The Rob Hennigan era left the Orlando Magic’s new front office without much to work with. But Jeff Weltman managed to speak volumes about the team’s direction with few resources.
After a multi-year rebuild effort that seemed to involve more steps back than it did steps forward, getting the Orlando Magic back on track will not be an easy task. But in just their first offseason, Jeff Weltman has shown they do not intend to repeat the previous administration’s mistakes.
The team is not all that different, but it feels refreshed – like there is finally an emerging identity and a direction.
The Magic did not have much money to throw at free agents this summer, with most of the team’s salary cap tied into Bismack Biyombo, Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and D.J. Augustin. Weltman also shelved two of the team’s four 2017 draft picks for later use by trading them for future picks.
All indications were that it would be a quiet summer and a quiet 2018 campaign.
Perhaps because of the surprisingly team-friendly free agent market, the new brass did more than some might have expected. Jonathan Isaac, Jonathon Simmons, Shelvin Mack, Marreese Speights, Khem Birch, Wesley Iwundu and Arron Afflalo are all coming aboard on small, low-risk deals, and they will offer both immediate on-court benefits and long-term cap flexibility.
The additions of Jonathon Simmons, Wesley Iwundu, and Jonathan Isaac gave us a sneak peek into the principles with which the new brass wants to build the team. Just like the Milwaukee Bucks, a previous employer of both general manager John Hammond and Jeff Weltman, the Magic will be built on athleticism, versatility and defense.
Aaron Gordon fits that mold. And one could argue Terrance Ross and Khem Birch do as well.
This 2018 team is flawed. But there is a blueprint falling into place. And it is a blueprint for a team built to succeed in the modern NBA. The Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder, Milwaukee Bucks and the emerging Boston Celtics are just a few of the teams benefitting from similar roster construction principles.
Those teams have multiple players who can guard more than two positions. The Warriors have Klay Thompson, Kevin Durant and Draymond Green. The Thunder had Kevin Durant, and now have Andre Roberson, Patrick Patterson and Steven Adams. The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thon Maker and Khris Middleton. The Celtics have Gordon Hayward, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Semi Ojeleye and more.
Their success is no coincidence, as they can roll out a multitude of effective defensive schemes, can attack mismatches, can get up and down the court quickly and can throw traditional teams and players for a loop.
The other common thread with those teams is they have superstar, if not Hall of Fame, level talent. Even if the Magic have versatile players, they do not have anyone likely to register in next year’s All-Star conversation. They clearly need to take more steps in terms of roster construction and development.
That is where flexibility comes in.
Flexibility is crucial for an organization trying to build itself back up, and improving the team’s depth makes them more flexible when entering the trade market to unload bad contracts.
Signing Shelvin Mack, Marreese Speights, Arron Afflalo, Jonathon Simmons and Khem Birch, while certainly not blockbuster moves, make the onerous contracts of Bismack Biyombo, Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and D.J. Augustin far more expendable. Finding a trade for any of those four will still be difficult, but now they have ready-made replacements on the team. The team can move their money elsewhere without having to worry about getting someone at their position(s) back in return.
Make no mistake, going from one of those four to one of the new bench additions is probably a downgrade. For example, Vucevic is a better player than Speights. But Speights is cheaper and his 3-point shooting arguably benefits this team more than does Vucevic’s inefficient post-ups. So if Vucevic is traded, replacing him with Speights in the rotation would not be the end of the world. Especially with Biyombo in place already.
None of those acquired players are good enough to forecast as permanent replacements, which is why signing them to short contracts was imperative. The Magic have set themselves up to be pretty good right now but to really cash in later.
Importantly, the team’s current contracts point to one year: summer 2020. There are no players on the roster guaranteed to be on the team that summer.
Evan Fournier has a player option, Jonathan Isaac has a team option (that will likely be picked up), and Aaron Gordon and/or Elfrid Payton could get extended this year to reach that year. But the Magic will have as much flexibility as they want that offseason.
This plan gives the organization some options.
Then they can use the next couple seasons to build, make low-risk moves and evaluate the roster, figuring out who they want long-term and what they need to supplement their talents. Then they can use their ample cap space to make a big splash on a big name, add good role players around their core talent or if they strike out, punt on 2020 free agency and hold onto that space for another season.
If the team’s young players look like a good core to build around, they can do exactly that. If they are not quite panning out, they can also use that space to take on bad contracts in exchange for assets to revamp that core. Or just throw some money at a young restricted free agent.
Orlando Magic
Structuring their contracts with one specific offseason in mind gives the organization a clear direction with a myriad of contingencies.
There is a chance there will not be any sensible trades available. Even in that case, these signings still hold value.
Afflalo and Speights will provide much-needed floor spacing while Mack, Simmons and Birch provide defense. And even if they fail to do what the team signed them to do, the Magic can simply move on from their team-friendly contracts.
These signings were all clearly smart and measured. They show that Weltman is in for both the long haul and the short term. They will help the team immediately but also reflect a larger plan.
There is not significant or long-term money tied into any of this summer’s signings. Disappointing performances from any of the team’s new additions will not hamstring their cap space. They can simply move on next summer, or the summer after that.
This summer indicated that prudence, deliberation and clear objectives will guide the new front office’s tenure with the Magic.
They also indicated athleticism, defense, length and hustle will be the hallmarks of the teams they build. The 2018 Magic are still flawed. But they have the early makings of a team built for the modern NBA.
Next: Time is right for Khem Birch to return to NBA
The Hennigan era is in the past. Now it is time to see where this new blueprint can take the Magic.