2017-18 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Rashad Vaughn

The Orlando Magic signed Rashad Vaughn hoping to add a shooter to their roster. But in his two 10-day contracts, his shooting never came around.

The 10-day contract is hardly enough time for a real audition. Especially for a shooter.

There is barely any time for a player to get in rhythm with his new teammates. With an extended schedule, there is not even enough time to get in more than a few games. The 10 days run out before a team can really get a handle on the player they just signed. And so a second 10-day contract is almost guaranteed.

It also means an extremely small margin for error. The player has to show up and do his job, grabbing opportunities to shine when he can but not doing too much to hurt the team. It is a tricky balance. And it is always tough to ask them to play this role.

It gets even worse if there is a slip-up or injury. That was the situation facing Rashad Vaughn.

For an Orlando Magic team that desperately needed some shooting, Vaughn seemed like the kind of risk the Magic should take with a 10-day contract midway through the season. He seemed to be exactly what the team would need.

His first 10-day contract seemed like a chance for him to get his feet wet. He was slowly getting integrated into the lineup as his first 10-day contract ended. And his shot was coming around.

But a second 10-day contract never finished. He suffered a knee injury and that was something you cannot do with the small margin of error for a guy on such a limited contract. It was out of his control and Vaughn was gone before he could really get started.

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Vaughn did not get the chance to rack up many counting statistics or pour in anything of significance throughout his five-game tenure. He totaled five points, making just two of his six field goal attempts. He hardly got the chance to get out on the floor and take shots.

Vaughn played in more than 10 minutes in three of his five games. It seemed like he was starting to get more of a chance, even though his shot was still not coming around.

Give Vaughn credit. He did not force his own game. He was trying his best to fit in and looking for his opportunities. They were slowly coming his way as his playing time increased and his opportunities increased.

But the injury slowed him down. He was no longer able to play and his time was running out.

With no guarantee of a contract, that made it tough to keep him. His sore knee kept him from fulfilling the final days of his 10-day contract. The Magic had no choice but to move on.

That freed the Magic up to call Rodney Purvis up from the G-League. That was the move many expected when Orlando originally signed Vaughn to begin with.

Likely, it seemed, general manager John Hammond was giving one of his former first-round picks another opportunity to get his shot in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks had cut bait with him earlier in the year, trading him to the New Orleans Pelicans, only for them to drop him. The Brooklyn Nets gave him a short audition too.

But nothing seemed to stick for Vaughn. His supposed shooting never came around at any stop. The Magic were only the last stop for him on that trip.

And in Orlando, he never could get himself off the ground enough to get the chance to establish himself.

Signing Rashad Vaughn was likely a good idea. Or at least the ideal version of Rashad Vaughn.

The Magic needed shooting and he was a talented, former first-round pick who needed another chance. It was the kind of thing that could have very easily hit and been exactly what the Magic would need.

But the 10-day contract gives little time and little room for mistakes or missteps. Vaughn’s shooting never came around in the first 10 days as he got accustomed to his new teammates.

Just as it seemed like he was getting a rhythm and getting himself going, his knee injury kept him from going any further. It was the kind of misstep that 10 days does not afford a player with such a short time to prove himself.

Did the knee injury prevent Vaughn from making a larger impact? That is too hard to tell. His shooting had not come around in the way the team likely had hoped. Then again, he did not have the time to do it. It did not seem like he was on his way to earning a contract for the rest of the year as things were going.

But nobody would really know.

Next: 2017-18 Orlando Magic Player Evaluations: Khem Birch

In the end, Vaughn was a risk worth taking at the time of year the Magic gave him his contract. But he simply did not have the time to make the most of his opportunity.