Who is the most underappreciated player on the Magic?
The Orlando Magic have numerous young players that have garnered a lot of attention on the team. But who do we not appreciate enough?
Our pals over at the home Fansided office, put together a list of each team’s most underappreciated players.
The list ranges from stars like Rajon Rondo for the Mavericks to up-and-coming rookies like Jusuf Nurkic on the Nuggets.
For the Magic? Gerald Bourget named Evan Fournier as the Magic’s most underappreciated player. He writes:
"Believe it or not, the Orlando Magic might have won this summer’s trade with the Denver Nuggets for Arron Afflalo. Evan Fournier is only shooting around 43 percent from the floor this season, but he’s converting about 37 percent of his three-pointers and at the age of 22, he still has plenty of room for growth as well."
Yes, Fournier has been a pleasant surprise coming from the Nuggets in that trade. He started really well this season, but has tailed off of late, particularly since coming off the bench (more on that later).
Is Fournier underappreciated though?
Taking a look at the Magic’s roster, it is tough to say with any certainty that any player is overlooked. The Magic are a team full of young players and each player gets their fair amount of attention. Everyone wants to see them grow.
As far as underappreciated? I would lean toward Ben Gordon, actually.
When the Magic signed Ben Gordon to a two-year, $9 million deal, it was a surprise to many. The Magic were taking on a reclamation project that seemed odd for a young team in a rebuilding mode. Really getting anything out of Gordon seemed like it would be a success.
Hard to argue that the Magic have gotten more than expected from Gordon.
Gordon is averaging 16.8 points per 36 minutes and shooting a career-best 46.0 percent from the floor and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Gordon is not Chicago-Ben Gordon, but the Magic were never expecting that to begin with anyway.
So getting such solid production from this kind of player has been a pleasant surprise. A very pleasant surprise.
"“My game is back. My game is sharp. I’m being efficient and doing what I wanted to accomplish. They brought me in to bring a spark off the bench, and I’ve tried to keep my end of the deal.”"
That is a good sign for the Magic. Gordon has come in and performed the role the Magic have asked of him for the most part.
Another player that is certainly overlooked, by the coaching staff at least, is Maurice Harkless.
The third-year player is certainly still very raw. But a season that was meant to be his sort of coming out and refinement of the raw potential has turned into one of confusion as he has largely sat on the bench and had his professionalism and focus all but openly questioned.
Harkless turned in a decent performance as he returned to the rotation with Tobias Harris and Evan Fournier out Saturday in Portland. Harkless had six points on 2-for-5 shooting in just less than 20 minutes. One of those field goal makes came on a fast break dunk. And really the Magic were probably watching his defensive attention and energy. Both appeared to be good.
So who is your most underappreciated player on the Magic roster? Who do we need to be giving some love to?