Once again the Orlando Magic are hoping a veteran role player can impart leadership and winning experience to the team. Can Shelvin Mack deliver?
Shelvin Mack likely was not on the NBA radars until 2010. The 6-foot-3 guard did not have the great physical profile or skills the NBA often looks for in a point guard. It was not even something major colleges looked for as he ended up with the Butler Bulldogs. The hometown Kentucky Wildcats and West Virginia Mountaineers were the only two major conference schools to recruit him according to 247Sports.
It is amazing what winning can do. Getting put in that spotlight and being associated with one of the greatest NCAA Tournament runs can do wonders for a player’s reputation. And then he and Butler did it again the following year.
Mack, as the point guard, became an intriguing prospect as a combo guard.
His road through the NBA has been bumpy. The Washington Wizards made him the 34th pick in the Draft. But he struggled to stick. In fact, Mack has played for five different teams in his six years in the league.
But his success — or his team’s success — is clear too. Mack has been to the Playoffs in four of his six years. Most recently with the Utah Jazz last year where he averaged 7.8 points per game, 2.8 assists per game and a 49.5 percent effective field goal percentage.
Mack’s numbers may never jump off the page, but he has always been solid. And he has always won.
Which makes his decision to join the Orlando Magic all the more puzzling in some respects. Sure, the $6 million base salary the Magic are reported to be paying Mack for this season (and possibly next season) is the highest per year salary of his career. That certainly helps.
But Mack also sees an opportunity and a challenge.
As he hit the Orlando media circuit this week, that theme began to emerge. And Mack positioned himself as someone who could be the veteran, impact leader the Magic have missed since the team traded Arron Afflalo and waived Jameer Nelson.
"“I think I bring a winning attitude,” Mack told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’ve won pretty much at every stage of my career besides winning a championship. I’ve been in those games.“I know how to get things done. I’ve sacrificed. Also, my leadership qualities, I think I do a great job of communicating what each and everybody on the team, from the star player to the 15th man to the D-League guys, [needs to do]. I know how to work with those guys to get the best out of them.”"
Whether a backup point guard can truly build a report as a leader and make a significant difference for the team is another question entirely.
Orlando has tried to find veteran leaders before and bring them off the bench — from Channing Frye to Jeff Green to D.J. Augustin to Serge Ibaka. None of it mattered in the end. Orlando has topped off at 35 wins and is forced now to reset and find new answers with new front office leadership.
Mack is not a game-changing guard. He is probably not even a starter, merely replacing D.J. Augustin as the backup point guard and maybe playing some shooting guard.
But the idea remains. The Magic need someone who has won in the league and someone who can show their young players how to reach that level. This year’s answer to that question is Shelvin Mack.
"“I can bring a winning attitude,” Mack told John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com. “The past four seasons I’ve been on winning teams. I’ve played with all-stars and max (contract) players and I’ve been able to mix in with all kinds of players. I’m a leader and I feel like I can get the best out of guys. I can be one of those guys who can talk to (Magic center Nikola) Vucevic and get him to do something that we need him to do.“I feel like I know how to communicate with every guy on the team, and on playoff teams, you need a guy like that. I can communicate with the guys not playing and keep them involved and keep everybody happy. So I take a lot of pride in being a winner and a team-first guy.”"
Mack told OrlandoMagic.com he likes the potential in the team’s roster. He has seen young teams rise up and become more than their individual talents. He was a member of the 60-win Atlanta Hawks team, playing behind Jeff Teague as Dennis Schroder continued to develop behind and with him.
That is a trait the Magic certainly hope he can impart to this Magic team.
Orlando still has plenty of potential. There is a conceivable scenario where Aaron Gordon takes a leap, Terrence Ross finally reaches consistency and Evan Fournier gets settled back into a more familiar and stronger supporting role.
With the Eastern Conference seemingly flailing and falling, Mack sees the Magic as capable of making the Playoffs. He said the team would have to follow the path of his Hawks teams who were a group of castoffs and made the Playoffs and started a nice run, culminating in that 60-win year.
Mack is mostly going to have to do that through his intangibles.
His stats, as noted before, do not pop off the page. Many consider Mack a solid defender, but the defensive metrics do not support this. His -0.1 defensive box plus-minus was the best of his career and aided clearly by Rudy Gobert and the Jazz’s stellar defense. He also posted a career-high 1.5 defensive win shares last year, but again the Jazz helped with that.
On top of all this, Mack has never been a strong 3-point shooter. He is a career 32.1 percent 3-point shooter, and he made just 30.8 percent of his 3-pointers last year. With Orlando already lacking 3-point shooters, Mack is not going to alleviate the team’s poor spacing.
The fit on the floor will be a question mark until the team actually gets on the floor together. So too will Mack’s impact off the floor.
Orlando continues to ask the question where can it find veteran leadership. Can it come from a player off the bench not playing in crunch time or playing critical minutes? Can leadership truly come from a player off the bench?
"“Whenever you have a young group of guys who are committed to playing together and working hard as a team, the sky is the limit,” Mack told Scott Anez on ESPN Orlando earlier this week. “That’s the biggest thing just come in and work hard together and play each and every game as if something is on the line. Being young and I feel like I have the leadership to get the best out of everybody each and every night, it gives us the chance to get some wins and make the Playoffs.”"
Mack will play next season. He will play a crucial role. He will be an example off the bench and someone who can provide some stability to a bench unit that struggled mightily all last season.
It feels like Orlando has tried to add a player like Mack before. And those attempts to bring leadership failed in some way. They certainly did not produce the results the Magic hoped for.
The hope is that some of Mack’s experience and solid play will rub off on his teammates. That is part of what the Magic hope. They also hope he will contribute meaningfully to the team overall.
Next: Orlando Magic see hope in shift to smaller lineups
And maybe this time it will work.