Wesley Iwundu just as much a wild card as everyone else for Orlando Magic

It is easy to overlook Wesley Iwundu when considering the Orlando Magic’s young players they need to improve. His role is a huge intrigue.

Looking at the Orlando Magic, it is easy to get excited and optimistic about the team.

The Magic had one of the youngest lineups among playoff teams with several young players taking major steps forward throughout the season.

Aaron Gordon had his best all-around season as he continued to find his place int he league as a defender and a bit of a playmaker. Jonathan Isaac slowly gained the confidence of a player moving beyond his rookie year. His tear through the last part of the season was vital to the Magic’s playoff push.

Then there are the complete unknowns in Markelle Fultz and Mohamed Bamba off the bench. Those two young players are still completely unproven in the league, coming off injuries and still incredibly promising.

Orlando re-signed veterans in Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross and still have solid stalwarts in Evan Fournier and D.J. Augustin to keep the team steady. But it is abundantly clear the team’s ability to progress from last year’s playoff cameo rests on their young players taking another step up in their games.

But Wesley Iwundu is rarely mentioned in these conversations.

Last year, he was the young player who took one of the biggest steps, establishing himself in the rotation as a key defender and energy player off the bench. He was not the headliner by any means, but a solid player for the Magic in their playoff push.

The 24-year-old guard averaged just 5.0 points per game last year. But his 3-point field goal percentage improved from 19.6 percent to 36.7 percent last year. That was a significant and important jump. That helped him stay in the rotation.

His defense was what helped him get there.

The Magic played some of their best defense with Wesley Iwundu on the floor. Even early in the season, coach Steve Clifford turned to Wesley Iwundu to replace Jonathon Simmons when he went out of the rotation or when Jonathan Isaac went down to injury.

Terrence Ross was rightly named the sixth man. But it is often Iwundu who was the first man off the bench. Coach Steve Clifford developed a lot of trust in Iwundu.

Iwundu rewarded it. Not with numbers, but with his generally solid play. The Magic had a +1.7 net rating with Iwundu on the floor last year, including a 103.1 defensive rating. Iwundu had a good sense of when to cut and search for ways to force the defense to react to him.

They certainly were not reacting to him as a 3-point shooter. So his increase in 3-point percentage was vital to the team’s ultimate success.

But Iwundu was not indiscriminately firing 3-pointers. He would pass up 3-pointers if he was uncomfortable with the shot and take a dribble in to try to get the defense to react and free up a spot.

Iwundu was a smart player, in other words. And that had a lot of value.

It has become easy to forget that Iwundu could still play a major role for this team moving forward and into next year.

Orlando certainly put some pressure on Iwundu.

Signing Al-Farouq Aminu would bring him into the power forward rotation. But Jarell Martin averaged only 7.8 minutes per game last year. Essentially once the Magic settled into their power forward rotation, they had one of Aaron Gordon or Jonathan Isaac on the floor.

If Al-Farouq Aminu is playing more minutes at either forward position with either Aaron Gordon or Jonathan Isaac, and Terrence Ross still has to get his minutes, then that means Wesley Iwundu is losing minutes. And it was not like he was playing a lot already — about 18 minutes per game.

The Magic have a real jumble with minutes and real depth they can employ against any opponent.

But that is all dependent on Iwundu taking the next step in his development. He has to become a better 3-point shooter still. Not so much to improve his percentage, but to be more confident. A true threat from beyond the arc that defenses have to respect.

Iwundu can help the team out defensively off the bench. He is a good defender and has made his mark on that end for the Magic.

But shooting is ultimately what will keep him in the rotation. He does not have the same positional versatility as the other players on the team. Especially when he is paired with Ross, who has a similar build and height to him.

It is reasonable to think Iwundu is spending his offseason working to improve this part of his game. He took a big step in his third year in college from beyond the arc and certainly made a big leap last year after his rookie year.

But it is unclear exactly where or how Iwundu fits. More than any other players, it is Iwundu who seems to get squeeze out of the rotation most. If Clifford is committed to sticking to a nine-man rotation, then Iwundu will have to fight for all his time on the court.