Josh Robbins - Q&A With Rob Hennigan

[Rick Rolled]

AKA "The Art of Talking A Lot Without Saying Anything".

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/orlando-magic/os-magic-gm-rob-hennigan-interview-092320160923-story.html

OS: Will there be enough minutes for Bismack Biyombo, Serge Ibaka and Nikola Vucevic at the big-man spots?

RH: We think there are, and we think that’s going to sort itself out with our team’s play and their individual play. What’s important to us is making sure that we’re winning games and that our collective mindset is just that. We don’t see that as a threat. If anything, we see that as a strength.

OS: Elfrid Payton endured some struggles last season. While his outside shooting improved a bit, it still hampered the offense at times. Is this a critical year for him, and does he need to show significant improvement in order to maintain faith in him for the future?

RH: Well, I’ll tell you that Elfrid had a great summer, a very productive summer. He put in a tremendous amount of work in all areas of his game. He’s gotten a lot stronger. So we’re expecting him to show a lot of improvement across the board. I know he’s expecting the same. And he certainly worked hard enough to put himself in a position to have a great year. I’m proud of him for that, and we’re excited to see his growth this season. We really believe in Elfrid.

[EAS Law]

You have to be fair though man. If Rob came out in a pre season interview and said something like--"Elfrid needs to shoot at a 42% clip from 3 or he's going to be traded" or "We have totally lost faith in Vuc to be the Center of this team and we are looking to trade him", that's not going to help anyone and being too blunt is likely to get you fired.

I actually think he did answer the questions. He wasn't harsh and abrasive and certainly played the diplomat a little, but he's not going to put unnecessary pressure on guys before we even see where they are.

[Rick Rolled]

You have to be fair though man. If Rob came out in a pre season interview and said something like--"Elfrid needs to shoot at a 42% clip from 3 or he's going to be traded" or "We have totally lost faith in Vuc to be the Center of this team and we are looking to trade him", that's not going to help anyone and being too blunt is likely to get you fired.

I actually think he did answer the questions. He wasn't harsh and abrasive and certainly played the diplomat a little, but he's not going to put unnecessary pressure on guys before we even see where they are.

I was joking with the the sub-headline. I'm one of the biggest Hennigan fans/apologists here and enjoyed the interview.

Robbins has been putting out some good stuff since he got back from vacation.

[EAS Law]

You have to be fair though man. If Rob came out in a pre season interview and said something like--"Elfrid needs to shoot at a 42% clip from 3 or he's going to be traded" or "We have totally lost faith in Vuc to be the Center of this team and we are looking to trade him", that's not going to help anyone and being too blunt is likely to get you fired.

I actually think he did answer the questions. He wasn't harsh and abrasive and certainly played the diplomat a little, but he's not going to put unnecessary pressure on guys before we even see where they are.

I was joking with the the sub-headline. I'm one of the biggest Hennigan fans/apologists here and enjoyed the interview.

Robbins has been putting out some good stuff since he got back from vacation.

Thank God man. The OSen has been so bad as long as I can remember.

Why do you think a majority of their stories give negative treatment to the team? I understand it's not good to be a homer as a journalist, but sometimes it's pretty harsh.

[Rick Rolled]

You have to be fair though man. If Rob came out in a pre season interview and said something like--"Elfrid needs to shoot at a 42% clip from 3 or he's going to be traded" or "We have totally lost faith in Vuc to be the Center of this team and we are looking to trade him", that's not going to help anyone and being too blunt is likely to get you fired.

I actually think he did answer the questions. He wasn't harsh and abrasive and certainly played the diplomat a little, but he's not going to put unnecessary pressure on guys before we even see where they are.

I was joking with the the sub-headline. I'm one of the biggest Hennigan fans/apologists here and enjoyed the interview.

Robbins has been putting out some good stuff since he got back from vacation.

Thank God man. The OSen has been so bad as long as I can remember.

Why do you think a majority of their stories give negative treatment to the team? I understand it's not good to be a homer as a journalist, but sometimes it's pretty harsh.

I feel like much of the negativity comes from Schmitz. This is baseless speculation on my part, but I feel like he has lost access to the team over the years and has turned into a curmudgeon because of it. He used to be the lead beat writer, but has been eclipsed by better journalists like Robbins over the years.

Robbins is rock solid. He deals in fact and not opinion or personal biases.

Schmitz takes things personally, and it's reflected in his writing.

[uraverage]

what do you mean, "Gordon tweaked his ankle".

[drsd]

I actually think he did answer the questions.

I found this as an interesting quote, "He’s (Payton's) gotten a lot stronger."

None of us suggested that Payton needed more bulk. But that could have an interesting outcome if Payton is developing a post-up game.


..

[EAS Law]

I actually think he did answer the questions.

I found this as an interesting quote, "He’s (Payton's) gotten a lot stronger."

None of us suggested that Payton needed more bulk. But that could have an interesting outcome if Payton is developing a post-up game.


..

Absolutely. Maybe EP has just needed to establish an identity. I have no problem with a starting PG who specializes in passing, vision, driving, and finishing around the rim whether or not he's even an average jump shooter.

[dsg2021]

Payton getting stronger could be huge, not jut for posting up smaller guards, but also for driving and finishing strong in the paint.

[Orlwillbeback]

I actually think he did answer the questions.

I found this as an interesting quote, "He’s (Payton's) gotten a lot stronger."

None of us suggested that Payton needed more bulk. But that could have an interesting outcome if Payton is developing a post-up game.


..

I think all of our players needed to get bigger and stronger. I think we hired a new strength coach tbh.

[PennytoShaq]

Good article. I think considering all the open questions going in to camp, there is not much more Rob could have said. At the end of the day he has laid out there what he believes this team will be. It is on the players to follow through with that and execute.

I also think not much credit is given to offseason work on shooting. History has shown that the offseason is when players have stepped up and improved their shooting %s over the course of the season. All the work and all the reps makes a huge difference. It's not a guarantee for anyone, but I believe the chances of Gordon and Elf showing improvement this year are quite high. What I mean is that it is easy to just look at offseason acquisitions, which is what most media does. It's a sexier thing to write about new free agent acquisitions opposed to players working on their games. But Rob stresses in this article how much be believes in player development. It's not hard to read between the lines and see that.

From a free agent perspective I am still high on the guys we brought in until proven otherwise. Meeks, Augustine, Biz (or Vuc) and Green are a huge boost for our bench. What a major overhaul that is. Much more of a modern lineup. If I told you we would be rolling out DJ/Meeks/Mario/Green and Biz as a reserve unit, I doubt anyone would have much question on how those pieces fit together, unlike last year when we really didn't have much clarity on bench player's roles.

[rcklsscognition]

I actually think he did answer the questions.

I found this as an interesting quote, "He’s (Payton's) gotten a lot stronger."

None of us suggested that Payton needed more bulk. But that could have an interesting outcome if Payton is developing a post-up game.


..

Have you seen the video of him at media shoots day last week? I think he legit put on 15 pounds. He looks rock solid. A bruiser running-back PG is something I've always wanted tearing up the paint and bounding around the defense.

[PennytoShaq]

That bulk is going to help him a lot when he attacks the basket. Last year he was pulling up for too many floaters instead of drawing contact. I think that will change this year.

[chosen12141]

what do you mean, "Gordon tweaked his ankle".

Yes Sir....... I was slightly freaked out as well! It really dosen't sound that bad, but I really don't want to hear this NOW!

[fendilim]

Oh man.. soo If AG fails to live up to expectations this year... I guess we'll see the "he wasn't healthy during training camp" excuse again..?

[MagicStarwipe]

Oh man.. soo If AG fails to live up to expectations this year... I guess we'll see the "he wasn't healthy during training camp" excuse again..?

The people that use that excuse are the people that don't want to see him play though. "Oh... but he missed some of training camp so Skiles couldn't possibly play him meaningful minutes until February". So.... yeah.... no.

[Orlwillbeback]

How long until we have posters on here that want to fire Vogel?

[Optimus_Steel]

How long until we have posters on here that want to fire Vogel?

Presaeson game 4 lol.

Sent from my SM-N920V using RealGM mobile app

[JF5]

Oh man.. soo If AG fails to live up to expectations this year... I guess we'll see the "he wasn't healthy during training camp" excuse again..?

The people that use that excuse are the people that don't want to see him play though. "Oh... but he missed some of training camp so Skiles couldn't possibly play him meaningful minutes until February". So.... yeah.... no.

I think most people wanted to see the team actually win rather than play inexperienced players and continue to lose. I like AG and Hezonja but we saw this with Oladipo while he was here. You can't expect to throw so many minutes at a player and believe they'll get better. Sometimes a player might just have to sit a year a two in order to be a great player down the line.

[MagicStarwipe]

Oh man.. soo If AG fails to live up to expectations this year... I guess we'll see the "he wasn't healthy during training camp" excuse again..?

The people that use that excuse are the people that don't want to see him play though. "Oh... but he missed some of training camp so Skiles couldn't possibly play him meaningful minutes until February". So.... yeah.... no.

I think most people wanted to see the team actually win rather than play inexperienced players and continue to lose. I like AG and Hezonja but we saw this with Oladipo while he was here. You can't expect to throw so many minutes at a player and believe they'll get better. Sometimes a player might just have to sit a year a two in order to be a great player down the line.

I and many other didn't feel that applied to AG last season though. He played well and made things happen from the beginning of the season whenever he got the chance. People wanted him to play because he's actually good. AG doesn't deserve to be thrown in the same boat as rookie Mario, who was very green.