Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Volume 32: Time to begin anew

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MIAMI, FL – OCTOBER 8: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the Miami Heat during a pre-season game on October 8, 2018 at American Airlines Arena, in Miami, Florida. 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. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Issac Baldizon/NBAE via Getty Images) /

This is a big question. And it is important to note that all three of those players are still very young. They still have a lot of growth and improvement to do. So none of these players are set in stone.

And that is fine for where the Orlando Magic are at. The Magic are trying to win, but they are not all-in to win quite yet. They know they have time to let players develop and figure out which players will comprise their core group.

They certainly hope Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba can all be part of that core. Isaac and Bamba are likely the two most important players on the roster. At least developmentally. So all three obviously still have some flaws in their games they need to work on.

It is important to understand too as we examine these that their flaws are not fatal flaws. All three of these players are still young and not quite set in their ways. There is plenty of time for them to develop, grow and mature as players. So expect to see some growing pains with all three players. But the idea is they will continue to get better and better because they are such hard workers.

So let’s start with Aaron Gordon since he is the furthest along of the three.

Gordon had his breakout year last year, averaging 17.6 points per game and achieving career highs seemingly across the board. His shooting spiked and he proved he could take on starring roles with several 40-point games and other big scoring performances. Expectations remain high for him to take another step this year.

But Gordon is still learning what it takes to be a star in this league and what it means to have your name on top of the scouting report. Too often last year, it felt like he tried to force things off the dribble and isolate defenders rather than playing (as Frank Vogel called it) within the offense.

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I often termed this as Gordon trying to be what he thinks a star is rather than playing the game the way that is most successful for him. And I think every star goes through that process (go look at Kevin Durant’s rookie season).

Certainly, Gordon will probably continue to work on his ball handling and driving. That has to be part of his game. But so too does working off cuts and screens and as a slasher. His athleticism should be able to help him cut to the basket and finish difficult plays that way too.

What I was impressed with this preseason was how Gordon seemed to have a better understanding of the balance his role requires. He took fewer isolation possessions and settled for fewer mid-range jumpers. That was still part of his game and those bad habits will spring up. But it feels like he was doing it less and less. We will see if that carries over to the regular season.

As for Jonathan Isaac, his weaknesses are still a bit unclear. I think he obviously has to continue developing as a 3-point threat. And one of the big things with him is for him to gain confidence and aggressiveness as a shooter.

Coming out of Florida State, the criticism of Isaac was that despite all his talent he faded into the background too much. He seemingly was happy fitting in and that put a damper on his “star potential.”

It is clear from watching him even in 27 games as a rookie that the league will notice him defensively. His impact there was clear. But the question for him this year is whether he will should more offensive responsibility.

Isaac is a humble guy. But there are times when you wish he had a bit more of an ego and looked for his offensive game. If he did, he might have been the top pick in last year’s draft. But that just does not seem to be in his nature. He will be ag reat team player, but Isaac has to find a way to force himself to be more aggressive.

For Mohamed Bamba, the big thing this year is for him to get his feet wet. I think expectations should be relatively meager for him. I would not read too much into his production or results. He just needs to get out on a NBA floor and show he belongs. From there, the Magic can slowly grow his role.

I think even that first step was abundantly clear in the preseason. His offense is further along than I thought it would be and his jumper is already a legitimate weapon. That part is good.

But really Bamba’s work is going to come in the summer. He has to continue adding strength to hang with starting centers for long periods of time. He already has shown the positional versatility to be a high-level defender. But a big thing for him is to be more active on the glass — he averaged 10.5 rebounds per game last year and was solid at the college level there.

Bamba is building his base and so it probably is not worth diving too deep into his weaknesses yet. We frankly do not know them very well. If Bamba is willing to take on contact and crash the glass, he will be more than on his way to developing into a good player.