The Orlando Magic season is over and everyone is starting to look to the future. In this roundtable, we put a bow on 2018 and look ahead to a busy summer.
The Orlando Magic season has been over for two weeks.
The Amway Center sits empty these days. Mostly because Jeff Weltman and the Magic fired everyone as they look to build their program from the ground up — literally.
In the coming weeks, the Magic will find a new coach. They will begin sorting through the Draft. And they will pick up the pieces of a roster that has plenty of flaws and needs plenty of change. The summer is going to be a whirlwind of change.
The direction the Magic prepare to head is still uncertain. There is still a lot to sort through.
The season is not too far in the rearview window at this point. The Magic are still trying to figure out everything that went wrong. It was a lot, of course. And before beginning to move forward, the team will have to understand what went wrong.
We are starting to look forward too. Our player evaluations on the site will continue for the next few weeks. Then the Draft will come. And, of course, the coaching search. There are still a few loose ends to tie up.
We are still trying to figure out where everything went wrong this season and then how best to move forward and fix it. That is the journey the fans and the team will go on together starting this week.
As the season goes more and more into the rearview mirror and the offseason comes into focus, the issues and the direction of the team will become clearer.
What is clear at this point is the Magic do need a massive change and do need a new direction.
What direction will the Magic head with their coach, their draft and their roster? That is still something we are figuring out. And we start that in earnest with our postseason roundtable.
It has been two weeks since the Orlando Magic’s season ended… was firing Frank Vogel the right decision?
Jean Racine (@jeangracine): The Orlando Magic’s firing of Frank Vogel was the right decision because Vogel admitted the defensive strategies he had with the Indiana Pacers, in which he had great success, no longer worked in the NBA. He was known as a defensive coach and the Magic were not a good defensive team. Vogel’s basketball strategies can be questioned. He played Aaron Gordon at small forward for half of a season, which was a disaster. Also, he publicly said Mario Hezonja is a power forward in today’s NBA. This can deteriorate the confidence of a young player like Mario Hezonja, who has the athleticism to play shooting guard or small forward. It seemed as though Vogel was trying to play catch-up with the rest of the NBA throughout his entire time with the Magic.
Philip Rossman-Reich (@philiprr_omd): The more I have thought about this one, the more I have come to the conclusion that it was the right decision to move on from Frank Vogel. I think continuity was something really valuable for the team and that Vogel and his staff did some good things to help individual players grow. But that is obviously not enough at this point. If management feels Vogel is not the guy for the long term, then it was time to move on. Vogel admitted publicly he was still catching up his philosophies to the modern NBA. Even his defense was going through an upgrade. Right now the Magic need a clarity of vision to set their culture and their program.
Zach Palmer (@FmrTankCommandr): Honestly, I think it is too early to make this kind of proclamation. The Magic have yet to hire a new coach to this point. If the Magic hired Mark Jackson for some absurd reason, there is no way in hell it was the right decision. Additionally, as I noted before I do not believe the coaching change will make much of a difference unless Orlando truly embraces cutting out the terminally complacent players left behind from the Rob Hennigan era. If the Magic do not get rid of those guys complacency will continue to propagate and it will not matter who the coach is.
Ricky Scricca (@scricca1): I definitely agree with Zach that changing the culture does not end with a coaching change. But I think the coaching change was a necessary step. Vogel was not a bad coach by any means, but he certainly was not irreplaceable from an X’s-and-O’s standpoint, and having a new voice in the locker room would probably beneficial. It seemed like his leadership methods fell out of favor with many of the players.
What kind of coach should the Orlando Magic be looking for? Who is your favorite candidate?
Racine: The Orlando Magic should be looking for a coach with a proven background. After five coaches in the last five years, the organization cannot afford to gamble and miss on its next head coach. My favorite candidate is Jerry Stackhouse. He proved himself as a coach in the G-League, leading his team to back-to-back finals appearances and winning the championship in 2017. Stackhouse is a young coach with an impressive background as a basketball player. Perhaps he can reach the Magic’s young roster and further their development.
Rossman-Reich: I am looking for a program setter. Brett Brown has long been a model of mine. It kills me the Magic did not hire Quin Snyder back in 2012 (he was a finalist when Jacque Vaughn was hired). The team needs someone who has a clear vision of how he wants to play and the patience and Xs and Os chops to implement them. What is most important is that he share that vision with president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. The Magic need a coach and a management group that is pulling in the same direction. They both need the same vision.
Palmer: Give me a guy who understands how important it is to define roles for players. Listen, I understand the Magic do not have the most talented roster and that can allow for muddled roles on the team but those roles need to be defined. Handing out defined roles helps the team understand the pecking order as well as potentially helping them determine how they want to work in the offseason. I feel as though somebody in the mold of Steve Clifford would be able to successfully complete that task.
Scricca: The Magic need to develop young players, get guys to buy in and build a team that can succeed in the modern game. Nick Nurse is a proven commodity in all of those areas, having had major successes in the D-League (now G-League), in international competition, with implementing the Toronto Raptors’ new offense and with getting some of the Raptors players to change their play styles.
Who was the Orlando Magic’s MVP of this season? What was the most memorable moment of the season?
Racine: The Orlando Magic’s MVP this season was Aaron Gordon. He gave the fans some signs of hope. Aaron Gordon scored 40-plus points twice this season and showed an improved jump shot. The most memorable moment of the Magic season was when they blew out the San Antonio Spurs at the Amway Center. The ball movement was amazing and all the key players on the team played.
Rossman-Reich: I wrote about it earlier this week. Aaron Gordon was my full-season MVP. He took a major step forward in his career this year and showed promise for years to come. He is the biggest hope this team has and has proven worth a long-term investment. If that is the direction the Magic want to go. Maybe it is still being gunshy from Victor Oladipo, but the Magic cannot afford to let another young player walk for virtually nothing. And that is the decision they face with Gordon. Unfortunately, he did not have the best moment of the season. I think the highlight of the season was Jonathon Simmons’ scoring outburst against the Cleveland Cavaliers. That game was just a bright moment in such a down season and still felt like things were possible with this group.
Palmer: I guess D.J. Augustin? He went from what we pretty much would have called an untradable contract to somebody who was a very good player this season. If the Magic wanted to create additional cap space somehow I feel like they could easily unload D.J. Augustin if they do not feel he is a necessary piece for the team’s future.
Scricca: Aaron Gordon is this team’s best player, but some of the most valuable contributions came from the newer bench guys: Shelvin Mack was a nice rotation piece, Arron Afflalo consistently executed well and played hard, D.J. Augustin had a massive bounce-back year and both Jonathan Isaac and Wesley Iwundu brought energy and showed serious defensive potential. This might be a copout, but if I were handing out an MVP award, I would split it among all those guys for doing what they could to breathe some life into this team.
Everyone wants the team to focus on need in this Draft, what should the Orlando Magic focus on ahead of the Combine?
Racine: The Orlando Magic should focus on finding a new head coach and its point guard of the future. If the Magic have a head coach in place, then the draft process will be easier. The coach can help decide the right point guard for his system. The Magic should be evaluating the likes of Trae Young and Collin Sexton. Also, brainstorming different trade options to upgrade the current roster.
Rossman-Reich: Right now, everything should be about finding the right coach and establishing the culture the team wants to build. It should not be about focusing on a specific position, but rather the kind of team they want to build. With a coach in place, the team can begin focusing on building the team’s culture and eventually play style. The team has to focus on itself and the inner workings of the organization. Finding a player who fits that culture and that vision is the key to this draft.
Palmer: It has to be finding a coach and gaining clarity on the vision of the team. When the Magic conduct the hiring process I assume they will ask the coach how he envisions the team going forward, as well as asking how he might incorporate player X (Draft Pick) on his team. Whoever impresses most when asked that particular question will be the next coach of the Magic and Orlando’s process will have officially started over again.
Scricca: The new coaching hire is obviously important, and it has to fall in line with a larger vision for the team’s future. What does Jeff Weltman believe this team’s identity will be when it is finally a contender? Will it be defense-first? Switch-oriented? Will the offense be equitable or spearheaded by a ball-dominant star? All of these things will impact the coaching hire and the draft picks, and there can’t be dissonance among them.
What should Orlando Magic fans be watching in the Playoffs?
Racine: Orlando Magic fans should be watching Victor Oladipo ball in the playoffs. He is one of own and still has a lot of love for Central Florida. Perhaps later on in his career, he can come back. Also, Magic fans should be watching the Philadelphia 76ers, a team built through the draft. Maybe the Magic are one draft pick and one key free agent acquisition from completing its process.
Rossman-Reich: A lot of Orlando Magic fans are probably watching the Philadelphia 76ers and lamenting they did not copy that rebuild or what they did. But I would look to the Utah Jazz. Utah has done nothing but build the kind of stable and ongoing culture to win even when they lost their star. They have a coach who has gotten the most of his players and they have mined the draft successfully for players that fit their culture. The Jazz’s success is a model of sustained success that other teams should try to emulate. And that is what I think the Magic should be looking to model. They never “tanked” or were made worse to get better. They simply made good decisions.
Palmer: I would say go ahead and look at the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers. Listen Magic fans, if the Magic do end up turning it around and rebuilding properly this time around the 76ers and Celtics will be the Magic’s rivals in the East. The Celtics and 76ers figure to be major power players in the East for years to come. Take in what the enemy is doing and get yourself prepared for some Mortal Kombat a few years down the road.
Scricca: Look at what teams, players and lineups are successful in the modern postseason. The best of the best are versatile, mobile, switchable, execute well on both ends, share the ball and can space the floor. Plodding big men like Hassan Whiteside get played off the floor. That is the kind of team you should want the Magic to become and the kind of player into whom you should want them to avoid investing serious capital.
Next: Divergent Process: The Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers
What do you think? Give us your answers to our roundtable questions in the comments below or on Twitter @omagicdaily.