Orlando Magic's team identity has yet to be forged

The Orlando Magic are entering year four of their rebuild. The team’s strategy of simply collecting talent has prevented them from forging an identity.

The Orlando Magic are entering Year Four of the post-Dwight Howard era. It has been a rough rebuild with the team winning just 68 games in the last three years. There has been a ton of promise and little fulfillment.

Much of last year was spent talking about how the Magic might turn the corner. How would they respond when winning was the expectation? How would they respond when development was no longer the primary goal? These were questions being asked of everyone within the organization.

And the team failed to answer all those questions.

The 2014 season, the Magic did not accomplish their goals. They did not take the step forward. And, in the end, Jacque Vaughn and the previous coaching staff paid the price for it. Now the pressure is on for the Magic to prove the rebuild and the plan are worth moving forward with.

Last year, a lot of that came down to discovering what the team’s identity was. Who would this team become and what would they be known for?

Jacque Vaughn promised the team would be built on defense and get out in transition with the youth and athletes they had. Instead, the Magic were 25th in the league in defensive efficiency and 18th in pace. Orlando did try playing fast for about a week and then stopped. They went 10-20 with James Borrego emphasizing protecting the paint defensively.

Even that little bit of an identity helped improve the team.

So again, the Magic will come in during Media Day and discuss what kind of identity they need to have.

Scott Skiles certainly has an idea with the way he has coached throughout his 13 years as a NBA head coach. He wants guys to play hard-nosed defense and work hard. He has expressed he wants the team to play with pace in all things they do offensively. Hard work is what Skiles is as a coach.

But what if the Magic’s identity has already been set? What if the team’s identity was created in the way Rob Hennigan assembled his team and the way he continues to build it?

It is an interesting idea.

Over at Hardwood Paroxysm, I explored how team identities are sometimes built in the attitudes and ways teams are built. It was somewhat inspired by the fact the Heat are a front-loaded team that is one injury away from the lottery again yet know exactly who they are and how they want to build.

Do the Magic?

Orlando has had one strategy in building a team. It is simply to collect talent and assets. To get as many young players as they can and figure out how they fall together later. That is a typical strategy of a team preparing to rebuild.

Nikola Vucevic, Orlando Magic, Andre Drummond, Detroit Pistons

Mar 27, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) drives to the basket as Detroit Pistons center Andre Drummond (0) defends during the first half at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

Now the Magic are done rebuilding, or so they say. They are looking to win. That means they need to be more strategic with the kind of players they pick and players they sign.

Orlando has put together a lot of nice athletes and have prized versatility in its draft selections. The Magic remain this amorphous blob of talent.

Scott Skiles will give it some direction. That athletic mass will get some direction. But the Magic largely did not spend their summer filling any specific needs. It was waiting for this mass to coalesce and develop.

Trying to wait on players to develop is no building plan at all. It does not create a team identity in the least.

Maybe the Magic are waiting to see what this team becomes in a quasi-successful way before moving forward with a more discernible plan. Perhaps identity reveals itself and team building for this group comes next to fit that newfound identity. Maybe it will take Scott Skiles imposing his will on this team to develop an identity for the Magic to move forward.

One thing seems pretty clear as the Magic enter training camp — they are still searching for an identity that fits this group.

Orlando Magic’s team identity has yet to be forged

By Philip Rossman-Reich | Sep 24, 2015

The Orlando Magic are entering year four of their rebuild. The team’s strategy of simply collecting talent has prevented them from forging an identity.