Official Speculation Thread ‘18-19’: XIX: Rise of the BIG

[Nemesis21]

I wish the Magic were bad enough in '16-'17, to get a top 2 pick. Tatum looking like the scorer the Magic desperately need.

[Xatticus]

I think this whole conversation is a bit misguided. We haven't drafted shooting, but we have certainly prioritized it in free agency. It's naive to think that being a good shooter is enough to make one a good offensive player. Would we be better off right now if we had drafted Malik Monk and Buddy Hield? Shooting percentages are more reflective of shot selection than they are of shooting ability. Our offensive problems have resulted from our inability to consistently create efficient shots.

What is the defining feature of the games of Fournier and Vucevic? Or to put it another way... what does Fournier do better than Oladipo? One could certainly make a strong case that we are where we are because of an overemphasis on shooting.

None of Jaylen Brown, Ben Simmons, Josh Jackson, or Donovan Mitchell were shooters coming out of college. Kawhi Leonard wasn't a good shooter in college. Shooting is a skill that can be developed. Dewayne Dedmon shot .355% on 2.3 3-point field goal attempts per game last year after attempting only one in his first four years in the NBA.

I interpret this all as a thinly veiled attack on Gordon and Payton for this team's failing over the last few years. The ability to shoot the ball well does not make someone a good basketball player. The reasons for this team's failures over the course of this rebuild are staring us in the face. Open your eyes.

[Furinkazan]

I wish the Magic were bad enough in '16-'17, to get a top 2 pick. Tatum looking like the scorer the Magic desperately need.

What if we still picked Isaac?

[Knightro]

Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman about to come on Open Mike. Listen here: https://969thegame.iheart.com/

This is not a word-for-word recap. Just getting the gist of what was said...

Bianchi starts off before Weltman comes on by predicting 47 wins for the Magic. He cites Clifford's 22 win improvement from his first year in Charlotte. Bianchi does admit he's being overly positive with his prediction. Kravitz says improved health, better depth and Clifford's coaching style should lead to improvement over last year. Kravitz predicts 37 wins. Both agree the Magic won't go into tank mode in the second half of this season.

Open Mike's Thought Provoking Daily Poll has 46% of voters saying the Magic will win between 30-35 games.

Weltman was running late, so his segment bled into The Bridge. Daniels predicted 35 wins.

Bianchi: Ok Mr. President, give us your state of the union address for Magic fans.
Weltman: I don't think there's a state of the union address to give necessarily. This is the year, to piggyback off what you said earlier, to move forward, not move backwards. We made a lot of changes over summer, most important of all a new coach. Our future starts now. We don't want to talk about where were going to be 4 or 5 years from now. We want to show we have a bright future right now. However good we are this year, we'll be better the year after that and the year after that and the year after that.

Bianchi: The Magic have been a team in transition the last several years. Your opponent tonight Miami has been very stable both in coaching and management. How important is that stability?
Weltman: It's everything. The Heat are a team you hate to play against because they're a machine. They know their coach. They know their system down the smallest detail. They're a team that is always greater than the sum of their parts. We will get there. Our foundation is in place with our new coaching staff, our performance staff and our analytics staff. It all begins this season.

Kravitz: What do you expect from Bamba early on?
Weltman: Fans that follow us closely have seen Mo in the summer league and in the preseason. He has extraordinary talent, IQ and skill level. Mo has to learn how to play in the NBA, understand the pace. Some of that will happen over time as his body matures. He shot 59% from the floor during the first half of the year at Texas and 77% in the second half. He's a very intelligent problem solver. He will get better as season progresses.

Kravitz: Nik Vucevic is in the final year of his contract. Have you talked to him/settled him down about his future?
Weltman: You have to handle any situation, good or bad, with communication. Vuc is an amazing guy. We've had a lot of conversations with him this summer. He's in a great place right now mentally and has been a great mentor to Mo. We're fortunate to have him and he's happy with the way things are going right now

Daniels: How do you build a roster with the way the NBA has been trending the last few years?
Weltman: We drafted Isaac who was 6'10" when we picked him and is now 7'. Mo is 7'+. Both have great wingspan. Both fit the modern game so perfectly. They're versatile. Quick feet, quick hands, skilled with high IQs. Would you rather have a 6'4" guy who is versatile or a 7 footer who is versatile? Now it's on us as an organization to show them how to go from talented players to winning players. Fans will see the versatility they bring: they can shoot, they can handle, both have length. But this is about tonight and we don't want to overlook the rest of our guys - Vuc, Evan, Ross, Simmons, DJ. You look at last year and the story really was injuries. We were shooting a little over our heads early in the year, but we were also healthy.

Bianchi: What will Clifford bring to the franchise?
Weltman: You just don't want to play against Clifford teams. They just make you beat them. They don't beat themselves with mistakes. We were top 5 this preseason in defense (5th in DRTG at 93.4) and top 5 in defensive rebounding (1st in DREB% at 80.6%). We're low in turnovers (5th in TO% at 13.9%). Those are traits we can build upon. We obviously have to get better offensively (23rd in ORTG), but if you look around the league most team's defenses are ahead of their offenses right now. We want to really establish our personality on the floor. Once we have that, it makes it much easier to find players to fit into that.

Bianchi: Coach Clifford took over a team that only won 21 games the year before he got there to winning 43 and making the playoffs in year 1, can that happen here?
Weltman: Absolutely. If we have health, we have enough talent here to win. A lot will depend on how our young guys develop, but all these guys, young guys and veterans, can be better players. You get to the last third of the year and a lot of teams are playing young players over focusing on winning and we don't want to be one of those teams. We want to be playing meaningful games late in the season.

Bianchi: Charles Barkley said he interviewed for your job, but it went to an "analytics geek" instead. Is that a compliment?
Weltman: *laughs* I wish I was an analytics geek. I'm not that smart. I'll take it as a compliment.

Kravitz: What is gameday for you like?
Weltman: A day like today is big for the whole organization. The marketers, the in arena staff, it's more than just a game. Tonight is going to be a big production for the fans. From my seat, we'll have shootaround in an hour. Coach will prep the players. We'll do our touch bases with the performance guys and the coaches, but it's really up to our guys to go out and play. Exciting day for all of us. Ready to find out where we are. Indicator of what we need to work on. 30th anniversary is a big deal for us.

Bianchi: Most memorable Magic moment first 29 years?
Weltman: Working for other teams I didn't follow the Magic too closely, but the Shaq/Penny team was a team I loved watching. The personality those guys brought to the team and the way they impacted the league was really fun to watch.

[YosemiteSam]

A few different people have addressed my post since I was able to get back to the board, so rather than quote as there are too many I thought I answer generally.

First of all, my question was about shooting but it should have been about scoring. I meant either a consistent and efficient natural talent for or developed skill for offense. I actually include Vuc and Evan in this deficiency so this wasn't an attack of Gordon and Elf. I also find DJ a challenge offensively as he hasn't shown consistency or an ability to operate in the flow of the offense. I don't have an issue individually with Gordon, JI or Bamba, I just wouldn't have drafted all 3 together. I was consistently advocating pre-draft for Dennis Smith over JI (because I felt Gordon was the answer at PF and wanted a scorer) and either trading up for Young or trading down for Shai and a shooting prospect. I was onboard for Mario (full disclosure) - that was just bad luck or bad evaluation because he just wound up a bust.

I think this is a bit about basketball philosophy so my (and others) perspective is that this team is a tough watch and built unevenly is a valid POV as is some posters on here that accumulating defense, length and potential is another way to go. To me the driving point of what I personally want is that I don't want to watch another year of tanking/terrible play so we can maybe be "great" in the future. Many of you on here are on that strategy train, so we are never going to align in our evaluations of the team and management. I would LOVE it if we made the 8th seed this year and I got to take my son to a playoff game even if Vuc was leading scorer and Bamba played backup minutes.

[fendilim]

i would agree that shooting should be the last one. But i dont think you chose length/size over scoring.

Scorers are a lot harder to find over shooters. And if there’s a chance to draft them, SCORERS>Size>Shooters.

Defense is the one you draft last, IMO.

If this were true, Vooch and Fournier would be our top trade assets. In reality, Bamba, Isaac, and AG (big athletes, not great scorers) are our top assets (not that I want to trade them).

Yes, they are because of potential.

Also, we didn't draft Vuc and Fournier. LOL

[rcklsscognition]

A few different people have addressed my post since I was able to get back to the board, so rather than quote as there are too many I thought I answer generally.

First of all, my question was about shooting but it should have been about scoring. I meant either a consistent and efficient natural talent for or developed skill for offense. I actually include Vuc and Evan in this deficiency so this wasn't an attack of Gordon and Elf. I also find DJ a challenge offensively as he hasn't shown consistency or an ability to operate in the flow of the offense. I don't have an issue individually with Gordon, JI or Bamba, I just wouldn't have drafted all 3 together. I was consistently advocating pre-draft for Dennis Smith over JI (because I felt Gordon was the answer at PF and wanted a scorer) and either trading up for Young or trading down for Shai and a shooting prospect. I was onboard for Mario (full disclosure) - that was just bad luck or bad evaluation because he just wound up a bust.

I think this is a bit about basketball philosophy so my (and others) perspective is that this team is a tough watch and built unevenly is a valid POV as is some posters on here that accumulating defense, length and potential is another way to go. To me the driving point of what I personally want is that I don't want to watch another year of tanking/terrible play so we can maybe be "great" in the future. Many of you on here are on that strategy train, so we are never going to align in our evaluations of the team and management. I would LOVE it if we made the 8th seed this year and I got to take my son to a playoff game even if Vuc was leading scorer and Bamba played backup minutes.

My followup response to your post was about scoring, not necessarily shooting, I should use the word scorer. We need a dynamic scorer. Unfortunately we did not put ourselves in the position to draft one as best we could. Given what was available where we drafted, not sure I would have drafted much differently and it's easy to say, I would have traded this and this for Doncic, but we're not on the phones making those calls. I think we could have tanked harder and that came back to hurt us a couple times.

Is the excuse this year if we don't shoot well that Ross had a bad year? Is banking your offensive hopes on your backup SG that will play maybe about 20 mpg a good idea? Career average 1.6 3s a game made at 37%. Not exactly going to solve our problems.

I do hope it does all come together and we make the playoffs and the organization made the right call because it turns out the team was in fact good but injured last year. I would love to take my kids to a playoff game too.

[YosemiteSam]

I'm not sure how much of The Athletic we can post as it is behind a paywall, but I will say I have found it worth it because I like the more opinionated nature of the coverage of my teams (Magic, Jags, Dolphins) and I like how Robbins seems a bit freed to ask more pointed questions of management and share his POV. So consider that an ad or commercial to subscribe in exchange for posting the below.

Anyway, he had a long and mostly frank discussion with Weltman, and among other topics brought up directly the shooting question. I am surprised by (and disagree with) Weltman's answer but it is interesting to hear his public perspective on this commonly raised concern:

https://theathletic.com/594056/2018/10/16/jeff-weltman-interview/

It looks to me the team does not have enough shooting to be competitive. The team was 28th in 3-point shooting last season. It doesn’t seem the team added players with strong track records as shooters. Is shooting a concern?

We have a bunch of concerns, areas where we can improve on the court and off the court. But I would counter that (statement of yours). I can think of one shooter that we didn’t have last year: Terrence Ross (who was injured most of the season). I really think it’s hard to make broad statements about our team when we were just so banged-up last year.

I would look for some of our roster players from last season to have good seasons this year. Knock on wood they stay healthy and we have the health that we want. I do think we have enough shooting and enough talent to win. I think that it’s really difficult to just compare everything to last season. We have a new coach and we’ve added a lot of staff off the floor, and I think that’s going to find its way to the floor.

If your drafts have had a pattern since your arrival in Orlando, it’s that positional size — length, the buzzword around here — is the trait the team wants most. Can you envision a time when the team drafts a player who doesn’t have that characteristic but instead has more NBA-ready skills?

Sure. The draft kind of tells you what to do. You can’t just force something that isn’t there, and there are many characteristics and attributes that we’re looking for when we add a player in the draft, free agency or a trade, (including) character. I could go on and on about the different things that we’re looking for. But, obviously, length, versatility, multi-positional versatility are the direction the league is trending. When you can add those to your team, it’s going to be a plus.

Do you just believe shooting can be taught and positional size cannot be taught?

For sure. You can’t teach a guy to grow, although I will say I think Jonathan Isaac has grown an inch or two since we drafted him. But there are things that are coachable and teachable, and there are things that are just physical attributes. So this all goes into the conversation when you’re looking to add a player. Where is their skill level and how far do we see it going from where it is now? Where are they on their development curve? Do they have the character to persevere through growing pains? Are they team-oriented people and players? These are all parts of the discussion, and we don’t want to live in the extremes. You need to have everything to win in this league.

[Nemesis21]

I wish the Magic were bad enough in '16-'17, to get a top 2 pick. Tatum looking like the scorer the Magic desperately need.

What if we still picked Isaac?

That would be dumb, if we had a top 2 pick and still took Isaac.


Tatum
Gordon
Bamba

Just a PG and 3&D SG away from being really good.

[pepe1991]

Shooting is final, or measurable problem with Magic offense. But not main issue.

Magic main issues are:

1) lack of star player. This is most repeated thing on this forum but also it continues to be main wound.
Star players ( talking about clear cut stars, not 1 time allstar by accident ) , draw attention from shooters, force double teams and keep defense honest. They also prevent zone type of defense or any type of hording in paint.
Their effect is simple,they open game for shooters. Shooters get practice level looks and knock them down at much better clip.

I call it Lebron effect. Whenever he goes shooters have great years. Him, Harden,Durant isolate on one side , if other side stays put, they go 1 on 1 or use pick&roll to play 2 v2 . If defense shifts one or more players form other side it means somebody is wide open on top of key or in corner. Simple basketball,yet so effective.


2) Drafting projects on offense. As Xatticus pointed, shooting does not make great offensive player. Stauskas and McDurmott can shoot ,but they are not good offensive players. But Magic never really drafted anybody with great feeling for offense. Nobody they got is good dribbler, nobody is good at passing ,nobody is good slasher. Nothing comes naturally on offense for this guys.
There were and still are prospects that team had to teach how to handle a ball at age of 20. I won't name anybody because i have zero will to argue.

3). Putting players in positions to fail.
This is kind a missfit problem but Magic did this with lot of guys. I can't even name all the WTF moves team did. Starting from Dipo at PG, Gordon at SF ( x2), Simmons at semi PG ( main ballhandler off bench ), Harris as 4, Hezonja as 4, Nicholson as strach 4, Meeks as SF, Evan as SF , Ilyasova at SF. If i missed somebody out of position, my bad.
Just bunch of experiments that never resulted anything positive but created confusion and probably irritation of players.

Oladipo at PG was first time i got super annoyed by Magic as fan. Even freaking GM went in public to confrim that he will play PG, he practiced whole summer for PG, played whole SL and preseason as PG, season starts and Nelson is starter as PG. So why lie? Why go through all that media circus? Let him play or don't say anything, nobody forced you to go in public and confirm it.

[YosemiteSam]

1) lack of star player. This is most repeated thing on this forum but also it continues to be main wound.
Star players ( talking about clear cut stars, not 1 time allstar by accident ) , draw attention from shooters, force double teams and keep defense honest. They also prevent zone type of defense or any type of hording in paint.
Their effect is simple,they open game for shooters. Shooters get practice level looks and knock them down at much better clip.

I call it Lebron effect. Whenever he goes shooters have great years. Him, Harden,Durant isolate on one side , if other side stays put, they go 1 on 1 or use pick&roll to play 2 v2 . If defense shifts one or more players form other side it means somebody is wide open on top of key or in corner. Simple basketball,yet so effective.

It's funny you bring up the "star" question. Robbins asked about that too;

How does your team get a star on its roster?

Obviously, there are different ways to have stars and to acquire stars. The first that you talk about is through the draft, and we’re excited about a lot of our young players. I think that as we go through this season, our fans will have an understanding of why we’re excited about our young players. Past that you look at trades and you look at free agency, and we have to position ourselves as a team that can attract those players. That comes from being a team that plays together, a team with talent and growth baked in, where other players say, “I want to be a part of that future.” And that’s on us to get our program there, and I think we’re on the way.

Can you put a timetable, or cite a specific summer, when you expect the team to be a major player in free agency?

No, I don’t want to do that. That’s the same kind of question as putting a timetable on our development. Our coaches are pushing our players hard every single day to be good right now. But we have young players on our team. We have veterans that are learning a new system. I’m not going to put a timeline on how quickly we start to turn that corner. I can give you examples — about the Oklahoma City team that had three MVPs and they didn’t win for the first three years. It took time. Like I said, we’re going to get it right. Having said that, I want our fans to know that this isn’t something that we’re trying to develop slowly. We’re trying to develop it quickly but not at the expense of developing it properly.

[pepe1991]

1) lack of star player. This is most repeated thing on this forum but also it continues to be main wound.
Star players ( talking about clear cut stars, not 1 time allstar by accident ) , draw attention from shooters, force double teams and keep defense honest. They also prevent zone type of defense or any type of hording in paint.
Their effect is simple,they open game for shooters. Shooters get practice level looks and knock them down at much better clip.

I call it Lebron effect. Whenever he goes shooters have great years. Him, Harden,Durant isolate on one side , if other side stays put, they go 1 on 1 or use pick&roll to play 2 v2 . If defense shifts one or more players form other side it means somebody is wide open on top of key or in corner. Simple basketball,yet so effective.

It's funny you bring up the "star" question. Robbins asked about that too;

How does your team get a star on its roster?

Obviously, there are different ways to have stars and to acquire stars. The first that you talk about is through the draft, and we’re excited about a lot of our young players. I think that as we go through this season, our fans will have an understanding of why we’re excited about our young players. Past that you look at trades and you look at free agency, and we have to position ourselves as a team that can attract those players. That comes from being a team that plays together, a team with talent and growth baked in, where other players say, “I want to be a part of that future.” And that’s on us to get our program there, and I think we’re on the way.

Can you put a timetable, or cite a specific summer, when you expect the team to be a major player in free agency?

No, I don’t want to do that. That’s the same kind of question as putting a timetable on our development. Our coaches are pushing our players hard every single day to be good right now. But we have young players on our team. We have veterans that are learning a new system. I’m not going to put a timeline on how quickly we start to turn that corner. I can give you examples — about the Oklahoma City team that had three MVPs and they didn’t win for the first three years. It took time. Like I said, we’re going to get it right. Having said that, I want our fans to know that this isn’t something that we’re trying to develop slowly. We’re trying to develop it quickly but not at the expense of developing it properly.

Should have work in politics, " glad you asked that question" talks 15 min without ever answering anything near that question.

I don't see Bamba, Isaac, Frazier or anybody else ever being star on offense. High quality players ? Hope so. Future 28 ppg scorers on contender? Not on planet Earth.

[Catledge]

i would agree that shooting should be the last one. But i dont think you chose length/size over scoring.

Scorers are a lot harder to find over shooters. And if there’s a chance to draft them, SCORERS>Size>Shooters.

Defense is the one you draft last, IMO.

If this were true, Vooch and Fournier would be our top trade assets. In reality, Bamba, Isaac, and AG (big athletes, not great scorers) are our top assets (not that I want to trade them).

Yes, they are because of potential.

Also, we didn't draft Vuc and Fournier. LOL

That's my point. You draft size + length + athleticism because those things bring star potential and let other crappy franchises chase the Adam Morrisons of the world.

[j-ragg]

Weltman is painful to listen to. How can you say so many words without saying anything? Hennigan was the same way.

[fendilim]

If this were true, Vooch and Fournier would be our top trade assets. In reality, Bamba, Isaac, and AG (big athletes, not great scorers) are our top assets (not that I want to trade them).

Yes, they are because of potential.

Also, we didn't draft Vuc and Fournier. LOL

That's my point. You draft size + length + athleticism because those things bring star potential and let other crappy franchises chase the Adam Morrisons of the world.

True, but the problem is we prioritize length over anything else.

[pepe1991]

Yes, they are because of potential.

Also, we didn't draft Vuc and Fournier. LOL

That's my point. You draft size + length + athleticism because those things bring star potential and let other crappy franchises chase the Adam Morrisons of the world.

True, but the problem is we prioritize length over anything else.

What's the co-relation between athletics or lenght to stardom?

Harold Miner, Shannon Brown, Darrell Griffith were some of most athletic players that this league has ever seen, non of them was really good.

Lenght, same story, Jason Maxiell, Biyombo had super impressive wingspan to their size ( 12% above nba average) ,yet sucked. Manute Bol was human lenght, sucked badly.

wiggins has elite athletics and elite lenght, can't defend for **** and sucks as a player despite all that.
Copy past same for Lavine.
Klay Thompson has miserable vertical, medicore wingspan, plays great defense and is overall better than two of them by wide margin .Won 3 rings in process.
Could say same for Curry, at 6'4 guy can bearly dunk.

[PennytoShaq]

1) lack of star player. This is most repeated thing on this forum but also it continues to be main wound.
Star players ( talking about clear cut stars, not 1 time allstar by accident ) , draw attention from shooters, force double teams and keep defense honest. They also prevent zone type of defense or any type of hording in paint.
Their effect is simple,they open game for shooters. Shooters get practice level looks and knock them down at much better clip.

I call it Lebron effect. Whenever he goes shooters have great years. Him, Harden,Durant isolate on one side , if other side stays put, they go 1 on 1 or use pick&roll to play 2 v2 . If defense shifts one or more players form other side it means somebody is wide open on top of key or in corner. Simple basketball,yet so effective.

It's funny you bring up the "star" question. Robbins asked about that too;

How does your team get a star on its roster?

Obviously, there are different ways to have stars and to acquire stars. The first that you talk about is through the draft, and we’re excited about a lot of our young players. I think that as we go through this season, our fans will have an understanding of why we’re excited about our young players. Past that you look at trades and you look at free agency, and we have to position ourselves as a team that can attract those players. That comes from being a team that plays together, a team with talent and growth baked in, where other players say, “I want to be a part of that future.” And that’s on us to get our program there, and I think we’re on the way.

Can you put a timetable, or cite a specific summer, when you expect the team to be a major player in free agency?

No, I don’t want to do that. That’s the same kind of question as putting a timetable on our development. Our coaches are pushing our players hard every single day to be good right now. But we have young players on our team. We have veterans that are learning a new system. I’m not going to put a timeline on how quickly we start to turn that corner. I can give you examples — about the Oklahoma City team that had three MVPs and they didn’t win for the first three years. It took time. Like I said, we’re going to get it right. Having said that, I want our fans to know that this isn’t something that we’re trying to develop slowly. We’re trying to develop it quickly but not at the expense of developing it properly.

I read the whole interview and he basically said nothing, which is what GM’s do, especially before the season starts.

What sucks for these guys is that they walked into a situation they needed to rebuild after years of a failed one. So they understand the fans impatience, but they still need some time to get things going.

They could very well package Vuc and AG and move them at the deadline, who knows. We will never know from these types of interviews what is really going to occur.

[pepe1991]

1) lack of star player. This is most repeated thing on this forum but also it continues to be main wound.
Star players ( talking about clear cut stars, not 1 time allstar by accident ) , draw attention from shooters, force double teams and keep defense honest. They also prevent zone type of defense or any type of hording in paint.
Their effect is simple,they open game for shooters. Shooters get practice level looks and knock them down at much better clip.

I call it Lebron effect. Whenever he goes shooters have great years. Him, Harden,Durant isolate on one side , if other side stays put, they go 1 on 1 or use pick&roll to play 2 v2 . If defense shifts one or more players form other side it means somebody is wide open on top of key or in corner. Simple basketball,yet so effective.

It's funny you bring up the "star" question. Robbins asked about that too;

How does your team get a star on its roster?

Obviously, there are different ways to have stars and to acquire stars. The first that you talk about is through the draft, and we’re excited about a lot of our young players. I think that as we go through this season, our fans will have an understanding of why we’re excited about our young players. Past that you look at trades and you look at free agency, and we have to position ourselves as a team that can attract those players. That comes from being a team that plays together, a team with talent and growth baked in, where other players say, “I want to be a part of that future.” And that’s on us to get our program there, and I think we’re on the way.

Can you put a timetable, or cite a specific summer, when you expect the team to be a major player in free agency?

No, I don’t want to do that. That’s the same kind of question as putting a timetable on our development. Our coaches are pushing our players hard every single day to be good right now. But we have young players on our team. We have veterans that are learning a new system. I’m not going to put a timeline on how quickly we start to turn that corner. I can give you examples — about the Oklahoma City team that had three MVPs and they didn’t win for the first three years. It took time. Like I said, we’re going to get it right. Having said that, I want our fans to know that this isn’t something that we’re trying to develop slowly. We’re trying to develop it quickly but not at the expense of developing it properly.

I read the whole interview and he basically said nothing, which is what GM’s do, especially before the season starts.

What sucks for these guys is that they walked into a situation they needed to rebuild after years of a failed one. So they understand the fans impatience, but they still need some time to get things going.

They could very well package Vuc and AG and move them at the deadline, who knows. We will never know from these types of interviews what is really going to occur.

Kind a expected, that's why i compared it to politics. Lot of words, never saying anything ,never giving any promise.
But i really don't mind it, i expect most leaders to talk that way,they do it to shield themselfs and company from unrealistic expetations.

[Knightro]

Can't put too much stock into preseason, but here are some team rankings anyway...

Great numbers
1st in DREB%
1st in OPP 2nd chance points
1st in OPP points in the paint
3rd in AST/TO
3rd in OPP points off turnovers
5th in DRTG
5th in TO%
5th in OPP EFG%
9th in AST Ratio
9th in OPP fast break points
10th in AST%
11th in NETRTG
13th in REB%

Average numbers
15th in fast break points
17th in FG%
17th in PTS off TOs
17th in points in the paint

Bad Numbers
20th in EFG%
21st in OPP FT Rate
22nd in 3PT%
23rd in ORTG
23rd in FT Rate
24th in TS%
25th in Pace
28th in OREB%
28th in 2nd chance PTS
30th in FT%

Some takeaways...

-Steve Clifford's system is taking hold QUICKLY. The Magic ranked very highly this preseason in all the areas that Clifford's teams did well in Charlotte.

-They crashed the defensive glass hard which trickled down to very few second chance points and few points in the paint for their opponents.

-They didn't turn the ball over much which trickled down to few fastbreak points for the other team.

-The ball doesn't stick offensively. The Magic finished top 10 in both AST% and AST ratio.

-Unfortunately the Magic lack consistent shotmakers and don't get the FT line very much. The possessions they do score in the halfcourt usually come off nice ball movement, but they just don't have great isolation scorers right now. There are going to be a LOT of nights where the Magic just don't make shots and it's going to be a real struggle to score.

-FT% is abnormally low, but I'm not worried yet. I'm chalking it up to how hard Clifford has been riding these guys into the ground in practice.

Look at some of these percentages...

Birch 33.3%, career 68.9%
Gordon 47.1%, career 69.8%
Fournier 50%, career 80.4%
Martin 50%, career 76.7%
Augustin 53.8%, career 86.8%

Just based on career averages the Magic should be an above average FT% team when it's all said and done.

[MagicFan101]

I don’t think anyone wants the best “specialty” shooter in the lottery.

People wanted skilled scorers/shooters. When you have guys that are still struggling to handle the ball at a NBA wing caliber level I just don’t think it’s realistic to expect those same guys to eventually be your go to guy on offense.

Look at Tatum year 1 vs Aaron Gordon year 4


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Again, it’s cute to compare Tatum to Gordon and say we made poor draft choices.

But Tatum was never available when Orlando was on the clock. Without reach late into the draft and picking a surprise passed on by everyone, show me a real candidate who we passed on in recent years who would have changed our fortunes.

Maybe DSjr over Isaac? But both show a lot of promise while still having a lot of question marks. Hard to make that claim already.

Other than that ... it just doesn’t exist.

The only argument you can make is we should have been more aggressive in moving up in the draft but you have to find a willing trade partner. ... or that we should have tanked harder to not need such a deal.