The Difference in Depth for the 2018 Orlando Magic

Last year leadership lauded the Orlando Magic’s depth. As it turns out that idea was not true. It now appears the new Magic brain trust has actually built the long-promised depth.

What a difference a year makes.

Last offseason observers lauded the Orlando Magic for their depth after the additions of Jeff Green, Bismack Biyombo, Jodie Meeks, and D.J. Augustin.

As it turns out none of those players, sans Meeks lived up to their billing as good bench players. Each of these players had their issues — D.J. Augustin could not run an offense, Jeff Green was a black hole who could not nail down basic defensive assignments, Jodie Meeks could not stay healthy and Bismack Biyombo was not capable of playing well without any offensive talent around him.

Now include the disastrous season Mario Hezonja had and C.J. Watson‘s inability to effectively come back from injury and Orlando’s depth was the most glaring issue on the team.

Indeed, according to HoopStats.com, the Magic had the fourth-worst bench by net efficiency in the league.

But what people really do not mention when talking about Orlando’s depth last year, and realistically during the entire Rob Hennigan tenure as general manager, was the lack of end of bench depth. There was nowhere for the team to turn after the starting lineup. And that was largely the case for much of the past five years.

The team never built the right combination of players to support the starters or challenge them effectively in practice.

Hennigan loved to fill the end of the roster with “veteran presence” as opposed to NBA-caliber players. Last year the end of Orlando’s bench included Arinze Onuaku, Damjan Rudez, and C.J. Wilcox. Admittedly Wilcox was a young guy but had not played much in the NBA. Currently, none of those players are signed by an NBA team. Two of them did not even make it through the entire year in Orlando. And realistically only Watson has a chance of making an NBA team this year.

The Magic’s two “young” risks did not pan out. And there was nowhere for the team to turn to give the starters the support they needed. Or even to mix up the rotation when things were not working.

This was not the first time Hennigan lined the end of Orlando’s bench with players who were not NBA caliber.

In 2015, the end of Orlando’s bench included Ben Gordon, Willie Green and Luke Ridnour, all of whom have not had NBA jobs since. In 2014 the end of Orlando’s bench included Solomon Jones, Ronnie Price and Jason Maxiell. Thomas never found another NBA job. Maxiell played one more season with the Charlotte Hornets. And Price has managed to play each year while being one of the least effective players in the NBA.

The only year Orlando did not rely on this “veteran presence” at the end of the bench was in 2016. Unsurprisingly, this was Orlando’s most successful season in the Hennigan era.

Orlando opted to go with young guys such as Kyle O’Quinn, Shabazz Napier and Devyn Marble. While Marble is now playing in Europe, Napier and O’Quinn are still making contributions in the NBA today.

Looking at the current roster Jeff Weltman constructed, and things look a bit different. The team has some depth and some options should one move not work out.

Presumably, the end of Orlando’s bench looks like Khem Birch, D.J. Augustin and either Mario Hezonja or Arron Afflalo. Regardless of who it is, the bench’s makeup is different.

Khem Birch and Mario Hezonja are young guys with plenty of room to improve. Heonzja is only a year removed from being a useful rotation player during a solid rookie year. Khem Birch could potentially fill a Bismack Biyombo-like role if an injury were to occur. Arron Afflalo for all of his faults is still a knockdown shooter, which Orlando desperately needs.

But the one thing these guys have in common is these guys are NBA-caliber players. Each one of these guys probably has at least a few more years left in them in the NBA.

For as bad as Augustin was last year, he likely has another NBA contract in him. Birch and Hezonja may have a lot of years left in them. And if Afflalo continues to shoot 41 percent from deep, he will be in the NBA until he decides he wants to retire.

And that is just the end of the bench. The overhaul is actually pretty significant in total:

Out: C.J. Watson, Patricio Garino, Marcus Georges-Hunt, Jeff Green, Stephen Zimmerman and Jodie Meeks

In: Shelvin Mack, Jonathon Simmons, Jonathan Isaac, Wesley Iwundu, Khem Birch and Marreese Speights.

It is hard not to get excited about the current roster’s depth. The old team had to turn to unproven and non-NBA talents. Now Orlando has talented rookies and NBA veterans with proven skill sets. The contrast is notable.

There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical about the Magic this year. But unlike in 2017, the bench should not be one of those reasons. The team has some depth and some options to rely on.

Next: Orlando Magic fortunate to have players who want to play in Orlando

Now all they have to do is perform.