Serge Ibaka, Bismack Biyombo, Frank Vogel cement Orlando Magic’s identity

The Orlando Magic went out to transform their team and cement their identity. They did so in hiring Frank Vogel and acquiring Serge Ibaka.

Rob Hennigan has taken the podium at Amway Center seemingly countless times (maybe not enough times) throughout the past four years. Hennigan is particularly good at staying on message — giving the media a sound bite that sounds illuminating but really only reveals a little bit about his team’s plans.

One message though remained clear as the Orlando Magic tried to dig themselves out of the Dwight Howard fiasco — they were going to build a team from the ground up with certain principles in mind.

Hennigan wanted an athletic team. He wanted a team that would be hard working. He wanted a team with versatility to play any style. And, most importantly, he wanted a team built on defense.

His draft picks have all come into the league with defensive reputations, athleticism and potential. This would be the bedrock of his rebuild.

That has not gone according to plan, of course. The Magic have slowly climbed on the defensive rating ranks to . . . 17th in the league. That is not exactly a defensive juggernaut.

And after four long years, the Magic made a change. A clear and distinct change to make the defense better.

It started with hiring Frank Vogel as the team’s new head coach (following the resignation of another defensive-minded coach in Scott Skiles). It continued with acquiring Serge Ibaka. And then the signing of Bismack Biyombo.

The Magic are set up to have one of the best defenses in the league just based on that front line’s potential. They have cemented their identity this offseason.

“Talent doesn’t guarantee you are going to be a good defensive team,” Vogel said. “We’ve got to make sure everyone is fully committed, our coaching staff is doing a good job preparing these guys on a night-in, night-out basis and we have to make sure we have guys that not only have the ability, but care about that end of the floor. It’s my top priority to make sure this happens with our team. We have the personnel to get the job done. So it is going to be about commitment.”

Vogel has left a trail of defensive destruction in his wake throughout his coaching career. The Pacers finished no lower than ninth in defensive rating for any full season Vogel coached and had two seasons with the best defense by defensive rating in the league.

He certainly developed a reputation as a defensive coach.

The first major move made for Vogel was to acquire three-time NBA All-Defensive First Team player Serge Ibaka. The power forward unicorn, as it were, was going to be the complement to Nikola Vucevic and establish that elite defense.

Frank Vogel’s eyes seemed to light up when he talked about the potential of having Ibaka to clean up mistakes. From the first moment they met, Ibaka’s commitment to defense impressed Vogel. He could be the leader for the team’s defense.

“I love to play defense,” Serge Ibaka said at his introductory press conference. “It is one of the things when I get on the court is to start my game on defense. A lot of people will be telling me last year my blocks go down. A lot of people don’t understand, is I am doing more than blocking shots. I can switch 1 to 5. I can play all those positions. Defense is why I’m here. Today I am here with you guys because of defense.”

That versatility is going to become the bedrock for the Magic’s defense. Having a player who can get out on the perimeter on pick and rolls and recover to protect the rim is a luxury the Magic have not had since Dwight Howard was patrolling the paint.

It is one of the foundations for Hennigan’s rebuilding plan. It is something they have sought in players throughout the four-year odyssey.

Then the Magic went out and added Bismack Biyombo. That doubled down on the rim protection and more clearly defined the Magic’s identity.

After four years bringing in players that were supposed to fit a certain play style, the Magic finally forced it. They made their identity all about defense.

“It got me really excited when coach talked a lot about defense, how good he wanted the team to be defensively,” Biyombo said at his introductory press conference. “I think one of the best moments is when I tell the coach I’m going to be Orlando Magic, he got really excited. But in the end he said, ‘We’re going to kick some butt.’ We got something exciting here. I’m really excited to play alongside Serge. We’re going to establish an identity for ourself. I’m really excited about it because it’s going to make a different for us. I look forward to it.”

That excitement certainly is not going to translate to TV. Defensive teams do not sell to national audiences, even though they tend to win. Offenses draw eyeballs for sure.

Everyone at a very early stage in the offseason is buying into what this team can do on the defensive end.

D.J. Augustin in his introduction noted his excitement for this team’s defensive potential. He said offense is generated from defense and this team has the chance to be a very good defensive team with the players they added.

The veteran players the Magic added know how important defense is going to be to the their success this season.

The ideal team in today’s NBA, according to Vogel, has the versatility Hennigan has always sought. It has the ability to play strong defense against both big team and small teams. Ibaka at power forward and even Biyombo coming off the bench at center will give the Magic the change to play up and down to their opponents.

Versatility, and defensive versatility especially, were always going to be hallmarks for the Magic. Aaron Gordon embodied that on the perimeter. Ibaka and Biyombo can embody that in the post. And many of the other players on the team have the ability to scale up and down accordingly.

The core for this team moving forward will be defense though. It will be all about defense. The Magic’s identity is finally set. Their success or failure depends on whether this identity sets in and produces.

And they have a group of players now who not only excel on that end, but seem to relish the opportunity on that end.

“To me, I love defense because in the game some people enjoy to assist the ball, it is something they like, some people like to score,” Ibaka said. “To me, it’s the same difference. I thank god with my hard work I can play both ends of the floor. But it started with defense. I had the opportunity to be in the league for seven years because of defense.”

“And because he’s really good at it,” Frank Vogel added.

Next: Blueprint for Bismack Biyombo found in Steven Adams

The Magic hope so too as they push in for 2017.