The Orlando Magic working to rebuild young assets
The Orlando Magic began resetting their rebuild with the Terrence Ross trade this week. They now put their focus on rebuilding young assets and their future.
Aaron Gordon carries with him the hope for the Orlando Magic these days. He is the only representative for the team at All-Star Weekend.
The team reached a crossroads in its long rebuild this summer and opted to push some chips in and try to bring in veterans to get them to the Playoffs. Aaron Gordon remained as the lone player the Magic drafted that would fit into the starting lineup.
The rebuild, meant to see players grow through drafting and development, had fallen apart in. Victor Oladipo never took the leap. Gordon was going to be adjusting to a new position as a small forward rather than a power forward with the changes.
This, perhaps, could have been the first red flag entering this season. The Magic scrapped their plan to rely on youth and cashed in for veterans hoping to create a base to grow from. It was supposed to be a safer bet to make the Playoffs and achieve a short-term goal.
That has clearly fallen on its face.
For the first time since the 2012 season, the Magic will not have a player in the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday at All-Star Weekend. That should be a signal the team is ready to compete for the Playoffs.
Instead, it signals the team is trying to get back to a rebuild and restock their young assets.
The first step was trading Serge Ibaka. The Magic had to do this to recoup some value from Serge Ibaka knowing they would likely lose him in free agency this summer.
The targets were going to be young players on their second contracts and a first-round pick in return. Terrence Ross was the easy guess for this deal. After months of knowing that Ibaka-for-Ross swap would happen, the Toronto Raptors finally agreed to it. And the Magic can now get to the next step.
This should not be where the Magic stop, though.
Orlando needs to look to complement players on the roster better and focus on developing a core of players to grow. But they need to do this in a way that still gives the team the time and the ability to grow. They are not likely to get any big-name free agents to arrive in town anytime soon. Any chance at making the Playoffs soon is going to come from internal development and shrewd additions.
Ross, at 26 years old, is at least on this timeline with the other young Magic players. But the cupboard is considerably bare. Adding a first-round pick from the Raptors and relying on their own pick — which is looking to come in the top five so far — will further bolster that young core and get the Magic back down the right path.
The Magic have some good young players still, but not many. ESPN.com ranked the top players under 25 this week and had one player in the top-25 — Aaron Gordon at 18. Victor Oladipo came in at No. 20. Elfrid Payton was in the top-40. But the Magic lack these super young players.
And that has put a damper on the future.
That is what you would expect with a team trying to push for the Playoffs. And now that this dream seems to be fading away, the Magic seem to turn back to focusing on rebuilding young assets and preparing to build for a long-term future.
That might be at least part of the reason the Magic have reportedly expressed interest in Detroit Pistons guard Reggie Jackson, who is 26. This would shift the Magic’s timeline up — the team would still be young, but closer to realizing their potential and thus closer to the Playoffs. But would still give the team some players to build a core around or trade for better veterans to complement whatever is left from the team.
Getting younger for the Magic is a means to return to an upward trajectory. Putting faith in veteran players and trading away young players like Tobias Harris, Maurice Harkless and Victor Oladipo had a win-now mentality and ultimately led to a dead end. It wreaked of impatience and a desire to push ahead now no matter the cost.
Orlando appears ready to revise that plan.
The team still wants to improve and push for the Playoffs. But it appears moving forward the team will do it in a different day. It will do it, as Rob Hennigan and Alex Martins have said so many times the last five years, “organically.”
Orlando Magic
The focus of every move and every rumor now is about going younger and trying to grow back again.
Terrence Ross is a player who seems ready to take on a larger role and has not seen his best basketball yet. Reggie Jackson, if the rumors are true, is recovering from an injury. He has shown flashes of star potential since arriving in Detroit. Orlando’s high draft pick should provide another base to keep the team growing. And Mario Hezonja is still around if the Magic can instill confidence and trust in him.
And that leads back to Aaron Gordon. He is still the biggest mystery on the team. But also its greatest hope.
Gordon has shown flashes this year, but he still looks out of place at small forward. He can become an elite wing defender but finding the right place for him is still a mystery. As is what his ultimate ceiling will be.
For now, Gordon holds the most hope for the Magic. He is the lone player on the team that seems to have more limitless potential. The realities of a contract or expectations have not capped his role or what he can do.
The Magic are looking to rebuild their young assets now and reset their rebuild. This was not a wasted year (not completely) in Gordon’s development. But soon too, Gordon will need to produce and fit into a role. Potential gets limited each year with new information.
How Gordon develops is as important as anything else the Magic do the rest of this year. Of anyone, he represents the Magic’s future as they try to rebuild again.
Next: Terrence Ross ready to take flight in new opportunity
What is clear is that rebuild will be young again.