Orlando Magic: Does Mario Hezonja Make Tobias Harris Obsolete?
The Orlando Magic have sorely needed shooting the past three seasons and the team addressed that need in a major way with the No. 5 overall pick by selecting Mario Hezonja of Croatia.
Mario Hezonja has received some of the highest billing ierom international scouts, and there is a lot of reasons to believe he could be the scorer Orlando needs to return to the postseason. He is definitely a scorer, and when he gets hot there is really no stopping him.
In the ACB league of Spain, it seemed the only person who could stop him was he himself by going on tilt.
He is cocky and hot tempered, and that is something that is sure to impress (in an odd way of course) head coach Scott Skiles, who was much the same way during his playing career. “Firey” was usually the first adjective given when describing Skiles.
But Hezonja is not without his question marks — and he is young, just 20 years old.
Mario will also be getting his first chance at major consistent minutes, as overseas younger players often linger on the bench, regardless of talent. However he has been considered one of the best prospects in the world since age 16, and that status as a phenom is what legitimizes his talent in a different type of way.
And much like Ricky Rubio in Spain, his path to the highest stage was fairly paved in gold. Because of that, he has one of the biggest egos possibly ever seen in a European prospect.
What really becomes problematic (and it is a good problem to have) is Hezonja is likely best suited to the small forward position, where the Magic rolled with Tobias Harris last season. With Harris’ restricted free agency on the horizon, this may be the leverage Orlando needed to feel less trapped by Harris.
For all Harris is, he is not the lights-out shooter Hezonja has been, nor is he even really on the same level with regards to athleticism. Hezonja has the hops to produce some exciting finishes, and he will be quick to get out in transition.
Truly, Magic fans may end up in awe of his offensive talents.
He will be able to play behind Victor Oladipo in the backcourt or behind Haris, but if the Magic want to accelerate his progress with a starting role, it means parting with Harris. He has struggled too much defensively against power forwards. The Magic could keep Harris and play him there, but at this point it might be just as well to throw Aaron Gordon into the fire and see how that shakes out.
The Magic may still seek to retain Harris. The cap is going to increase to an estimated $118 million by 2016, and that would give Orlando the cap room to keep Harris. It really comes down to a matter of whether Harris is even the fit for this team as it is starting to take shape.
Now, the Magic have a strong and speedy defensive backcourt, a lights-out shooter at small forward, and some young talent to develop in the frontcourt with Dewayne Dedmon and Aaron Gordon having shown sufficient promise.
Yet one of the biggest beneficiaries of this acquisition may end up being Nikola Vucevic.
The court spacing just was not that great last year, and having a lights-out shooter will open space up for Vucevic down low.
The double teams came quick and often, and when Vucevic threw it out, the Magic’s host of mediocre shooters often were unable to capitalize. While Harris and Oladipo both improved their shooting last season, neither is the naturally gifted shooter that Hezonja has appeared to be.
The rebuild is starting to take further shape with this year’s draft pick. Orlando could have gone with the best player available in Emmanuel Mudiay, but that is a debatable label at best, and the backcourt is fairly locked in with two first team All-Rookie selections.
The hope is Hezonja becomes the Magic’s third such player in three seasons, and if he does, Harris will be elsewhere.
So, the Magic can play the waiting game. It can take the time to allow other teams to reach out to Harris first, so as to avoid overpaying for a guy who may not fit into the longer-term picture really anyway.
If Harris is retained, it will allow Hezonja to take his time developing, but there is no sense pretending that the Magic are going to go from a 25-win team to a 50-win team in one season. Because of that, it may make the most sense to just let Harris walk and use whatever money he would have received in signing a veteran power forward to bring some leadership and stability to the frontcourt.
The Magic ranked No. 27 in the NBA in offensive rating last season, Hezonja’s scoring ability is likely what enamored Magic GM Rob Hennigan.
Hezonja gives the Magic some flexibility — it is just time to see what becomes of it now.