Channing Frye has not had the best year. In the long run that may not matter. As was made clear around the NBA basketball is not everything. Frye knows this.
It has not been an easy year for Channing Frye.
He uprooted his life somewhat in going from Phoenix to Orlando (although that payday of $32 million over four years sounds good), leaving the comfort of an offense that seemed to take advantage of all his skills for a young team that has struggled to find its identity and struggled to integrate the sharp-shooting veteran.
For the year, Frye is averaging 7.6 points per game and is shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. His scoring is near his career low, but his 3-point percentage is currently the third highest of his long career.
That has not stopped Frye from being a punching bag for fans as he has struggled on the defensive end of the floor and his 3-point shot has not fallen at key moments. Frye is often passed up late in games because of these shortcomings. His offense is not making up for his defense.
He is going to be in Orlando for a little while longer. He signed a four-year deal, reportedly giving Phoenix only three minutes to match the offer when he made the decision to come to Orlando. He chose Orlando over 10 or 11 other teams including looks at Golden State and Cleveland. The money probably had something to do with it.
Soaring Down South
“Nothing is guaranteed,” Frye said on Media Day in September of his somewhat surprising decision to join the Magic. “For me, I went to the best team for me and the team I want to compete with every night. I think going to those teams is nice, but it’s not my cup of tea. I want to go to a team that is going to get better every year. I want to grow with that team.”
Frye will have his chance to grow with this young Magic team. As he put it, every good steak needs some seasoning, and the veteran power forward hopes to provide that. It may come in little moments behind the scenes more than on the court — particularly now that the Magic seem to be shifting directions with a new coach coming in next season.
None of that really matters in the long run for Frye.
At the end of the day, no one understands more what a blessing it is to be playing basketball than Channing Frye.
This blessing was put into sharp focus with the recent news that Chris Bosh would miss the rest of the season with a blood clot in his lung. It was a scary intrusion into the basketball bubble of what real life can do. Like Bosh, Frye was dangerously close to something very dangerous.
Frye missed the 2012-13 season with an enlarged heart. The prognosis from doctors was to keep him off the floor. He could not even play golf or exert much physically. It was a restless time for a player used to competing at an elite level (and anyone in the NBA competes at an elite level).
He was more or less grounded.
“The experience sucked, it was terrible,” Frye said. “But In the long run, I felt it was the best year for me. I think I looked at myself and the opportunity I have to play basketball.
“I don’t want to say you take things for granted, but you do. Because you have to go out here and think you are invinicble or else something bad is going to happen. I figured out that I live a good life. I get paid to get in shape to try to get a six-pack and I play basketball for a living. When you think about it like that, whether you win or lose is important but it’s not the end of the day. For me, just understanding how awesome of a job that we have and just coming out here every day and having fun, the work is going to come.”
This is part of the perspective the Magic hoped Frye would bring to the team this season.
A team with so many key players younger than 25 years old and still fresh in the league, they needed a veteran to calm them down. The team also desperately needed a 3-point shooter to give their shot-challenged perimeter players room to drive.
Whether Frye has accomplished these goals is a matter for debate. The veteran finishing games for the Magic these days is Willie Green.
The goal Frye had though was to be a voice in the locker room and help shape this team. With the length of his contract, he will have that opportunity in the next few years (barring a trade). The hope is that he will be relied upon less as his teammates grow and come into their own. His 3-point shooting too will hopefully continue to be a weapon (even if it is just a threat, like it seems to be now).
The optimism from the beginning of the season has faded dramatically. There is a new coach and a new everything seeping into the roster. The franchise’s future with this group is almost certainly in question with few players remotely untouchable.
Frye may not be one of those guys. A new head coach may not have much use for Frye defensively or even offensively. At least, not in the way that Frye or the Magic envisioned when he originally signed.
If anyone is prepared to handle this uncertainty, it has to be Frye though. He will do whatever is asked of him.
Basketball was almost taken away from him completely.
“The biggest thing that I did was not let that negativity in,” Frye said. “I didn’t believe that. If I had felt that, I would have just shut it down. My family is more important than all of this. For me, I love basketball but I could have hooped at a YMCA league and been happy. I wasn’t done. I felt like I hadn’t accomplished everythign that I wanted to in this league. If I saw an opportunity to come back, I was going to work my way back up. And here I am.”
Frye has certainly worked his way back up, making it back in the NBA. The focus has shifted from his health to his play.
Where it properly belongs.