There's still plenty of offseason to go, but after a flurry of player movement, trades and free agent signings the Orlando Magic stay true to their current course, the 2016-17 season could be...
Introducing your new Front Court:
Like a dark storm front rolling in over the horizon, opposing teams will come to fear the ominous presence of our defensive duo. From perimeter to paint, they'll hang over their man, like a looming storm cloud. Defense will become offense as shots are sent back to the other end of the court, allowing our perimeter players to fly up court and dominate the fast break. On the offensive end, Pick & Rolls are going to end in thunderous dunks, whilst the forecast on Ibaka will always be a threat of rain...ing 3's! Add Aaron Gordon into the mix, and there's going to be dancing in the streets as Orlando becomes a veritable Block Party every game night.
Need points? Piercing the darkness of a smothering defense, our tandem of Vucevic & Ibaka can light up a scoreboard like lightning exploding through the dark clouds of a storm. Vucevic, a threat to score in the paint or out to 20ft, will now have the freedom to do his damage whilst Ibaka stretches the floor. Defensively, the lightning quick speed and timing of Ibaka will protect the rim, whilst Vucevic snatches up rebounds and returns to dominance as a rebounding force.
The versatility of our new three-headed beast of a front court is going to be a gear shifting nightmare for the opposition.
Introducing your new Wings:
With a new coach who's fresh off of helping Paul George become a superstar, and Lance Stephenson looking like a star, as well as Forcier fresh off of helping turn Kawhi into an MVP candidate, we usher in a new dawn of player development in town. Our #4 draft pick and unofficial dunk champion has been locked in the cellar for the past two seasons. This year, we get to unleash the beast and put him on a path to claiming his throne as our future star player. As he slides back to his natural position of SF, watch as he reveals a dazzling new array of skills, as if he'd just unlocked some kind of bonus level to his abilities. Handles, passing, shooting and playmaking are all in store for this young buck.
But let's not forget the most pleasant surprise of 2015-16 season, Evan 'Don't Google' Fournier. One of the league's elite shooters, he looks primed to be our primary scorer this season. The influence of Vogel and Forcier won't stop with Gordon, oh no. Fournier stands to gain just as much from their wisdom as any of our young studs. There will be many a night of popping bottles after victories, which will no doubt be the result of his team leading performances.
Introducing your new PG:
I say "new", but we all know him. Some may have forgotten, but here's a quick reminder: He put up back to back triple doubles in his rookie year, a rare feat, and something which puts him in the company of the likes of Jason Kidd, David Robinson, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. He's now El-freed (from Scott Skiles), and playing under a coach who supports him. He, too, will benefit from the developmental touch of Vogel and Forcier, and this season we will all fall in love with him again. Pick and Rolls for days. Getting into the paint at will. Ball on a string and 360 degree vision. And a return to defensive greatness.
Introducing your new Bench:
Heading into his sophomore season, Mario looks to take the flashes of excellence he teased last year and to start bringing them consistently. To Skiles' credit, he did a great job of instilling the importance of defense in Mario, and now, Frank will take the reigns and get him across the line. Consider this, Lance Stephenson looked like an allstar under Frank Vogel. Mario's unique blend of point-forward skills, along with his potentially elite shooting, is now putty in the hands of Vogel and Forcier. Mario will likely never match Paul George and Kawhi Leonard on the defensive end, but his base level of offensive talent is right there with where they started, if not higher. There's some untapped Magic in Mario, and this season we're going to see a lot more of it.
Having one of the youngest rosters in the league was both our blessing undoing the past two seasons. It was full of potential, but it was also full of rookie errors. The veterans we brought off the bench were of the washed up variety, too. Now, we enter a season with Journeymen Jeff Green and DJ Augustin in the fold. Green is fresh off of playing with the Grizzlies and Clippers - arguably two contending teams. He knows how to execute within a system like that, and the level that's required every night on a team of that caliber.
DJ is one of the most underrated backup PGs in the league. He's a starting quality PG who now seems content with his place in the league. How many times in the past 3 seasons have we seen DJ step up off the bench and save a game for Chicago, Detroit, Oklahoma and Denver? He replaced Brandon Jennings on the Pistons and looked better than him. He's a 40% 3pt shooter on 3.8 attempts a game, and in 24mpg for Denver last season he got to the FT line as much as any of our starters. His per36 numbers are better than the likes of Teague and Hill. He's the reliable, shooting capable, starting caliber PG some people want - but he's signed with the team for a song of a deal and he's checked his ego at the door and come in prepared to be the backup PG.
The offensive potency of our bench is nothing to be scoffed at. It will become a trademark for us. Opposing teams will be forced to stagger their subs so that they have starting caliber players in just to try and stop the scoring spree that our guys will launch. We talk a lot about having the versatility to matchup against anyone - well in this case, teams will be jockeying to matchup with us.
Introducing your new Coaches:
The Brains Trust.
The biggest coup for us this summer has been the revolution that is Frank Vogel. With back-to-back ECF appearances in the last 4 years, he has shown an ability to take a team that isn't all that flashy on paper, and to milk it for everything it's worth. He gets every drop of talent out of his players - and they seem to love it the entire time.
Defense is his calling card, and we've just added two of the premier defenders in the league. People scoff at the comparison to the 04 Pistons, but if any team has the potential to chase that standard - it's us.
Let's not forget our investment in the future though! Chad Forcier is arguably the key man to why the Spurs always seem to unlock quality talent no matter where they draft, and no matter who they sign. He's like an mushroom in Super Mario, instantly levelling players up. In the case of Kawhi, he was an invincibility star, taking him to MVP status. AG and Hezonja are the most exciting prospects to see him work his magic on, but let's not forget that he has scope to help all of our young players, including Vuc, Fournier, Elf and Biyombo. All of those guys are like instant scratch-it lottery tickets with potential tucked away, and we've just recruited a new scratcher - and it seems he's found a way to turn luck into a skill.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this season is going to be epic. It will mark the start of something very special.
And we're all first in line, front and center for the show.
