This may be the most important offseason in Orlando Magic history. The first decision for the team is figuring out who to keep from this class of free agency.
The Orlando Magic will be going into this offseason with enough cap space to sign one pretty good player or a couple of average players — roughly $13-16 million. At the moment, the team is not considered a free agent destination. With the past five seasons of losing fresh in everyone’s mind, the Magic have to turn the perception around in order to bring in top tier Free Agents.
With Jeff Weltman and John Hammond taking over in the front office, it is just a matter of time before Orlando is at the top of the list for free agent visits. But this season the Magic are likely still at the bottom of the list.
For that reason, the Magic should look into re-signing their current free agents to fill out the roster. They may not have the flexibility to do much else.
The team will be bringing back its entire starting five assuming no trades are made. The team started to make some strides at the end of the year and can potentially make a leap next season.
Because of the low amount of available cap space, any free agent signings this summer will most likely be added depth to the bench. Who better to fill out the bench than your current bench?
The Magic have three players who will be free agents this summer and one who has a manageable cap hit if released. Let’s take a look at whether the Magic should stick with familiar faces and keep their free agents or look elsewhere to fill out the roster.
Jeff Green
To Re-Sign
Jeff Green is a multi-position player who is sought after in today’s NBA. His length and ability to switch on defense are valuable when facing teams with stretch power forwards.
On the offensive end, Green has the ability to create his own shot and take over at times. When aggressive and focused Green can get baskets from all over the court.
At this point in his career, Green is not opposed to coming off the bench which is a positive for a young developing team.
Not to Re-sign
Jeff Green through his entire career has been wildly inconsistent. Though he is athletic and has the tools to be a great defender, he more often plays below average on that end.
With his inconsistency on defense also comes the inconsistency on offense. Green shot career lows last season in field goal percentage — 39 percent — and 3-point percentage — 27 percent. This occurred on a Magic team with no real go-to scorer.
The opportunity for Green to up his stock definitely presented itself while on this team and he could not capitalize.
Verdict
Jeff Green has always had the word “potential” attached to him. At times he shows what he is capable of and is a great weapon off the bench. The issue is knowing which Jeff Green you will get on a nightly basis.
At this point in his career, Green should not expect to be paid a ton of money. Orlando did him a favor last season by signing him to such a big one-year contract.
With the Magic having little room for error and even less cap space, they might have enough money to convince Green to stick around. But is he worth it?
With there being a number of versatile free agents available, the risk of Green continuing to decline is too great. The Magic should only consider Green as their last resort. And even then, they should renounce whatever early Bird Rights they might have to him to avoid having his cap hold clog their books and eat up their available room.
Jodie Meeks
To Re-Sign
During the Magic’s current rebuild there has been one constant feature lacking from the roster: Shooting.
If there is one thing Jodie Meeks can do, it is shoot. A streaky shooter who can take over a game if he heats up, Meeks commands attention from opposing defenses.
During his small sample size of appearances this year for the Magic, Meeks obviously had an impact. In games where Meeks made four or more shots from 3-point range, the Magic won.
Not coincidentally, Elfrid Payton also had great games when Meeks played well. The ability to knock down shots is something the Magic need. He helps space the floor for Elfrid Payton to penetrate and create for Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic.
Not to Re-Sign
Jodie Meeks’ health should be a major concern for the Magic.
The team took a risk when trading for him after he missed almost the entire 2016 season with a broken foot. The team discovered shortly after acquiring him that it had not healed properly and he would need surgery to repair it.
Meeks only appeared in 36 games this season, missing the first 19 with that foot injury.
After finally returning to the court in December, Meeks suffered another injury — breaking his finger while reaching in for a steal — in mid-January to keep him out another 26 games.
Using a roster spot on a player who may at best participate in half the games is not a good investment. With the Magic having four draft picks this year, it would be more beneficial to sign all four rookies and let them develop.
Verdict
While Meeks is a knockdown shooter when healthy, the likeliness he will be available makes him a little risky. The Magic have to ensure his health before taking the risk. Still, the chance for a bargain is there.
Because of his injuries, Meeks should not have a high price tag. He finished out the season strong which is a positive for him and the Magic. Witinjuryre concerns aside, the Magic should definitely re-sign Meeks, but certainly for less than the $7.5 million the team paid him last year.
Some of Orlando’s best games this season came as a result of Meeks spreading the floor. Shooting is a premium in the NBA and Meeks can provide that for the Magic.
Damjan Rudez
To Re-Sign
With so much depth at power forward, Damjan Rudez played limited minutes this season.
A positive in Rudez’s favor is his relationship with coach Frank Vogel. Rudez had a previous stint playing under Vogel with the Indiana Pacers, so he is familiar with Vogel’s system.
Rudez has the ability to spread the floor with his shooting from deep as a stretch-4 and is not shy about pulling the trigger. With the NBA moving more toward small ball, at 6-foot-10, Rudez would be great as a small-ball center to stretch the floor.
Not to Re-sign
The one thing Rudez was brought in to do this year was to make shots from deep. The opportunities were limited. But when they did present themselves, Rudez did not take advantage.
This could be blamed on not finding a rhythm with lineups being tweaked sporadically throughout the season. Either way, he did not do his job well.
From the outset, Rudez was only going to play spot minutes if someone were to get injured, so not bringing him back will not be a difficult decision.
Verdict
While Rudez was buried on the bench behind better power forwards, I think the Magic know enough about his game. At best, he can give a breath in some garbage time minutes or if there is an injury.
He was not seen as a critical piece to the Magic’s success or future plans. The decision is easy with this one, Rudez most likely will be re-signed.
C.J. Watson
To Re-Sign
C.J. Watson is a decent option as a backup point guard. For his role as the third point guard behind Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin, he did well. Watson was even asked to start a few games when Vogel tinkered with the lineups.
Watson gave the Magic good defense at the point guard spot and made few mistakes. Of all the Magic players appearing in at least 60 games, Watson had the fewest turnovers (47). What you want from your veteran backup is to not lose the game, Watson will do just that.
What you want from your veteran backup is to not lose the game, Watson will do just that.
Not to Re-Sign
The past two years in Orlando have been some of the worst of C.J. Watson’s career. His numbers all around are steadily declining as he gets older. The Magic already have Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin under contract, so bringing Watson back is not a necessity.
Like Rudez, Watson would only be expected to contribute in garbage time or in the case of an injury. With the team looking to rebuild to some extent under a new front office, bringing in a younger third point guard might be more beneficial to the Magic.
Certainly, it makes sense to free up some cash with Watson being owed $5 million next season.
Verdict
Watson is not technically a free agent this offseason. The team can release Watson before his contract becomes fully guaranteed on July 10 and only take a cap hit of $1 million. The little extra gained from letting go of Watson could be valuable in free agency to sign a more productive player to be part of the teams future.
With the various point guards available through the draft and free agency, I cannot imagine a scenario that the Magic hold on to C.J. Watson. They will either trade him or release him before that July 10 deadline. They may have to if they want to be active in free agency.
Conclusion
With so little cap space available for the Magic, the options in free agency will be few.
The Magic already have some decent pieces to build around and are hoping to hit big in this year’s draft. The new front office team is expected to improve this roster greatly in the next couple of years and, hopefully, make Orlando an attractive free agent destination.
That will not happen this offseason.
The Magic will need to offer manageable contracts to Jodie Meeks and possibly Jeff Green to give them serviceable players to come off the bench while the younger core takes a step forward.
With Vogel at the helm for his second year, the team will finally have some consistency in the voice and message being told to them. That factor alone should increase the chemistry and win total for the Magic.
Without max contract money, the Magic will be forced to sign lower-level players to fill in the roster.
Instead of that, the Magic should at least consider bringing back a couple of guys who know the system and are comfortable coming off the bench. Jodie Meeks and Jeff Green should come with low price tags. With a good contract given to them, Meeks and Green can become trade chips at the deadline.
Next: Orlando Magic have been quiet . . . but busy
Otherwise, the Magic are likely to see these players walk and fill their roster spots with rookies taken in the Draft or other players they acquire this offseason.