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Orlando Magic sought balance, leadership in Tobias Harris trade

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jan 21, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings (7) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Toney Douglas (16) during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2016; New Orleans, LA, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings (7) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Toney Douglas (16) during the second quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic traded Tobias Harris in a deal that seems to have a focus restoring balance to the starting and bench units and finding some veteran poise

Scott Skiles has trotted out a common refrain as he has changed starting lineups on multiple occasions this year. The team needed to find better balance between its starting lineup and its bench.

The Orlando Magic would get off to good starts and see their bench fall apart or the starters would struggle and the team would have to play out of a deficit to get back into the game.

When Skiles initially moved Victor Oladipo to the bench, he said he wanted to get Oladipo going out of his early season slump by putting him in a lineup where he would have the ball in his hands more often. The same began to be said when Evan Fournier retook his starting spot.

With the Magic trading Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova, the Magic once again decided to shuffle their lineup, hoping to bring some scoring punch to the bench and more clearly define roles within the team.

“We felt like we needed to shuffle the deck a little bit,” Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said during a press conference Tuesday. “We needed to shake things up. Not a ton. The roster needed to be balanced in certain ways. I don’t think it has been a secret we were looking for more veteran stability on the roster. I think this move, while not an easy decision, was a decision that was necessary to bring that added experience and that added depth to hopefully make a playoff push the rest of the season.”

Jennings and Ilyasova certainly add some depth and experience to the roster.

Jennings is in his sixth year in the league and has proven himself as a capable scorer as well as a decent point guard running a team. He got his start in Milwaukee under Scott Skiles and was instrumental in that team breaking through and making the Playoffs.

He is more than capable of putting a lot of points on the board, as he did against Orlando earlier this year when he scored 17 points on 5-for-9 shooting. Jennings has not shot the ball particularly well this year — 37.3 percent but can score in bunches and make 3-pointers.

Those are all skills the Magic need and complement a roster with a lot of drivers in the backcourt in Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton.

Ersan Ilyasova provides that skill too. He has played in eight years in the NBA dating back to 2007 and has made his name as a 3-point marksman and one of the original stretch-4s. Ilyasova is making 36.3 percent of his 3-pointers this year and averaging 11.3 points per game as the Pistons’ starting forward.

Both are capable of scoring when given the space and Jennings specifically can create his own shot.

Whether one starts or both come off the bench, it certainly would appear to give the Magic some talented players who can share their experience having been through playoff battles. They would appear to complement parts of the roster.

It is still unclear how they will fit and whether this deal on its own would solve the Magic’s late-game issues or bring that balance. In the organization’s estimation it will.

“I think we’re right in striking distance for a playoff spot,” Hennigan said. “Our team, I feel like, has played well the last few games. We have to continue to sustain that momentum and add to that momentum. Absolutely, the goal is to make the playoffs and the goal is to win which is what we’re trying to do.”

The Magic have known it would seem for a while the team needed to make some type of move. It is not just a “shuffling of the deck” as Hennigan put it initially but something necessary to fix a diagnosable — but not easily solvable — problem.

The organization could see very clearly in the way the team played and has lost some of these games it needed some of the stability and playmaking a Jennings could bring.

Brandon Jennings, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Luke Ridnour
Nov 17, 2014; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Brandon Jennings (7) gets defended by Orlando Magic guard Luke Ridnour (13) during the fourth quarter at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Magic beat the Pistons 107-93. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Hennigan said coach Scott Skiles’ familiarity — along with Adrian Griffin‘s familiarity as an assistant coach on those teams — with the players coming in was certainly a factor in acquiring these specific players. They should be able to swoop in and make an immediate impact.

The hope is they can stabilize things for this team.

While the deal has been characterized as a salary dump, and does give the Magic that flexibility, the team still intends to compete for a Playoff spot. A spot they are still only 3.5 games out of.

None of the Magic’s goals change even with the trade of a major player. The intention is still to win. That expectation and that goal remain.

Next: Dealing Tobias Harris was a necessary risk

“We’re trying to win,” Hennigan said. “Losing is unacceptable. It’s unacceptable to the organization. It’s unacceptable to me, the coaches and the players. We’re serious about winning.”