The Orlando Magic have gotten some good grades for their offseason. A lot of that has fallen on the expectation Scott Skiles will help them turn the corner.
The final offseason grades are trickling in as the players prepare to gather for media day next week (next Friday!!!) and training camp the day after. The season is becoming a very real date on the calendar.
All the questions that every team has about their roster will soon be answered on the court. It is time, in other words, to get those last-minute prognostications in.
When it comes to the Magic, as we have reviewed numerous times, it was a summer designed for growth. There were not a lot of roster changes. The Magic almost doubled down on their core by locking up Tobias Harris for four more years and by beginning the extension they gave Nikola Vucevic.
That is not saying much for the prospects of a 25-win team that largely disappointed.
There was one major change. And that major change has made many view the Magic’s overall summer to be a positive one, with some even willing to call the Magic a dark horse for a Playoff spot.
That change was of course Scott Skiles. And seemingly on the strength of that hire, Rob Mahoney is willing to give the Magic a “B-” grade for the summer.
"In all, Skiles arrival makes this a formative off-season for the Magic — even if many of their roster modifications were subtle. The one point of confusion in it all is why Orlando felt compelled go give away decent players; important as depth chart clarity may be, was it really necessary to trade away Maurice Harkless to Portland for nothing and facilitate Kyle O’Quinn’s exit to New York?"
The Magic have been somewhat of a confusing mess for a while. There seemed to be a lot of duplicating talent and position versatility without any clear direction. There were a lot of columns this summer saying something to the effect of, “I like the players on this team, but I do not know how they fit.”
That will be Skiles’ job as much as anything. Trying to make this team fit together.
Mahoney himself is a bit bullish on the Hezonja/Skiles relationship working out with Hezonja’s predilection toward offense and his now-famed confidence/swagger.
He left most of his criticism to letting Maurice Harkless and Kyle O’Quinn go for nothing. Considering how little they were playing for the Magic at the end of last season, that may not be as big a loss as some outside Orlando would consider. Really their departures for virtually nothing is something of an indictment of the Magic’s development of them and how the previous coaching staff failed to unlock their potential or use them in any way.
Those might be little quibbles in the long run of things when it comes to the Magic and their development.
A lot of people are generally lukewarm on the Skiles hire. They believe that it is exactly what the Magic needed to do, but are unsure if he will be able to make sense of this team.
The Magic’s rebuild and the 2016 season is completely reliant on the Skiles relationship and where he can push this team and how far forward he can push this team.
So the jury will be out as we are a week away from training camp.
Next: Assessing Value on the Orlando Magic Roster: Introduction and Reserve Players