Breaking down the Orlando Magic’s depth chart the rest of the year
With the trade deadline gone and the Playoffs far out of sight, the Orlando Magic have to find a way to handle a roster crunch of returning players.
Everyone expected the Orlando Magic to be active at the trade deadline. This was a team that needed a lot of change and adjustment after this season quickly went off the rails. The team is still in the bottom of the standings — even after a three-game win streak.
The team though did not have much to do at the trade deadline. After surely exploring options on just about everyone on the roster, the team found little worth pursuing.
It seems clear the team’s decision to trade Elfrid Payton took precedence. And the Magic accomplished their goals in getting that deal done.
There was reportedly a flirtation with the New York Knicks. But Marc Berman of the New York Post reports the Magic and Knicks never could come to a deal. The Knicks reportedly hoping to convince the Magic to swap Bismack Biyombo for Joakim Noah and his contract and the Magic reportedly asking for Frank Ntilikina to do that.
Ultimately, Orlando settled on the second most-favorable of the Phoenix Suns’ three second-round picks — likely to come from the Charlotte Hornets in the late 30s or early 40s in this year’s Draft.
The return for the Magic does not appear that great. But the reality is the Magic just wanted to move on. They sought some type of asset for Payton, a player they were prepared to let walk this summer anyway.
Where does this leave the Magic roster now?
Obviously, there was one minor change. But the team also has some other goals in mind the rest of the season. And plenty of players the Magic are eager to get back.
Orlando’s depth chart now is a bit cluttered. Full of players that will help the team win or might need to be showcased to prove their health before the offseason and young players the Magic want to invest in.
Orlando has already publicly declared it would like to add a third point guard in free agency sometime after the All-Star Break. That player will likely come from the G-League.
So what does the Magic depth chart look like now? Obviously, the biggest change is at point guard, but there is a lot to sort out still. Especially as the Magic begin to get healthy again.
D.J. Augustin will slide into the starting spot. And Shelvin Mack will play backup minutes after playing significant minutes at shooting guard in the last few weeks. Coach Frank Vogel said he would still try to rig the rotation to play Augustin and Mack together, a pairing that has been very successful for this group.
But now Mack will have to play more at point guard. If Saturday was any indication, that should work out just fine. He has played exceptionally well of late and more playing time for him does not seem like a bad thing. Unless that eats into the time for younger players.
There is that obvious need to add a third point guard for emergencies the Magic will fill.
The biggest thing anyone notices in the roster is the huge logjam at center. All four centers are players the Magic want to play.
Nikola Vucevic is still the best all-around player at that position. If the Magic intend to trade him this offseason, they will probably have to show he is healthy and can still produce coming off his hand injury.
In any case, Vogel and the Magic have made it known they detest tanking and are going to play the players that help them win. Vucevic will play and likely play heavy minutes. The belief remains that Vucevic at his best is the Magic’s best bet to win games.
But it is also undeniable Khem Birch has pushed himself into the rotation.
Since making the spot trip into the rotation against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 16, he is averaging 16.7 minutes per game, 5.0 points per game, 5.7 rebounds per game and 0.8 blocks per game. That might not be a huge statistical impact, but he is a bundle of energy that has helped the team tremendously.
Bismack Biyombo and Marreese Speights have also contributed plenty in this stretch recently too. It is hard to say they cannot make a positive impact. Biyombo can look dominant on defense (and he has that big paycheck that is so hard to sit) and Speights can catch fire quickly and change the tenor of games.
There are four NBA-caliber centers — each with their own flaws — who should get playing time. Obviously, not all four can play. Someone will get squeezed out. Figuring out who is the tough choice Vogel has before him.
How to split minutes and the overall strategy for managing the roster is reportedly something the team will discuss as a management group sometime in the near future. Orlando is going to have some plan to balance their playing time to make sure young players get minutes, while they are also playing some of these veterans.
Especially with other players coming back. It will be tougher to use lineups where Marreese Speights plays with another center when Jonathan Isaac is back. Just as it will be difficult to play Mario Hezonja at power forward when Isaac returns. Orlando has to play him — if for anything then to convince him he would get playing time if he decided to stay in Orlando.
Isaac is slowly returning to practice, doing some contact drills. But there is still no timetable for his return. It is possible he could be back in the lineup sometime in March.
And that does not get into what the Magic do when Terrence Ross is finally able to return. The Magic’s positional versatility only can take them so far. There are simply not enough minutes to go around.
That will be the biggest issue facing Vogel on a day-to-day basis. Which player gets those precious minutes and how does he sort through a roster that still has young veterans who can help the team win and young players who are more likely to be part of the team’s future?
Undoubtedly, there will be a few injuries and “injuries” to help sort through some of this later in the season. The team might hold out players who are feeling little nicks until they are 100 percent.
The “luxury” of being this far out of the Playoff race allows the team not to push guys back from injury too quickly. There is always a player behind them the coaching staff can learn about.
And that is largely all that is left for the Magic. They have to prioritize the things they want to learn from this roster the rest of the year — no matter what that is — and dole out minutes accordingly.
They will likely do all this while still trying to put the best roster they can to win games to end the season. There is a very real crunch coming for this Magic team.
Next: Jeff Weltman hopes to begin creating flexibility
How they sort through this crunch will be important for the rest of the season as the team tries to achieve whatever goals it has remaining.