Is Mario Hezonja a bust?

[orthoman]

I'm beginning to wonder whether we made a big blunder drafting Hezonja? He seems to be slow on the court, weak on
defense, non-aggressive, and is turning out to be a less than expected quality shooter. Perhaps this is due to his years spent
with the Euro league. I see him as second round quality.

People are not talking much about him on the forum....perhaps we are all wondering if we made a huge mistake but fear
coming public with our feelings.

I have always been a fan of Porzingas and wonder why we didn't offer some assets to move up and grab him.

Is this a mistake by our GM for not going after Porzingas?

Thoughts?

[OrlandO]

[p0peye]

Mario is a young player with a lot of potential. He is 17 games into his rookie season.

Porzingis has been drafted as 4th pick by NY Knicks. Orlando Magic picked 5th.

We actually did draft Latvian in parallel universe that is moving backwards.

[melasdas]

No, he hasnt had enough opportunities to show us his potential. We have to wait. I'm optimistic about him but he needs play time, if not he wont succeed.

[woosah]

This question here...





This question right here.........





It hasn't even been 20 games.

[King Close]

It's to early to tell, but I don't believe he is (or will be), and i'll tell you why. He hasn't earned playing time by not beating out his competition (Vic, Evan, Tobias, Aaron) -- and not many rookies will. Skiles said since day 1 that he's here to win games so he's going to put the best lineup on the floor. The limited minutes he has played he hasn't played well but I believe that's because he's still learning the game, it's a huge difference from Europe play to the NBA. College is similar so college players don't have as much of a transition. Alot of people thought he could contribute right away considering his skill, and him playing professionally since he was 11 years old, which was just falling into the hype of what he can become. I believe he'll break through the starting lineup, not sure if he will fit in at the 2 or the 3, we have quite a log-jam at those positions which is never a bad thing (...aside to develop a 2... or a 3). In his tiny sample size his shot is as advertised, 90% on ft's (only 11 FTA) 37% from 3 (30 3PA).

[SOUL]

[tooler]

People are not talking much about him on the forum....perhaps we are all wondering if we made a huge mistake but fear coming public with our feelings.

Nah I'm good. Maybe in a couple weeks I will start to wonder about him. I haven't bothered until now because I was wondering WTF was wrong with this team with its insane lineups, experienced players who were suddenly terrible, and our inability to close games and blow out other teams.

If we continue to demonstrate that those problems are fixed, I'll turn toward lesser concerns like Hezonja.

One of the weird things about a team full of youngsters is you're so desperate for experience that there's no room for the new guy. I mean, heck, Mario needs to get in line behind Aaron Gordon! There just aren't any minutes for him to learn on the job right now. We thought we needed shooting, but with Fournier and Nicholson playing great, and Skiles making Frye useful, we're actually pretty good on that end for now.

[j_n]

We will know in about 2-3 years, if anything Im encouraged with his passing ability, his demeanor and feel for the game but hes not ready like Skiles anticipated before the season.

[ORLMagicGirl15]

17 games in and I've learned that he can shoot, which is why we drafted him.
17 games in and we know that he cannot defend, hence the reason why he hasn't been given the opportunity to showcase his skills.

He'll be fine.

[orlando1214]

Dumb thread. It is too early to make judgements on any rookies right now. Mario in particular though is also in a very unique situation where he is playing for a first year coach who is making a ton of adjustments early on in the season as he figures his team and other players out. Mario is going to be fine, he just needs to listen to Skiles and stay ready. He'll get an opportunity soon enough.

[BadMofoPimp]

Sure, 19 year old kids who do not display superstar talent now are busts.

[KillMonger]

Too early but i am frustrated that we're bringing him along so slowly. I would rather him thrown into the fire, if he can't get in on the ground floor when can he get in? If we're only going to be playing him with a couple minutes left in games for the rest of the season then just send him down to the d league. If anything he'll get lots of minutes and hopefully his swagger back, practice only goes so far to me in-season.

[OrlandO]

Sure, 19 year old kids who do not display superstar talent now are busts.

Well to be fair he is actually 3 months away from turning 21.
He will be fine riding the pine this year as he adjusts to life in the NBA/US, but I hope we'll find consistent minutes for him next year. Last thing I want to see is us trade away guys like AG or Mario before we get to see what they're really capable of...

[Skin]

My opinion on Hezonja is not popular. Saw this coming the moment we drafted him. I don't hate the player, I just really really wanted a big man. Still do. The whole season of tanking last year was palatable because I thought we were getting the final piece to our starting 5.... that fricken unicorn PF. I created the Porzingis thread and along with many others, battled all the KP doubters, and then alas he got swiped out from under us by the Knicks who were supposed to take Mudiay or Winston G'damnit! So the search goes on for the unicorn PF while we deal with a high lottery pick who can't see the floor. When KP was gone, I had hoped for WCS, with dark horse hopes on Turner or a trade back into Round 1 for Portis.

I still remember the Hezonja threads too. Nobody wanted to give a straight answer as to who would sit out of Oladipo, Harris, or Gordon in order for him to get playing time. Or out of those, who Hezonja would have to outplay to become the Superstar of this team. The best response was... "There is 96 min to split up between SG/SF".

...and back then, Fournier's playing time wasn't even a factor. Now that he's emerged, the situation is even worse for Hezonja. In fact, Fournier is turning out to be the player we hoped Hezonja to be.

The news doesn't get better for Hezonja. Once we extend Fournier this summer and solidify him with a sparkling new expensive contract and a solid spot in the rotation (very possibly as a starter), the situation for Hezonja next year will be the same as it is right now. With very little playing time.

Now that this situation is hitting us in the face, more people are starting to wonder how this will all come together? Even worse, they are starting to knock the qualities that made him such an attractive prospect in the first place... From elite shooting, swag for days, and oozing athleticism to "less than expected quality shooting", "poor defender", "slow", "weak", "non-aggressive".... YIKES!

Even if we try to stay level headed and determine that it's way too early to declare him a bust... my question is... when will we get to find out? I don't see a clear path for playing time.

Do we have to hope for an injury in order to see him? Is a trade now mandatory when in the past "there is 96 min between SG/SF" was the answer? What's his own trade value?

I don't blame Hennigan for drafting him. He clearly chased "Superstar potential" over "Fit". Chose the "Future" over the "Present". Bottom line, I want Hezonja to succeed now that he's on the Magic, but how it happens is becoming more and more blurry.

[Skin]

It's to early to tell, but I don't believe he is (or will be), and i'll tell you why. He hasn't earned playing time by not beating out his competition (Vic, Evan, Tobias, Aaron) -- and not many rookies will. Skiles said since day 1 that he's here to win games so he's going to put the best lineup on the floor. The limited minutes he has played he hasn't played well but I believe that's because he's still learning the game, it's a huge difference from Europe play to the NBA. College is similar so college players don't have as much of a transition. Alot of people thought he could contribute right away considering his skill, and him playing professionally since he was 11 years old, which was just falling into the hype of what he can become. I believe he'll break through the starting lineup, not sure if he will fit in at the 2 or the 3, we have quite a log-jam at those positions which is never a bad thing (...aside to develop a 2... or a 3). In his tiny sample size his shot is as advertised, 90% on ft's (only 11 FTA) 37% from 3 (30 3PA).

Do you think there's a better chance for him to start at the 2 over Fournier/Oladipo or 3 over Harris/Gordon?

[orthoman]

I agree with Skin above and I don't think this is a dumb thread that someone earlier has said.

I believe we've made a blunder with a very high draft pick.

I see Hezonja as slow...he can't dribble, he can't rebound, can't defend faster players, can't jump and has been a disappointment
with his shooting. He's been playing for several years and I doubt his physical attributes will improve drastically.

I see him as JJRedick II....all over again....will develop a little with time, but is a 6th-8th man off the bench. A second-round
type of player.

I was big on Porzingas as well. Our GM may have ****ed-up with this pick.

[Skin]

We will know in about 2-3 years, if anything Im encouraged with his passing ability, his demeanor and feel for the game but hes not ready like Skiles anticipated before the season.

Probably my favorite post so far in this thread. But it does point to the reality that the Magic are probably at least that far away from getting back into real contention (at the soonest) as well.

[OrlandoDream]

I'm beginning to wonder whether we made a big blunder drafting Hezonja? He seems to be slow on the court, weak on
defense, non-aggressive, and is turning out to be a less than expected quality shooter. Perhaps this is due to his years spent
with the Euro league. I see him as second round quality.

People are not talking much about him on the forum....perhaps we are all wondering if we made a huge mistake but fear
coming public with our feelings.

I have always been a fan of Porzingas and wonder why we didn't offer some assets to move up and grab him.

Is this a mistake by our GM for not going after Porzingas?

Thoughts?

[King Close]

It's to early to tell, but I don't believe he is (or will be), and i'll tell you why. He hasn't earned playing time by not beating out his competition (Vic, Evan, Tobias, Aaron) -- and not many rookies will. Skiles said since day 1 that he's here to win games so he's going to put the best lineup on the floor. The limited minutes he has played he hasn't played well but I believe that's because he's still learning the game, it's a huge difference from Europe play to the NBA. College is similar so college players don't have as much of a transition. Alot of people thought he could contribute right away considering his skill, and him playing professionally since he was 11 years old, which was just falling into the hype of what he can become. I believe he'll break through the starting lineup, not sure if he will fit in at the 2 or the 3, we have quite a log-jam at those positions which is never a bad thing (...aside to develop a 2... or a 3). In his tiny sample size his shot is as advertised, 90% on ft's (only 11 FTA) 37% from 3 (30 3PA).

Do you think there's a better chance for him to start at the 2 over Fournier/Oladipo or 3 over Harris/Gordon?

I honestly wish I knew. Assuming Aaron, and Mario reach their potential, I see him starting over 'Dipo as Evan will come back to earth. I see Aaron with the most potential so I don't believe Mario will start over him if developed. Vic is pretty much what he's going to be - excellent defender who's a streaky shooter that can draw fouls and get to the rim. I don't know what we're going to do with that situation honestly, I thought there was room for all of them, but now i'm not so sure.