Orlando Magic Offseason Needs: Shooting is the top priority

Orlando Magic Offseason Needs: Shooting

Option 3: Volume Shooting

The Orlando Magic’s biggest problem is obviously they need to make more threes. But a secondary and important problem to solve is their inability to get quality 3-point looks.

Some of this is certainly the roster they have. A group without a significant number of quality shooters is going to be hesitant to shoot. The Magic as presently constructed should not take more than the about 30-32 3-pointers they take per game.

But that is the very thing that needs to change. The Magic need to get guys who are going to put up a lot of shots.

It is very unlikely the Magic are going to set themselves up to throw money at a max guy — although the team could free up north of $30 million, expect them to act like they have $23-$25 million in room and even that they probably will not spend all of.

But there is a reason the trade deadline obsession centered on Fred VanVleet.

VanVleet is a bursty scorer who is a better defender than he gets credit for. But the big attraction with him is that he can take over games off the dribble but also work well off the ball as a volume 3-point shooter.

VanVleet averaged 19.3 points per game on 34.2 percent shooting from deep and 8.8 3-point attempts per game. That is actually down from more than nine the previous year. He has averaged more than 5.0 3-point attempts per game in each of the last four years.

VanVleet is likely out of the Magic’s price — and age — range for a player of that importance. But it is easy to see why the Magic would be interested.

The same could be said for his teammate in Gary Trent Jr. He provides a similar kind of volume shooting that the Magic are missing.

Trent averaged 17.4 points per game on 36.9 percent 3-point shooting and 6.8 attempts per game (down from 7.8 per game).

Trent has a reputation for being a bit streaky. But nobody will ever fault him for not getting those shots up. And that is sort of what the Magic are looking for. They need someone who can shoot 35-plus percent on five or six attempts per game.

Trent is likely to command a salary near $20 million. So that too might be a bit too rich for a Magic team that is still seeking some financial flexibility and has several needs to fill with free agency and the draft.

There are some other affordable options too.

The Miami Heat duo of Max Strus and Gabe Vincent have both proven themselves as solid 3-point shooters on a championship-level team. They are both due big raises — both made $1.8 million last season and are probably due for contracts that net them at least the mid-level exception in the $8-10 million range.

Strus shot 35.0 percent from deep on 7.0 3-point attempts per game to get to his 11.5 points per game this season. Vincent scored 9.4 points per game and shot 33.4 percent on 5.1 attempts per game.

The percentages may not be impressive, but they shoot enough volume to make up for it and still be effective.

And that is the biggest piece of this puzzle the Magic are missing. They need guys who are just going to shoot.