Orlando Magic are heading home from Las Vegas winless.
That might normally be disappointing, but it is Summer League and everything is made up and the point does not matter. At least the final score does not matter.
In the end, the Magic probably feel like the week was mostly a success.
They got to get a good look at their two rookies in Anthony Black and Jett Howard and saw good play from Kevon Harris and Caleb Houstan. In fact, the Magic certainly played their best basketball of the week when their main roster players were on the floor.
That is probably all the team really cares about in the end. That and nobody due to be in training camp in October got hurt. Everyone seems on track to finish off their summer successfully.
The Orlando Magic are heading home from Las Vegas winless. Still, there was a lot they learned from their trip out west for Summer League.
Still, it is hard to say the Magic accomplished everything they needed to accomplish during their week in Las Vegas. Outside of the Magic’s rostered players, nobody else really stood out in a significant way.
And while the Magic have a completely full main roster, they still needed to try to find players to fill the final two-way contracts. And perhaps even get some extra support for weak spots on the roster — especially perhaps at power forward and even at center.
Agents probably sensed the Magic did not have a lot of roster spots to offer and steered their higher-priority players away. Orlando will still have work to do to complete the roster and be prepared for training camp.
Summer League is what it is. And it is important to remember everything has context in Summer League — the final score and even final score lines and individual box scores are not always the goal or the most important takeaways from the week.
While there was not as much to see on the court for the Magic this time around — the Orlando Magic officially finished last on point differential with only the Golden State Warriors as the only teams to go winless at summer League — there are still some things to take away and learn as we wait for training camp to start.
5 things we learned from Orlando Magic Summer League
Anthony Black will hold his own
The main purpose of Summer League for a lot of teams is to introduce their rookies and draft picks to NBA practices and the NBA style of play. That is the biggest adjustment they will have to make in their rookie seasons. And the quicker they can hit the ground running and fit in the better.
So the mini-camp that is Summer league practice teaches them how to absorb a lot of information quickly and set the foundation for training camp at the end of the offseason so they will not have to pick up too many new things.
The speed at which games come with little time to practice and adjust is also going to be a shift for them. Teams want to see how these players react to these circumstances.
Summer League is often not about figuring out who can play because so much of what happens on the court in Las Vegas is out of context for the rest of the season. It is about figuring out who cannot handle the massive amount of information and extreme conditions the NBA will put on each player.
That goes double for point guards, who have a lot of information thrown at them and a lot of responsibility put on their plates. So it was as important as anything else to make sure he looked like he could hold his own on the floor.
Black was certainly among the Magic’s best players and he looked like he could hold his own and more as he ran the Magic during his three-game stint on the floor.
He averaged 11.0 points per game, 8.7 rebounds per game and 4.0 assists per game. He also averaged 4.0 turnovers per game (tallying seven in the first game and five in the third game with zero in the middle game) and shot only 13 for 32 from the floor overall (40.6 percent) and 1 for 6 from three.
In some respects, those stats show his promise. He can move the ball, compete on the inside and use his size to get baskets.
Black really seemed in control of his pace at all times and never looked sped up at any point. He looked comfortable and composed. And with better teammates and better spacing with the regular season team, he could be a real dynamic player.
That also does not get into his defense where he helped lock up Jaden Ivey and Bennedict Mathurin. He looked like he belonged on an NBA floor on both ends. That is something the Magic can work with.
Those numbers also show some of the problems.
Entering the draft, everyone knew Black’s shooting needed a lot of work. And he struggled at times to explode to the rim or to set himself up to shoot comfortably. Without that consistent shot, he is going to have a hard time taking advantage of his other tools.
But there are tools to work with. And that might be the most important thing to start with.
5 things we learned from Orlando Magic Summer League
Jett Howard can shoot it
Undoubtedly, the biggest need for the Orlando Magic this offseason was to get more shooting. The team needed shooters to spread the floor and give the team’s drivers and playmakers the space to do what makes them good.
Not to mention, so much of the Magic’s more improvisational, read-based offense works better when there are shooters creating space for the drivers and cutters.
The team was lacking in that and it felt like if Magic did not come away with shooters from the draft, something had gone horribly wrong — it helped that Orlando added some shooting too in free agency with the acquisition of Joe Ingles.
To see Jett Howard perform the way he performed though seemed to be confirmation of the team’s faith in his shooting.
Jett Howard himself was a controversial pick it seemed because the mock drafts and draft writers had other shooters — such as Kansas guard and now-Toronto Raptors guard Gradey Dick — ahead of him. But Howard did his part to put those concerns to rest.
In three Summer League games, he averaged 13.3 points per game while shooting 15 for 39 (38.5 percent) from the floor and 8 for 20 (40.0 percent) from three. He certainly was not shy about getting his shots up.
Granted too, he made half of those 3-point shots in his finale against the New York Knicks.
What impressed about Howard was how replicable everything he did seemed to be. It is easy to see Howard getting the same shots he got in Summer League during a regular season game with the Magic’s roster.
That should be exciting, especially considering how much the Magic need someone who can just flat-out put the ball in the basket from the perimeter.
On top of this, Howard showed more attention to detail and ability defensively than he perhaps showed in college at Michigan. Being healthy has certainly gone a long way for him.
Still, there is plenty for Howard to improve on.
He was given more license to try to shoot off the dribble and attack the paint. That ability and potential at his size is one of the reasons the Magic drafted him over sharpshooters like Gradey Dick and Jordan Hawkins.
But Howard struggled a bit creating his own shot and struggled to attack the rim off the dribble. Not that he did not show the potential to one day develop this. But it is still a long way away.
Orlando is not likely to put the ball in Howard’s hands and let him create as they did in Summer League. So it is not likely a concern the things he struggled with.
5 things we learned from Orlando Magic Summer League
No answers for the two-way slots
The Orlando Magic’s final record at Summer League ultimately does not matter. It is not important whether they won or lost in Summer League.
Ultimately, their rookies played well and looked good enough to have confidence heading into training camp. That should be all they care about.
Yet. . .
This is a competitive business filled with very competitive people. And they want to win. That still stands out.
And the Orlando Magic finishing in last — the Golden State Warriors were the only other team to finish winless in Las Vegas, so do not equate Summer League record with regular season results — is not a place anybody wants to be.
It did not take long watching the Summer League to notice the consistent pattern: The team’s starters, typically led by Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Caleb Houstan and veteran forward D.J. Wilson were competitive and took an early lead. Then the bench came in and gave the team absolutely nothing, burying the team in a hole.
It was not too surprising to see that pattern continued even when the Magic’s roster players were shut down for the week.
This is all to say, the Magic’s Summer League roster was lacking the kind of talent that makes an impact and resonates. It is hard to say that anybody on this roster stood out and certainly that anybody earned the team’s final two-way spots.
At the very least, the Magic needed to have some hint of how they might fill these — and there are at least still a few holes they should be looking to fill, especially looking for some power forward depth where the team will rely on Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac and Chuma Okeke to fill the minutes and Banchero and Wagner will likely play a good chunk together.
The Magic not only did not address their forward needs effectively when they put the roster together, but nobody stood out.
There were pieces of skills that make sense and might be worth further developing.
Robert Baker was a solid rebounder and inside presence, averaging 8.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game.
But he struggled to finish around the basket or be a physical presence for much of his minutes. The Magic gave him a long look and the Lakeland Magic veteran feels like sure invite to training camp.
Dexter Dennis is not a big forward, but he displayed his athleticism and defensive potential to guard up and down positions throughout the week.
His stats were not impressive — 9.0 points per game, 42.4 percent shooting and 35.7 percent from deep. But it did not take long watching the game to see him trying to bring his effort to the front. He seems a good bet to get a training camp invite and an Exhibit 10 contract.
Other than that?
Au’Diese Toney was good defensively but struggled to shoot. Summer League coach Dylan Murphy highlighted Elijah Hughes for his play. But did he really stand out?
Tyger Campbell played really well, but his size will make it hard for him to stick in the NBA and the Magic are set at point guard — more than set.
So who really stood out that deserves a two-way contract and can fill in for the Magic when they need it? It probably was not anyone on this roster.
5 things we learned from Orlando Magic Summer League
Kevon Harris needs a roster spot somewhere
Do you want to know what a two-way player looks like? Or really an NBA player looks like?
Kevon Harris played only one game in Summer League and that was really all the Orlando Magic needed to see.
He had the numbers — scoring 21 points, shooting 8 for 13 from the floor, grabbing six rebounds and recording two steals. He also had the look of a player who knew exactly what he was doing.
He was getting after his matchups defensively. He was diving on the floor and playing like he absolutely needed this contract. All the while, he was playing with the calmness and coolness of a veteran player.
It should not have been that surprising. Harris got his two-way contract with the Orlando Magic last year after averaging nearly 18 points per game for the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer. The Magic saw him contribute meaningfully to the team when his number was called throughout last season — including some big moments in an early season win over the Golden State Warriors.
Summer League can get a bit fudgy and nobody should be thinking Harris should take 13 shots per game or be a primary scorer like he was in that first Summer League game. But one thing that is usually clear are the players who are too good for the level they are playing at.
Harris was far too good to be playing in Summer League. And the Magic understood that after just one game.
Considering Harris is still on a two-way contract, it is hard to imagine he will have to worry about not having a permanent spot in the NBA very soon. This is not just about one Summer League game. He was really solid throughout his rookie season last year.
The unfortunate part though is the Magic have precious little playing time to give this year. They will not be relying on their two-way contract players as much. And so Harris might be in the background and have little opportunity to show how good he has truly become.
Then again, the Magic are going to have to feel confident that when they call on Harris’ number, he is going to deliver. At the very least, he is going to make practices that much more competitive while he is with Orlando.
5 things we learned from Orlando Magic Summer League
Orlando Magic need size to succeed
The Orlando Magic’s roster had a deficiency from the moment it stepped onto the court. There was not enough size.
Robert Baker and Kai Sotto were the only true centers on the roster. D.J. Wilson could play center but was better suited to play power forward.
No other player on the roster was taller than 6-foot-8. That is how Caleb Houstan ended up playing a ton of minutes at power forward and how the Magic got overpowered consistently on the interior.
If there is another reason not to take Summer League as gospel it is this. The Magic are known for having playmaking 6-foot-10 forwards. Orlando used jumbo lineups last year that had Franz Wagner playing shooting guard. And that is a lineup the Magic may try again.
That is to say, this Summer League team is the opposite of the regular season roster.
Still, it did seem like the Magic were testing a proof of concept a bit.
While Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero are tall, they are not necessarily big. Neither player is a great rebounder — Wagner averaged 4.1 rebounds per game and Banchero averaged 6.9 rebounds per game. Wendell Carter led the team with 8.7 rebounds per game.
While the Magic were solid with a defensive rebound rate of 73.0 percent (eighth in the league). There was still a sense the Magic were not the strongest rebounding team. They are going to need to find some size to make up for this seeming deficiency.
In a weird way then, what this Summer League roster provided was a brief glimpse of what it looks like if the Magic try to surround one big man with versatility. The group may not have size, but it did look a bit like the Magic’s roster (even if Wilson is not quite the rebounder that Carter is).
They saw that if their guards rebound well, they can hang tough. But overall, the Magic’s rebounding was a struggle. Orlando needs size and the team needs Banchero especially to be a better rebounder and tougher interior presence to succeed.
Either that or Carter has to become a dominant interior force to make up for the deficiencies and perimeter versatility. Or perhaps the team needs to ensure that it is focused on gang rebounding with its guards if it is going to play this small.
There was some proof of concept. Black on several occasions got a rebound and immediately turned up the floor or hit a long outlet pass to ignite a break. That is something they could easily replicate with Markelle Fultz or the other slashers the Magic have who can run the middle of the floor.
Still, something was missing from this team. And if this was indeed trying to get a look at the Magic’s formula in some way, there have to be some lingering concerns about how it will ultimately translate in October.