Versatility still the name of the game for the Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic drafted Mario Hezonja and once again touted his ability to play multiple positions. Versatility is still a key piece for Rob Hennigan.
The favorite cliche for the Magic and Rob Hennigan with every draft pick — “He’s just a guard,” or “He’s just a forward.”
That was the constant refrain from Hennigan, Jacque Vaughn and anyone associated with the Magic when they referred to Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon. They did not have a set position, they just were basketball players.
They still are.
Victor Oladipo has settled in some at shooting guard, but Aaron Gordon could be eitehr forward spot and hew ill play both. Many of the players the Magic have can play multiple positions. That is not by accident. They like Evan Fournier can play both wing positions and, maybe, even some point guard. Tobias Harris could play both forward positions.
Even Mario Hezonja can play both wing positions.
“I think this is in line with our philosophy about trying to play with versatile players and interchangeable players,” Rob Hennigan said. “We see Mario as someone who can play with all of our guys — including Tobias, including Aaron, including Victor, including everybody right down the line. We feel his versatility and his ability to play different positions — we see him as a 2/3, just a wing — and we feel he continues to add that positional versatility but his ability to make shots from the perimeter is something our team obviously needs as well.”
The Magic’s depth chart is a mix and match of where guys can play. The Magic want guys who can play together without regard to position.
After the way the Warriors won the championship, who could blame them?
Golden State started pulling away from Cleveland in the NBA Finals when the team dumped its center and went to a complete small ball lineup. The Warriors’ positional versatility left them able to match up with any team they could face.
While Orlando does not have a set identity at the moment and still has a strange mixture of players growing into themselves, they do have plenty of options. That has to be something that a coach has to like, right? Scott Skiles has to like that he has a lot of levers to pull in different combinations.
“[Hezonja is] a 2/3. Evan is a 2/3. Aaron’s a 3/4. Tobias is a 3/4. Victor’s a 2/1,” Skiles said. “There’s all kind of combinations that can be put out there. More versatility is always good.”
Versatility is always good. It just gives a coach that many more options. The Magic do not quite have roles defined, that will be the necessary first step. But the Magic are going to continue to look for guys with positional versatility so that their coach has tons of options.
Hennigan repeated time and time again that Hezonja can play both wing positions and he expects that Hezonja can play with Tobias Harris and Aaron Gordon.
“There’s all kind of combinations that can be put out there. More versatility is always good.” –Scott Skiles
The Magic continue to target these kinds of players. And in free agency there is no reason to suggest they would not continue to do so.
They will want a power forward who can slide over to center or onto the win. They may want a backup point guard who can fill some minutes at shooting guard. They will want guys who can play multiple positions.
This is all with the goal of always having the five best players on the floor or having an offense that has interchangeable parts. Guys will not have to do specific things, but can fill in spots on the floor as the team enters its offense.
Having all these options is great of course, but you have to be able to use it the right way and find that balance. Not everyone can play like Golden State. The league is not going to suddenly ditch the center overnight (two centers just went in the top three picks of the Draft).
The reason versatility is valuable is the ability to play different styles when it is called for. The Magic want that capability.
“I think you still have to have a balance,” Hennigan said. “I think you have to be able to play small, play big. You’ve got to be able to equip your team to face different styles. I think the teams that are the best teams in the NBA are the ones that have that type of playing style versatility. I think there will always be certain series int eh Playoffs where you have to play small and other series where you have to play bigger.”
As the Magic pursue the guys to fill out their roster, they will consider whether they have this positional versatility. But they will also look at whether a guy fits their vision and the mentality they want their team to have.
No matter how you slice it, versatility is something the Magic value and they continue to seek out and acquire players that fit.