NBA Free Agency 2017: 5 potential destinations for George Hill
By John Buhler
Orlando Magic
East, Southeast
Now that the Orlando Magic have stopped showing the entire internet their 2017 NBA offseason plans, it’s time for new general manager John Hammond to get to work. He’s done great work throughout his career as a basketball executive, mostly recently with the Milwaukee Bucks. However, he has the difficult task of turning around the Eastern Conference’s most lackluster team for the last half decade in the Magic.
The good news is that he has a solid NBA veteran head coach in Frank Vogel to help him do so. Vogel is keen on defensive acumen, but needs a solid on-court role model for how it should be done in Orlando. Why would Hammond see if Vogel’s former starting point guard with the Pacers in Hill be a solution to their point guard woes?
As soon as Vogel was fired by the Pacers two years ago, Indiana opted to traded Hill to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal with Atlanta. The Hawks got the Jazz’s No. 12 pick in Baylor Bears small forward Taurean Prince. Indiana opted for another Indianapolis native point guard in the form of Jeff Teague. Teague will also be hitting unrestricted free agency this summer.
Frankly, Teague would be an upgrade at starting point guard for the Magic over the poor-shooting Elfrid Payton. However, Teague does not have the working relationship that Hill has with Vogel. Though we don’t fully know the working relationship of Hill and Vogel, we do know that they were a highly productive pair in years together with the Pacers.
Since Hammond was previously working for the Bucks, an organization that could be in line for a starting point guard in free agency, expect him to have a strong knowledge of what the floor general market could indicate. While he would have to sacrifice winning initially, a reunion with Vogel in Central Florida could be good for all parties long-term. There is also no state income tax in The Sunshine State.