Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 10: Young, exciting . . . more questions

From Yuval Baneth via e-mail:

"1. assuming the core stays the same(plus a free agent addition maybe), in how many years do you think the magic are going to be a contender? 2. is dedmon a part of the future? how many minutes in your opinion is he going to play next season? 3. how many players on our team have all star potential? does any of them have a superstar potential? 4. who is the current face of the franchise? oladipo or vucevic? thank you very much"

These are some hard questions to answer as they hit the very core of what the Magic are doing and hoping to accomplish this year and the years to come. After 68 wins in three seasons, those questions are not easy to answer at all.

So, let me take these somewhat in turn:

1) To being a Playoff team? I think the Magic are going to compete and be in the Playoff conversation this upcoming year. But I think the Playoffs are still a year away. Progress will be made this year for sure.

So now that the Playoff question is out of the way… being a contender? That is a little harder to say. Some player is going to have to take a leap. A major leap into superstardom even to get us talking about winning championships. Unless Scott Skiles is a coaching genius that we did not even know.

Looking at championship teams, almost without fail they have the best players in the league. Orlando is missing that piece. They crapped out in the Lottery the last three years (Victor Oladipo was the second pick and probably the best player in his draft class, but that was still a weak draft). So until they get that elite player or prove as a team they can transcend that — much like the Hawks did last year or the Pistons did in 2004 — I will not call them true contenders.

I believe 2017 is going to be a true Playoff year. This year they will be in the race late into the season, I think, but will ultimately fall short. Orlando has to make that first step first.

2) Dewayne Dedmon is part of the immediate future. I do not believe he is part of the core. But Orlando has him on a minimum contract (2016 season was just guaranteed for the season for a reported $947,276). That is too good of a value to pass up.

Dedmon is probably not going to be part of the team’s main core unless he makes some significant skill improvements — particularly on the offensive end where he pretty much only makes putbacks. He is young enough — and young enough in the game — to make these improvements. But he is not making anyone expendable.

I would expect him to play about 15 minutes per game at the moment. Until he gets things under control (particularly with his fouling), he is going to be a solid role player off the bench for the Magic making an impact in his own way. Certainly with the potential to turn into more. Just have to see it and see if he can stay on the floor consistently.

3) As far as All-Star potential, I would say three players have All-Star potential for this upcoming season. Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic could make the All-Star team with strong individual seasons and team success heading toward the All-Star Break.

Vucevic nearly made the team last season. If it were not for the team’s poor record, he might have been an All Star.

But as good as Vucevic is, I do not think he transcends or has that kind of crossover appeal. He puts in solid numbers and is a good player but is not a transformational franchise player. Not until he puts in better work on the defensive end.

I think Oladipo and Harris are better bets. They do have that swagger about them. They want to be great and they have put in some very big games.

If you ask which player could randomly explode for 50 points, that is probably going to be Tobias Harris. Harris has to become a more consistent playmaker to take that step up to superstardom.

Oladipo has to become a better shooter and more efficient and consistent as a scorer.

This is to say all the players are a long way to go.

4) And finally . . . I think Victor Oladipo is the face of the franchise right now.

Nothing against Tobias Harris, who might become the team’s leading scorer this year as its highest paid player, but Harris’ serious mindedness puts off fans some. No one really sees his personality, just his hard work.

Oladipo has personality and some more of that off-court demeanor that connects better with fans. He has been put at the forefront of the Magic’s marketing efforts. As he should be at this point.

Him, Harris and Vucevic are the three guys who are the keys to the franchise moving forward (right now). Of those three, Oladipo is the most easily marketed and so we will see him out front more. But each share that burden on the court to deliver.

Next: Small Forward or Power Forward?