2019 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Jonathon Simmons

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Jonathon Simmons, Orlando Magic, Shelvin Mack

CLEVELAND, OH – JANUARY 18: Jonathon Simmons #17 of the Orlando Magic reacts to a foul on Shelvin Mack #7 of the Orlando Magic (not pictured) against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena on January 18, 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

What Could Go Wrong

Whenever a player has a career year, the next question is whether the player can do it again. What is the player’s actual mean? What can a team rely on him to do every night?

Jonathon Simmons became a reliable player for the Orlando Magic throughout the 2018 season. He established himself as a solid scoring option.

There was an excitement to it all. Simmons finally had a major role on a team — as a starter — and he took advantage of it all.

The trick is to do it again.

He had to learn how to play more minutes. Fatigue clearly began to affect him in the middle of the season. Simmons admitted to it mid-season. And his training to prepare for more minutes was interrupted thanks to a late-season wrist injury that required surgery.

There is the concern that his forward progress will stop or that he will return to some unknown mean. There is simply not enough information to know exactly what Simmons will do now that the expectation of playing well and filling a key role is on him.

At 28 years old — he will be 29 when the season begins — he is much older than a typical fourth-year player. There is also the distinct possibility that he is near his ceiling and what he did in the 2018 season is about what he will do.

If Simmons can replicate that output and production during the 2019 season, the Magic should be plenty happy. Simmons was still a player who played above average that season. They had to be happy with his play especially at the salary they seemed to get him at.

But Simmons still has a lot of areas he needs to improve. The fit with this Magic team — both with its struggles on defense and with its lack of shooting — was a bit imperfect.

Simmons thrived because not many other players could put the ball on the floor and create. But even in that role, he struggled as a playmaker and teams counted on and were willing to let him shoot.

Like so many players on the Magic, there is always that question of whether Simmons simply put up stats because no one else on the team could.

That does not mean Simmons did not give the Magic exactly what they needed in the end. The question remains whether he can do it again.