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2017 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: C.J. Wilcox

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 31, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox (30) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Randy Foye (6) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 31, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox (30) drives to the basket in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Randy Foye (6) during the second quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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C.J. Wilcox, Los Angeles Clippers, Shabazz Muhammad, Minnesota Timberwolves
Mar 30, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard C.J. Wilcox (30) shoots in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves forward Shabazz Muhammad (15) at Target Center. The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 99-79. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

What Could Go Wrong

The plain fact with C.J. Wilcox is that he has not played much NBA basketball. That is just 44 games in two seasons and 268 total minutes. That is not a lot of NBA basketball.

Like so much with young players, nobody knows if he can make it in the NBA. Clearly he is good enough to stay on the roster and has potential. Nobody can fault him for not beating out J.J. Redick and Jamal Crawford in Los Angeles.

Still, why did he not force his way into the rotation somehow? In two years, why did he not get a little bit more a tryout in game situations or an opportunity?

Those are hard questions to answer. Likely impossible questions to answer. Possibly unfair questions even to ask considering who the Clippers are and their needs. They were not ready to trust an unproven rookie.

But in any fashion? Not even to have more than a few random games playing meaningful minutes?

These are real questions. If Wilcox were good enough, he would have found more playing time.

Maybe he needed a new environment. He certainly needed opportunity. That is not something he has had yet in his career. Wilcox gets something of a blank slate. The Magic need shooters to spread the floor and that is what Wilcox does.

But he just has not done it in the NBA yet.