Youth is a double-edged sword.
Teams can be too young to know you might not have the team to make a run so you will play every minute like it is your last, but not old enough to realize each possession from Game 1 to 82 will has a domino effect on an organization’s outcome. Some teams can be so young that they do not know what they do not know and play above their heads. But too inexperienced to win in the biggest moments and make the big plays.
Experience is still the best teacher and young players learn from the poise and composure veteran players bring to the team.
The Orlando Magic were the third-youngest team in the NBA last season. It showed both in the potential they put on display, but also in the mistakes they continuously made.
As the Magic take aim at making a postseason run next year, their offseason should target veteran leadership to help the team grow and learn quickly.
The Orlando Magic were one of the youngest teams in the league last year. And while that helped preview their potential, their offseason should focus on adding experience to help the team be ready for the postseason.
As fans of the Orlando Magic could tell any NBA fan this past season, if not for early injuries the Magic could have competed for a Play-In spot based on their second-half winning percentage.
From players down to the coaching staff, the entire organization grew with one another through the months to galvanize a bright future. The average player age of Orlando was 23 years old, with nine players this year having played two years or fewer in the NBA. The Magic’s oldest players on the roster were Terrence Ross and Michael Carter-Williams both 31 years old.
The average age of the Top 10 winning teams of each season since 2013 is 27.4 years old. The youngest average age was this season at 26.8 and the oldest was in 2015 with 28.3 years old.
The average age for most winning teams and franchises including the yearly champion is in the late 20s. That is when top players are usually at their peak and have the experience and comfort to handle any situation the NBA throws at them.
Young teams especially like to talk about players being on the same timeline or being of similar age, but the reality is that it takes players at all stages of their career to find success in the league.
Young teams need their veteran players to teach and impart wisdom in a way coaches cannot and provide steady play on the court while the younger players learn and mature. That is why the Miami Heat kept Udonis Haslem around so long. Every team could use a deep-bench veteran like him.
Even when the league progressively goes younger the winners of the Larry O’Brien Trophy always have a few veterans.
The Magic certainly need these to complete the roster. And with plenty of cap room to spend this upcoming offseason, here are a few the Magic should target in signing.
Veteran players the Orlando Magic should target
Blake Griffin, Boston Celtics
From 2011-19, Blake Griffin was a Rookie of the Year, six-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA, third place in MVP votes for 2014, and the best power forward by win shares in the entire league.
Blake, known for monster athletic slams both in the half-court and transition, is also only behind LeBron James and Kevin Durant in that span as a multiple-time All-Star as a forward and average more than 4.0 assists per game. He consistently grew as he added a midrange jumper and, near the end before the injuries limited his playing ability, a resourceful three-point shot he hit at league average percentage.
If Griffin is willing to play a mentor role off the Magic bench rather than ring chase for the rest of his Hall Of Fame career, Orlando should seriously look into adding him. Both Magic cornerstone players play his position and Blake would be able to tutor what it would take to go from promising young players to All-Star/All-NBA contention.
For the rest of the team, Griffin has started 64 out of his 65 Playoff games, with over 2,100 minutes in the chase for the Championship, the entire roster can only learn from Griffin’s experiences in adversity.
Griffin is not the same player he once was. Injuries have completely slowed his play down. Signing him is more for his locker room presence than his ability at this point. This past season, he appeared in only 41 games, averaging 4.1 points per game for the Boston Celtics.
It would appear that Griffin’s career is quickly coming to a close. And he would only have wisdom to impart while younger players play.
Veteran players the Orlando Magic should target
Rudy Gay
Rudy Gay, though not as decorated as Blake Griffin had a stretch of 10 years, from age 21 to 30, where he averaged at least 19 points, six rebounds, one steal and one block per game as a starting small forward.
Although a more difficult avenue to acquire, unlike Blake Griffin, Rudy Gay has a $6 million team option with the Utah Jazz, Gay is still contributing fairly meaningfully for a young team. All this while Gay was working his way back from an injury.
A fringe top 30 player in the NBA at his peak, recently Gay has been playing limited forward minutes on a young Jazz club that, like the Magic, has promising talent that made a push for the Playoffs. What Gay could add is a lowkey role player who always added starting quality production while playing as the second and third option.
That might be a stretch and certainly only for an emergency. But Gay can still get up some buckets when called upon.
This year for the Jazz, he averaged a career-low 5.2 points per game in 56 appearances. His shooting htis year was a career-worst 38.0 percent and 25.4 percent from deep.
Some of that might be his continuing recovery from injuries that have slowed him down the last few years. Some of that might be playing limited minutes for a team with plenty of young players they wanted to emphasize.
Gay can still be a contributor and at least a good voice in the locker room. Even though he gets plenty of good stats bad team hate throughout his career, he is still a respected member of the NBA fraternity.
Rudy Gay could mentor Franz Wagner, Caleb Houstan, Chuma Okeke and any other tweener forward on how to remain competitive and resourceful even as a role player to a winning team. Gay’s talents though useful off the court his on-court production over the past two years have dwindled as he comes near to retirement.
Veteran players the Orlando Magic should target
Jeff Green
Jeff Green had a stint in Orlando back in 2017 with a much-pilloried one-year, $15-million contract. He was still productive that season for a team that had very little direction.
Green has remained a mainstay in the league, contributing in small roles for several veteran teams. He appears to have hit the title-hunting stage of his career.
It would be wise if the other two options listed are not able to be signed to look his way.
Green is a career journeyman playing for 11 teams in 14 years. But he always finds a job and finds his way on rosters that require a backup to reserve wing.
This year, he found himself on the Denver Nuggets where he averaged 7.8 points per game in 56 appearances. He averaged 19.5 minutes per game and still gets regular minutes in the postseason — 21.7 minutes per game through Game 1 of the Denver Nuggets’ series with the Phoenix Suns.
That is someone who can still contribute something, even if it does not show up in the stat book and even as his career begins to wind down.
Never outstanding in production, his value would truly rely on his wide experiences, from the early 2010s Oklahoma City Thunder team to championship contenders like the 2010-14 Boston Celtics and 2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers.
He has played in a myriad of different situations with such diverse star players. Green could enlist his knowledge of former teammates like LeBron James, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul and so many more on how they trained and studied the game.
Veteran players the Orlando Magic should target
Veteran Shooters and Playmakers
The Orlando Magic this season were in the bottom five in total 3-pointers made and in percentage. They were also in the bottom five in the league in assists per game too.
Though the veterans that you could add would not be those that would directly make the shots on the court, their prowess in the offseason and training camps can turn our gunslingers into snipers.
Wesley Matthews and Danny Green, both 36, have made their money by being high-level 3-and-D players.
Matthews a career 37 percent 3-point shooter and Green at 40 percent can take the off-ball shooting to another stratosphere for players who will need to cut, move, and spot up while players like Fultz, Franz, and Banchero drive and kick.
Orlando should also look to keep Michael Carter-Williams on his team option, the free agent market guards have a discrepancy in playmakers that aren’t either max contract players or those who’ve been career reserves.
For a final roster spot, the Magic need to find some veterans who can keep the team even off the bench and give players real advice and guidance to help them take the next steps in their careers.