Orlando Magic Power Rankings Roundup: Back to the start
Gerald Bourguet, Hoops Habit
team. 41. . (50-9). Previous: . Golden State Warriors. 1
Previous: . Portland Trail Blazers. 22. team. 34. . (24-34)
38. . (22-38). Previous: . Orlando Magic. 23. team
"Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but Aaron Gordon is a much better player when he’s actually playing at his true position of power forward. The Serge Ibaka trade was all about mitigating the Orlando Magic’s impending losses, and was still a defeat in the larger context of how this team got to this point with such poor asset management."
27. . (24-36). Previous: . New York Knicks. 24. team
Undoubtedly, there are still people reeling over the Serge Ibaka trade. And in the bigger picture, they are absolutely right. Terrence Ross and a first round pick likely to end up in the mid-20s in this year’s draft is not worth Victor Oladipo, Domantas Sabonis and Ersan Ilyasova (who has surprisingly had a good year despite getting passed around like he was Luke Ridnour this season).
In the short term, it was absolutely necessary. Orlando had to cut its losses with Ibaka or else risk losing him and getting nothing in return in this transitive property trade.
The reality may very well be the Magic turned out OK getting Terrence Ross.
Ross is still relatively young and on the same progression path as most of the players considered in Orlando’s amalgamation of a core. And he has clearly added a boost of athleticism and ability to attack off the dribble. Not to mention teams have to respect his shot.
Ross’ production will likely land somewhere in the middle of his 4-for-17 performance Thursday against the Portland Trail Blazers and his 10-for-15 performance against the Atlanta Hawks. Even with the poor shooting numbers in his debut, it is easy to see he can make a positive impact for the team.
Next: Speed beats size in today's NBA
Overall, this week it felt like Orlando was moving in a more positive direction. Or at least things feel much more optimistic.