Retrospective: Where does Victor Oladipo rank in Magic all-time shooting guards?
Arron Afflalo provided proficient two-way play for the rebuilding Magic. At the time he was obtained from the three-team deal jettisoning Dwight Howard, he was billed the center of the rebuilding effort.
That did not turn out to be true, but Afflalo provided a string of two seasons of solid play for a woeful Magic team before being dealt to Denver for Evan Fournier.
Afflalo is now starting shooting guard for the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2015 postseason (he has replaced Wesley Matthews who is out for the season).
Afflalo is not flashy, but he makes up for that in efficiency. He shoots high percentages, and was on the cusp (with some incremental improvements) of nearly entering the elusive 50/40/90 club.
His defense fell below its former lock-down level prior to coming to Orlando — but that was largely a product of having to shoulder a much larger offensive load.
Afflalo was one of the older main pieces of the rebuild, so his talent turned into a cheaper and nearly as productive Evan Fournier (whose consistency issues keep him out of this slide show). It would have been nice to see Afflalo play a major role when this team arrives at contention, but general manager Rob Hennigan felt going with younger options in the backcourt made more sense given the lack of ascent by the team thus far. And he needed to free the time for the budding Victor Oladipo.
Also, Fournier is a very nice prospect who could be a staple in the second unit for seasons to come.
Afflalo averaged 18.2 points, 3.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game in his second season with the Magic, after having posted 16.5 points per game in 2013. Orlando’s defensive rating while the team was on the floor was 112 both seasons, and in the second year the Magic posted a 110 offensive rating with him present. In 2014, his PER was 16.0, which ranks him above the league average at shooting guard in efficiency.
All around, those were two very solid seasons sort of wasted away on a poor Magic team. Afflalo will be part of a very talented Portland backcourt when Matthews returns, with Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum manning the other two spots in the four-guard rotation.
Next: #6 Courtney Lee