Orlando Magic have a national reputation to repair
The Orlando Magic still have a long way to go before they return to contention in the Eastern Conference. But they took steps in that direction this offseason, even if the national media is not watching.
This article was originally going to be about how a large amount of national media coverage of the Orlando Magic has been marred with lazy analysis (when it even exists at all). I wrote a full first draft arguing if someone was going to claim to be a “national” writer, they need to devote a certain level of research to all 30 teams, even if some of those teams are less relevant to the league’s overall picture than others.
I still believe that is true in many ways. But it is also understandable when you cover 30 teams, some must slip through the cracks. Those teams are inevitably the ones on the league’s fringes — those in smaller markets, those with a lack of recent success, and those without superstars.
The Orlando Magic check all of those boxes. It is not difficult to see why many national media members have, right or wrong, decided Orlando is not worth their time as much as the Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics or Golden State Warriors are.
So, I deleted my first draft and started from scratch.
The Magic are now five years removed from their last winning season. The team is in the midst of a franchise-long Playoff drought and All-Star drought. This is an undoubtedly a low point for the franchise.
This lack of recent success has only pushed them further to the league’s fringes. While many Magic fans are hopeful the new front office will continue turning things around, the national media continues largely to ignore Orlando or eye its every move with skepticism.
Arguably the biggest reason is the post-Dwight Howard rebuild has failed to net the team a player who has shown he can contribute to winning, much less a star. The team’s lottery picks have landed them just out of reach of each draft’s marquee names.
In 2014, the Magic narrowly missed out on a top three that included Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid. In 2015, they were one pick short of Kristaps Porzingis, after chasing him hard in 2014 before Porzingis withdrew from the draft. When they picked second in 2013 — their highest pick of the rebuild so far — it was a historically weak draft. In 2016, Rob Hennigan traded away that second pick (Victor Oladipo) and the team’s 2016 lottery pick for half a season of Serge Ibaka.
Orlando Magic
If in even one of those seasons the ping-pong balls had fallen differently and they picked just one spot higher, Orlando may have gotten itself a superstar. Maybe then, Hennigan would not have been backed into a corner and the Ibaka trade would not have happened.
But they did not fall that way. Instead, the franchise is an example to the rest of the league that being bad for five years does not always land a team its superstar, like it did for the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
None of that is news for Magic fans. At this point all fans can do is hope that the patient approach president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond use eventually yield success.
This past offseason gave us a glimpse into what that will look like. The summer of 2017 was a stark departure from Hennigan’s 2016 ill-fated “win-now” moves, and a departure from that is probably just what the doctor ordered.
Still, Hammond and Weltman evidently have a long way to go to regain the interest and optimism of national media. The past few seasons have clearly marred the team’s reputation.
A Google search of “Orlando Magic 2018 season preview” will bring you these three articles, plus one from Dime Magazine and several articles from Orlando Magic Daily.
"“Have you heard of Khem Birch? I haven’t and I was paid to write this,” reads an article from The Sports Post’s Sam Quinn. “Here’s the funny thing, though. According to Real GM’s Magic depth chart as of this writing, he’s not on their bench. He’s their starting power forward.”"
For The Unprofessionals, Adam Aaronson opines:
"“In free agency, the Magic showed why they are the Orlando Magic, and not the Boston Celtics. What was the point in signing Marreese Speights, or Shelvin Mack, or Arron Afflalo? They’re all fine players, but they are way past their primes and provide zero long-term value. What is the end game? For them to exceed expectations for one or two seasons? To make the Magic the 11th seed, instead of the 14th seed? These types of signings will always make the Magic irrelevant, mediocre, nothing.”"
And Joel Brigham posited for Basketball Insiders’ 2017-2018 season preview:
"“This is basically the same team that went 29-53 a year ago, so even with the Eastern Conference wide open for burgeoning playoff contenders, the Magic don’t have a shot at the postseason in 2018.”"
It is fair to wonder what this team is trying to accomplish. The criticism is fair. But also comes from a place where no one seems to be getting into the weeds with this team.
Obviously, the Magic did not do anything splashy this offseason. There were no big-name additions or trades. But were people really expecting them to enter the 2018 season looking like contenders? Isn’t that approach exactly what caused last year’s snafu?
If the Magic had spent a lot of money, they would have been criticized for doubling down on a mediocre roster and not learning from last year’s mistakes. And that assumes a big-name free agent was even available to them (none were) and they would have signed with the Magic (they would not have).
It is a catch-22 of public opinion that exists because of the franchise’s damaged reputation.
These national writers have not yet found any reason to look past their skepticism.
My next question was: Does this even matter? Who cares what these writers think? Should we not just let the success or failure of Hammond and Weltman speak for itself?
But we have found time and time again the best indicator of a franchise’s leaguewide perception – how players, agents and other general managers view an organization – is the opinion of fans and media members. Teams with a bad reputation among fans often have a bad reputation around the league too. And that matters.
Want to attract a quality free agent? Make a trade? The best way to get a good deal is to have a good reputation. Players, agents and executives should want to deal with your organization. Agents should view Orlando as a franchise that can help their clients shine. Players should see the Magic as a place they can develop and/or win. Executives should approach dealings with their counterparts with the expectation the negotiations will be in good faith, not that they’ll be able to fleece him.
Right now, none of that is the case. The Magic are working to restore their reputation.
Changing the faces and names so far has evidently not been enough to restore, or improve, the Magic’s reputation. Observers still view any move the team makes uniformly with cynicism, which says more about the reputation the organization earned itself in the past few years than any pattern of “laziness” among writers. It will take time to rebuild this trust.
Repairing that reputation should be one of Weltman’s top priorities. Accomplishing that may even come before winning does. It may have to.
Investing in training and player development will help – a team should want players and agents to see its organization as one that gets the most out of its talent. Trying to win, not tanking, can help. No good players want to be on a team that sits them so they can lose on purpose.
The 2018 season will say a lot. Will the fresh staff additions have any immediate impact? Will Vogel rest the team’s best players, or will they play hard until the final buzzer sounds?
Next: Orlando Magic make no promises at Media Day
Weltman may have a long road ahead before Orlando is once again a serious NBA power. But the process starts with repairing a tarnished reputation.