2016-17 Finish: 33-49

 

Season Highlight:

Getting down to Boogie - Despite a GM change and roster overhaul, 2016-2017 really didn't bring much change for the Magic. They still were yet again just a handful of wins out of the playoffs. Until the trade deadline... They traded out their star shooting guard and star forward in exchange for two solid wings and one of the MVP front-runners - DeMarcus Cousins. For a brief moment in time, the Magic had a bonafide top 10 star, with a couple of scorers next to him. There was reason to believe that the Magic could make a push and make the playoffs. There was even more Boogie publications and propaganda than when he was on the Nets! So much so that they focus stopped even begin on winning.

 

Season Lowlight:

LJMaverick's arrival in Orlando was met with mixed reviews... many fans glad to not be thrown to the mercy of new-GM roulette and others concerned about the future of their favorite players being with other teams due to the trade-loving GM (let's be honest, the outgoing GM wasn't too trigger shy either). But the lowlight was really when the rumored firing of the long-tenured GM turned into a draft day joke. Honestly, it was probably a bit of a low point for the league, but can't do much to engender confidence in the Magic heading out of another series of big deals.

 

Best Trade:

The Orlando Magic send Devin Harris, Kris Humphries and Nicolas Batum to the Sacramento Kings. The Sacramento Kings send Kevin Love and Miles Plumlee to the Orlando Magic.

The Orlando Magic send a 2nd-Rounder (Orl) to the Sacramento Kings.

This one only got better with Batum's recent injury - but giving up Nicolas Batum and some change for a legitimate star power forward was a genius move. The Kings were looking to round out their roster with veterans to make a playoff push, and in Laddas's departing gift to the city of Orlando he showed them some Love.

 

Worst Trade:

The Cleveland Cavaliers send Tony Parker to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send Amir Johnson and Michael Carter-Williams to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

 

This wasn't awful because Amir isn't great, and MCW has continued his fall from NBA Rookie of the Year - but it was a bit of an all-in move to go after the aging Parker and it just doesn't match up with where the team is right now. Direction and consistency are important in building a contender - and flipping back and forth between trading for veterans to make a playoff push and trading away veterans for draft picks and prospects is a sure-sign of a team that lacks identity. This specific move was made worse by Parker missing games due to injury and subsequently shipped out of town this summer.

 

Other Notable Trades:

 

The Indiana Pacers send Tony Snell to the Orlando Magic.

The Indiana Pacers send a 2nd-Rounder (Ind) to the Orlando Magic.

The Orlando Magic use their trade exception over $ 2,368,327.

This one ended up being great for Orlando. They bought really low on Snell, who ended up having a bit of a breakout season and is considered a pretty serviceable 3&D player at this point.

 

The Dallas Mavericks send Shabazz Muhammad to the Orlando Magic. The Milwaukee Bucks send Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the Dallas Mavericks. The Orlando Magic send DeMarre Carroll to the Milwaukee Bucks.

I think this was a solid move - at the time Carroll's contract was nearing the untradeable region and Shabazz was on his rookie deal. I think this was great value - both dumping the contract and also getting a prospect.

 

The Detroit Pistons send Avery Bradley to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Detroit Pistons send Patrick Patterson and Tyler Zeller to the Orlando Magic. The Minnesota Timberwolves send Bradley Beal and Nerlens Noel to the Detroit Pistons. The Minnesota Timberwolves send Justin Anderson to the Orlando Magic. The Orlando Magic send Brook Lopez to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Detroit Pistons send a 2nd-Rounder (Pho) and 2nd-Rounder (Utah) to the Orlando Magic. The Minnesota Timberwolves send a 1st-Rounder (Min) to the Orlando Magic.

More with the back and forth between veterans and prospects. Some of this is due to two different GMs with two different approaches. I really liked the value that Orlando got for Brook - a borderline starter, two role players, and three draft picks.

 

The Brooklyn Nets send Terrence Jones and Glenn Robinson III to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Brooklyn Nets send Danilo Gallinari, DeMarcus Cousins, Khris Middleton, Jordan McRae and Tim Quarterman to the Orlando Magic. The Minnesota Timberwolves send Mason Plumlee to the Brooklyn Nets. The Orlando Magic send Kevin Love, DeMar DeRozan, Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Snell to the Brooklyn Nets.

The Orlando Magic send a 2nd-Rounder (Utah) and 2nd-Rounder (Ind) to the Brooklyn Nets.

 

This was the big one. This could almost be the best AND worst trade for the Magic. As discussed in the season highlight - having a top tier guy like Cousins and a couple of great scoring wings is maybe the best trio Orlando has had in recent memory. It could also be the worst for some reasons... they gave away 2 2nds, 2 1sts, a handful of prospects in addition to two all-stars. It was a king's ransom for an MVP candidate and it got worse when the Magic decided to alter course by shipping out all three of the guys they brought in with this deal.

 

Best FA Signing:

Tim Frazier - They ended up getting him on a pretty cheap contract and he had a great year. The only problem was they traded him on the day he signed. They also were able to bring back their trio of Batum, DeRozan, and Lopez - which setup the trades they pulled off throughout the year.

 

Worst FA Signing:

Kyle Singler - This guy is pretty awful. Like he's not even playable. Except they played him in 62 games including 12 starts. He's still got one of the worst contracts in the league - which is saying something because it's really not that big. Seems like they moved the wrong free agent signing when they traded Frazier. Although between Javi and Laddas, the reason a guy wasn't traded probably wasn't lack of interest in trading them - but lack of market.

 

Star:

DeMarcus Cousins - The big guy only played 17 games for the Magic. But man - those 17 games were something. He put up around 35 and 17 while the rest of the team battled through injuries... at some point there were 5 guys guarding him and he still managed to get buckets. His numbers were the only ones in the league that rivaled Anthony Davis, but especially with his mid-season move to the Magic - the win total did not.

 

Surprise:

There really wasn't a single player that was a surprise/breakout kind of player. Nobody hung around on the roster long enough to merit that. Personally, I was a bit surprised that with Gallo, Middleton and Cousins they couldn't make a better run at the 8th seed. And then subsequently, it was pretty surprising to see that trio shipped out so shortly after they all arrived.

 

Goat:

Tony Parker - when you trade for a 34 year old, you're not really looking towards the future... you're doing it because you want to win this year. Parker's injury troubles and lack of production (less than 14 ppg on less than 40% shooting) really halted the team's hopes of making the playoffs. The move to bring him in could have been a good one, as he gave them another very solid starter on a good day. But this season wasn't filled with good days for him and now he's playing in a different state.

 

Draft Report Card:

After trading away draft picks, the Magic front office got super excited around draft time and went all in on the 2017 draft - trading away a good portion of their team for some 1st rounders. They head into this season with as many as four rookies - highlighted by Lauri Markkanen. The team showed crazy confidence in the hopeful Dirk-clone, with him being the biggest part of the return for Cousins. I'm not sure I see that level of potential, but I haven't spent as many hours scouting him as the experts. The critics agreed with a draft grade of B across the board. It will be fun to watch and see if this group has what it takes to get the Magic to the next level.

 

Looking to the Future:

The current iteration of the Magic is probably my least favorite of the last year. It's crazy that there have been a few different versions of the team in such a short time period. But all of the others had as many as 3 hopeful all-stars. Looking at the current roster - they're younger and deeper. But the only player that really commands much attention from the opposition is Goran Dragic. There are several guys on the team that could grow if given the right role, and Dragic can do a lot with the ball in his hands - but this feel like less of a playoff team than Boogie/Gallo/Middleton, Brook/DeRozan/Batum or Love/DeRozan/Parker. There is a future here - this isn't a bad situation by any means, but it's just a lot more murky than any other point in the last year.

 

Upcoming Free Agents:

Tony Snell - The Magic brought Snell back just before his previous contract expired, so they'll surely be resigning him. He emerged as a solid 3&D player this season and could potentially start next year.