptors before the NBA trade deadline. At least Terrence Ross could be something going forward on the wing.
Worst of all, the Rob Hennigan era of the front office thankfully came to an end. Nobody can survive having their entire offseason plans leaked out for the world to see on the internet because somebody doesn’t know how to use a white board. The Magic still have a solid head coach in Frank Vogel, but not much else. What is this abysmal Eastern Conference franchise to do? Here are five suggestions to hopefully right the dysfunctional Magic from their losing ways this offseason.
5. Just rebuild the entire bench
Since Orlando will be ushering in a new era in the front office, no player on the roster is safe from trade. Admittedly, it will be very difficult to shop either shooting guard Evan Fournier or center Bismack Biyombo’s gargantuan deals, but NBA teams have moved mountains before. Mt. Biyombo will probably be a harder sell than Chateau Fournier.
Let’s just assume for financial reasons that those two are starting-level players for the Magic for the foreseeable future. They are getting paid like starters. It would be advantageous for the Magic to rid themselves of any redundancies they might have on their roster to assemble a respectable bench.
Unless the Magic can land a superstar player at roughly No. 5 in the NBA Draft, the best course of action in this rebuild for Orlando is to remodel the bench. Orlando just does not have the pieces on its roster to win with its starting five. If the Magic can tread water with the starters, but actually gain ground with the bench units, this team could be markedly improved next fall.
The 2017-18 Magic will be best served to be a high-floor, low-ceiling scrappy bunch. Vogel should be able to use youth to his advantage to spark a strong, defensive-minded movement in Orlando. It all starts with getting guys that will buy-in to his teachings coming off the bench to hopefully press the so-so starters for more playing time.