The Orlando Magic parted ways with a good one in Tobias Harris, and if free agency goes awry the trade was a step backward, or even just sideways.
In some senses, trading Tobias Harris seemed like a necessary risk. He had proven himself to a be a crafty combo forward, and was the Orlando Magic’s best isolation scorer. Harris had stepped up on the glass, averaging seven boards per game while posting 13 points per game this season.
But general manager Rob Hennigan wanted more from the 3-spot, and he decided the Magic would be better off cutting cap room to wind up for a big splash in free agency this summer. The move was somewhat perplexing given Orlando had just committed to Harris last summer with a hefty four-year, $62-million contract that seemed to indicate the Magic would work on developing Harris into his prime NBA seasons.
Instead, those prime seasons will likely be spent in a Detroit Pistons uniform — he scored 18 points and grabbed four rebounds on 7-for-14 shooting in Wednesday’s 118-102 throttling of the Magic. And unless the Magic are successful in signing a free agent this summer, it will have to solve some issues at the forward spot. There are guys that could capably replace Harris, but it has to be asked whether any of them are really an upgrade.
Will this foray into free agency actually work, or did the Magic give up on a 23-year-old forward they know and got nothing in return?
If the Magic signed Chandler Parsons, would that be a step forward or merely a lateral move that ultimately does little toward lifting the Magic up the standings?
Parsons has already been linked to Orlando, and to be sure he brings some things to the table that Harris does not. But it is highly questionable as to whether he is really a better player. And he will likely be coming off meniscus surgery that seems certain to end his season at this point.
The same principle applies across the board, whether the Magic sign a forward this summer or not. If the Magic merely dealt Harris to go sign a player of equivalent talent, it was a pointless risk for the most part. But at the time he was dealt, the move seemed to be a preparation for moving this team quicker in the right direction.
The fan base has begun to get restless, and the Magic have now (likely) missed the playoffs for four consecutive losing seasons. The only other time this has happened is in the franchise’s first four years in the NBA. And that featured a season with a .500 record where the team tied the Indiana Pacers for the final Playoff spot and lost out on a tiebreaker.
So perhaps the comparison really runs short: The Magic have been more futile in this rebuild than at any other point in franchise history.
And now the future of the franchise hinges on a successful summer in free agency. It is not a proposition the Magic have often taken in the past. Both NBA Finals appearances were driven largely by the Lottery gift of a franchise center.
Hennigan has done well in the drafts by most measures, but Orlando’s unlucky drafting positions have denied the Magic a clear franchise player. Given that Orlando is unlikely to have a high pick this year, the draft can be all but definitively ruled out as a means of landing that franchise talent.
The Magic have one last recourse, and that is free agency.
Harris is not a franchise player. He is a solid combo forward capable of scoring at a high clip. He may never make an All-Star team. It would be contingent on him making several improvements, and he appears to have likely more or less peaked as a player.
The Magic simply wanted more. Or, at least, wanted to free up other players to create without Harris in the way demanding the ball too.
It appears Hennigan feels the team can obtain its defining talent in free agency with at least one max slot available thanks to expiring contracts and the rising salary cap. There is absolutely no guarantee, but what is known is that it is the only avenue left by which the team can get its defining and franchise-changing talent.
Will it happen? There is no way to know.
The Magic have typically not been a hotbed for free agents, but the team has had some successes, most notably Tracy McGrady.
Can the Magic find its “next McGrady,” or will the Harris move have been mostly in vain?
Next: A farewell to Tobias Harris
Your guess is as good as mine.