Should the Magic resign Mario Hezonja?

[fendilim]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

[tiderulz]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

which ones? i dont honestly remember any big shots or critical plays to win.

[MagicFan101]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

Until the last few weeks Mario has been nothing more than a wide-eyed, lost child in a dark scary forest for us.

He is worth offering the $5M max we are allowed to make at this point. But a few recent games with everyone of note out do not erase what we have seen throughout his early career.

[Skin]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

Until the last few weeks Mario has been nothing more than a wide-eyed, lost child in a dark scary forest for us.

He is worth offering the $5M max we are allowed to make at this point. But a few recent games with everyone of note out do not erase what we have seen throughout his early career.

For $5M we are outbidding the field. But I guess he's worth keeping around at that amount. Nothing screams bench player more than a player getting that in his second contract.

He so full of failed expectations, but that's ok. Isaac is our starting SF next year anyways.

[ladovina]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

Until the last few weeks Mario has been nothing more than a wide-eyed, lost child in a dark scary forest for us.

He is worth offering the $5M max we are allowed to make at this point. But a few recent games with everyone of note out do not erase what we have seen throughout his early career.

For $5M we are outbidding the field. But I guess he's worth keeping around at that amount. Nothing screams bench player more than a player getting that in his second contract.

He so full of failed expectations, but that's ok. Isaac is our starting SF next year anyways.

Yes, yes he is out next year and Isaac is gona drible dat ball like Lebron Jamezdin on offence (or he will learn by then), and he gonna defend screens with his superman like eyes.

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[OrlandO]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

which ones? i dont honestly remember any big shots or critical plays to win.

Pretty sure he hit a clutch 3 late vs the Hawks to send it to OT. Might be his only big shot his rookie year though.

[tiderulz]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

Until the last few weeks Mario has been nothing more than a wide-eyed, lost child in a dark scary forest for us.

He is worth offering the $5M max we are allowed to make at this point. But a few recent games with everyone of note out do not erase what we have seen throughout his early career.

For $5M we are outbidding the field. But I guess he's worth keeping around at that amount. Nothing screams bench player more than a player getting that in his second contract.

He so full of failed expectations, but that's ok. Isaac is our starting SF next year anyways.

We could easily throw $5mil on 1-yr and see if he continues higher play. If so, we arent limited then to what we offer next and would still have his bird rights if needed.

[OrlChamps2030]

Until the last few weeks Mario has been nothing more than a wide-eyed, lost child in a dark scary forest for us.

He is worth offering the $5M max we are allowed to make at this point. But a few recent games with everyone of note out do not erase what we have seen throughout his early career.

For $5M we are outbidding the field. But I guess he's worth keeping around at that amount. Nothing screams bench player more than a player getting that in his second contract.

He so full of failed expectations, but that's ok. Isaac is our starting SF next year anyways.

We could easily throw $5mil on 1-yr and see if he continues higher play. If so, we arent limited then to what we offer next and would still have his bird rights if needed.

Plenty of other teams could throw more $ at him on a one year deal. He could very well play his way out of the $5 mill range

[MagicFan101]

For $5M we are outbidding the field. But I guess he's worth keeping around at that amount. Nothing screams bench player more than a player getting that in his second contract.

He so full of failed expectations, but that's ok. Isaac is our starting SF next year anyways.

We could easily throw $5mil on 1-yr and see if he continues higher play. If so, we arent limited then to what we offer next and would still have his bird rights if needed.

Plenty of other teams could throw more $ at him on a one year deal. He could very well play his way out of the $5 mill range

I don’t see the value in this reply. Of course other teams COULD offer more (duh!).

The question is what should Orlando do? We chose not to hold onto his rights on such a modest contract already. Has such a limited recent sample changes our minds completely?

For me the choice is obvious. Sure, our investment in him to this point could be a sunken cost but relatively speaking, $5M / 1 yr is peanuts. Also, perhaps other teams are hoping his market is less anticipated and he can be had for $2M ala Shabazz Muhammad? Even if he passes on our offer we could force a larger deal on another team.

[UCFJayBird]

If Mario continues playing this way I find it difficult to see him NOT getting more than $5/year from another team. Sure, teams might be starting to tighten their wallets a little after the last few years, but we saw backups getting $10m/year easily. Not saying Mario will get that much, but I could see a team coming in with a $15m over two years offer, and Mario is too young to turn down more cash for a promise of playing time.

[magicfanejc42]

People just glaze over the fact that he was injured all last season. Obviously it wasn't to our knowledge until this year but if people's reasoning for his bad year is, "He just stood on the wing." "He didn't cut." "He played poor defense." Does that not all equate to an injury? Especially considering it was his leg?

He has always had confidence. He came into the league with it. Then with coaching changes and non-existent trust his confidence wavered. When he played minutes during his rookie season I remember specifically watching him and how he would get yanked for missing an assignment or not playing D up to Skiles' standards. I am all for accountability but a young player can't develop if every mistake turns into bench time. Then you play timid basketball. That stunts growth.

Year 1 - Skiles and his accountability crushed confidence.
Year 2 - Nagging leg injury hurting mobility, explosiveness and I would figure hindered his shooting because he didn't have his legs under him.
Year 3 - Started off benched behind everyone. Finally given an opportunity and consistent playing time and now he is showing why he was drafted at 5.

His international play is very similar to what he is producing today. High TS% and big punch in average minutes played.

WeHam made a huge mistake not taking his QO and it's obvious. Mario deserves to be played in the NBA. He is at least a solid 6-7th man and at best a good glue guy on the wing. He can pass, rebound, shoot and drive. His defense isn't great but it's average. We need to re-sign him and give him minutes. It's that simple. Trade Simmons. MH makes more impact more consistently than him.

[Tayswagzzz]

[tleikheen]

The last 8 games AG has missed Hezonja has shot 45/90 total,20/41 from 3pters,averaging 16 ppg / 29 mpg AND the opposing teams are noticing .

I really don't know why Orlando would want to resign Hezonja if their going to keep Vogel as Coach. His offense was Buddy ball between Vucevic and Fournier and then he let AG play hero ball and you have a W/L record to match the offense he let his players play.
Those that would judge Hezonja from when he was hurt last year compared to a fully healthy Hezonja this year and call it just a smalll sample DESERVE a young losing team.

[IllMagic04]

I can admit I was wrong about Mario. He should be a solid player going forward. He's gone though. Declining that option was huge mistake. I didn't think it was a mistake at the time since he wasn't even getting off the bench. Regardless it looks to be a big mistake that we didn't even have to do. Its not like it was a big cost savor. I just don't see anyway he would sign back here. It makes no sense money or playing time wise. Once Ross and Isaac are back its gonna be tough for him to get minutes again. A team will offer him more than 5 mil a year and will give him multiple years. At this point Mario is really hurting our tank. He almost pulled that game out yesterday. He's clearly not in our future plan so him playing well hurts the tank and raises his value. Pretty bad situation.

[ORL_on_FIRE]

Shows nothing, shows nothing, declined option, shows something, shows something.

Go figure though, Mario situation is about the norm now.

[SD2042]

I'll be stunned if Mario comes back. We would have to give him substantially more money for him to stay. While it was an understandable decision at the time for them not to pick up his option, it was a huge mistake. If he was restricted, I think there's a decent chance we would match an offer. But he can go anywhere. Maybe he and Vogel have come to a better understanding of each other, but would you want to come back and play for an organization that hindered your development?

22 years old.
3rd season in the nba.
5th pick in the draft.

And we gave up on him...

And you say it was understandable they gave up on him? To me, this move alone is grounds for ownership to fire these two peanuts already. Absolutely unforgivable. They better be doing every single thing within their power to rectify this situation right now. Offer him starters minutes, extra money, player options. Whatever it takes.

He deserves an apology as well from coaching staff and management for not understanding how to develop him and not picking up the option.

If anyone deserves an apology it's us the fans. We continue to go through this blue sea depression I call a team. This organization has continued to fail to develop the talent(players)they acquire. They failed to develop a strong plan of direction to meet its success. They failed to keep a consistent coach who's well knowledgeable of the game and who's best to better the players for the present and future. They fail to set up better game plans that will best help the players win games. As a team and organization, they fail to hold themselves accountable for the last few years of inconsistencies, lack of leadership, and a sense of urgency.

For me, I'm beyond sick of this mess. I can respect that in order to gain success, one must go thru hell to obtain it. That's life in general. The question is when will this team learn to move forward and beyond the proverbial NBA basement and get better as a squad?

[fendilim]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

which ones? i dont honestly remember any big shots or critical plays to win.

Bucks game for one. Where he hit multiple threes to get us back into the game.

[Magic#1]

I'll be stunned if Mario comes back. We would have to give him substantially more money for him to stay. While it was an understandable decision at the time for them not to pick up his option, it was a huge mistake. If he was restricted, I think there's a decent chance we would match an offer. But he can go anywhere. Maybe he and Vogel have come to a better understanding of each other, but would you want to come back and play for an organization that hindered your development?

22 years old.
3rd season in the nba.
5th pick in the draft.

And we gave up on him...

And you say it was understandable they gave up on him? To me, this move alone is grounds for ownership to fire these two peanuts already. Absolutely unforgivable. They better be doing every single thing within their power to rectify this situation right now. Offer him starters minutes, extra money, player options. Whatever it takes.

He deserves an apology as well from coaching staff and management for not understanding how to develop him and not picking up the option.

If anyone deserves an apology it's us the fans. We continue to go through this blue sea depression I call a team. This organization has continued to fail to develop the talent(players)they acquire. They failed to develop a strong plan of direction to meet its success. They failed to keep a consistent coach who's well knowledgeable of the game and who's best to better the players for the present and future. They fail to set up better game plans that will best help the players win games. As a team and organization, they fail to hold themselves accountable for the last few years of inconsistencies, lack of leadership, and a sense of urgency.

For me, I'm beyond sick of this mess. I can respect that in order to gain success, one must go thru hell to obtain it. That's life in general. The question is when will this team learn to move forward and beyond the proverbial NBA basement and get better as a squad?

He was a top five draft pick who had barely played last season and was barely playing this season. And when he did play, frankly, he looked like he had regressed substantially and did not belong on an NBA roster. Based on what he had shown on the court at that time, it was an understandable decision by management. That decision falls more on Vogel than it does management, IMO.

[ChosenSavior]

Lol at people saying hezonja played like garbage his rookie year. How easily can people forget there were few games in his limited minutes that he made big shots or helped us win?

which ones? i dont honestly remember any big shots or critical plays to win.

Bucks game for one. Where he hit multiple threes to get us back into the game.

OKC game as well in OKC where he was hitting some huge shots in that game especially the two buzzer beaters he nailed in the 1st and 3rd quarters:

Watch on YouTube

[fendilim]

which ones? i dont honestly remember any big shots or critical plays to win.

Bucks game for one. Where he hit multiple threes to get us back into the game.

OKC game as well in OKC where he was hitting some huge shots in that game especially the two buzzer beaters he nailed in the 1st and 3rd quarters:

Watch on YouTube

He also had a great game against the Celtics and helped us get back into the game.

Watch on YouTube