No one was ready to put a number on where the Magic were going to finish in the win column or in the standings. That still seems 82 games and seven months away from getting determined, and this is a young team that has yet to gather for its first official practice. The message though was pretty clear.
This is a group ready to start winning.
This is a group ready to make that next step, hungry to grow and put a two-year spurt of just 43 wins behind them. At least, that is what the consistent refrain from Magic Media Day.
“There should be no expectations for this team,” new acquisition Channing Frye said. “As young as we are, people should be excited to be a part of this youth movement. We will surprise people. I think we’re going to win games we’re not supposed to win and lose games we’re not supposed to lose. But I think we’re going to compete every night.
“These are some of the most competitive guys I’ve ever played with, arguably one of the more talented teams I’ve ever played with. The biggest thing for us and the hardest thing is how to figure out how to win consistently every night. Teams change things up, guys are going to be called on to do a little bit more or a little bit less depending on the situation every night. That’s going to be a challenge.
“I say this as nice as possible, but a lot of these guys have not played quality games, games that mean anything after December. For me, I want us to compete. I want us to be around .500 around the first 25 games so the league knows we’re here. I want us to get better every day.”
Frye’s assessment is about as close as anyone would get to putting a number on things. Wins certainly will factor into the equation and guys like Victor Oladipo, Kyle O’Quinn and Tobias Harris all mentioned how much winning is part of their equation for the upcoming season.
The sense has to be that the players, at least, are ready to find some tangible success to their hard work.
Maybe Frye sets the bar a little high, but that certainly seems attainable, right?
Frye, echoed what many others said throughout the day. Patience is great the first week, but he like so many other players on the team like winning too. The “young” excuse is played out and over. It is time to put expectations on themselves to compete and play at a level they may not even know they are capable of.
“We have to [take the next step],” O’Quinn said. “Some people say, we’ve got to play some ball this year. We’ve really got to show strides this year. And I think we are. Using the young excuse is not going to get us by this year. If you go by the age, we are young. Tobias is younger than me, but he is older than me in the league. So I look up to him sometimes. Experience on the court is what we need to be judged by and I think we have enough to push forward.”
It has indeed been a long two years for the Magic in the wake of the destruction the Dwight Howard saga left. The team has the fewest wins in that two-year span, yet somehow more optimism than a lot of the other teams involved in that trade.
The results have obviously not been there. The sense is that the team has to start making the turn and cannot afford to lose another season or risk alienating fans. There is a growing demand the team make the Playoffs and some sense of frustration that the team was rolling into this year with virtually the same roster.
Management was not ready to say wins are the measuring stick for the upcoming season. Rob Hennigan said wins certainly will be one measuring stick, but they will also look at whether the team and the individuals continue to improve and whether things are still moving in the right direction. This sentiment was echoed by Jacque Vaughn as he gets ready to bring his team in together for their first practice.
For the players, that sense of feeling empty following last season despite whatever positives might have existed is also present. There were a lot of hard lessons learned in the last two years.
It seems relatively simple. The team just wants to go out and win.
“I just want to win. I don’t care how many games we win, we just need to win. I’m going to compete every night. If we do that, I think it will be a successful season. We’ve got to compete in this league. We’ve got to give people a run for their money, especially on the road. I think the biggest thing for us is we need to compete at a high level and make games close and make games tough.”
Competing and playing hard are certainly going to be one step in the process of getting wins. An important step.
The thought process from this team is simple though. They are ready for the losing to stop.
And ready to get going on the steps toward winning.