What Is The Vision for Orlando?
Magic fans are eager to see results from their 9-year rebuild, and unfortunately no stars have taken shape from their recent draft picks or acquisitions as of yet. Taking a closer look at the roster since Jeff Weltman, the President of Basketball Operations, took over the team in 2017, there’s been one glaring weakness of the Orlando Magic: Offense (24th in PPG through those 3 seasons). Weltman has signed only one offensive player since the start of his tenure with the Magic. A 32-year-old CBA bound Mo Speights on a minimum 1-year deal. The Orlando FO wants to prioritize defense, as evidence by hiring their defensive minded head coach Steve Clifford. Weltman envisions going against the grain of the modern-NBA movement as of late and trying to guard these newly touted offensive machines like Denver, Boston, Miami, LA (Both), and Portland.
In a tale as old as time for Magic fans, major injuries have hindered Orlando’s ability to see a glimpse of this “Defense First” machine Weltman and Clifford have concocted over the past three seasons. Signs of hope emerged in 2019 when they made their run to the playoffs, finishing the year above .500 for the first time since the Dwight days. They were healthy and looked in sync after the All-Star break. The roster continuity was paying off and the team beat the future NBA champion Raptors on their home floor during their first round exit. The team and fanbase were excited for what was to come and the continued development of Orlando’s youth. Nonetheless this past season was again plagued by injuries, and with 6 games under our belt this season, the Magic community knows it will begin a year without a complete team with Isaac out for the season. Weltman’s patience is noted, but when will this patience pay off? No major shifts have been made to the roster since his arrival in central Florida apart from Markelle Fultz. There has been reluctance to bring in offensive talent – Weltman is banking that the offense will come to fruition through the internal growth of his young talent. Orlando’s 2020-2021 roster ranks as the 12th oldest roster in the NBA. While Weltman’s patience may be strong, the fan base’s patience is thinning – Orlando’s two closest geographical rivals, Atlanta and Miami, garnering league wide attention as contenders in the Eastern Conference – leaving Orlando fumbling for middle first round draft picks.
The issue with the lack of offensive weapons is this hinders the ability to have an efficient offense. Good perimeter shooting spreads the floor and gives Fultz, Isaac, and Gordon more room to create and develop into isolation and P&R scorers. Spacing has long been a thorn in the side of Magic fans (Since the days of Otis Smith) with a lot of undue blame going to everyone’s favorite scapegoat; the Head Coach. But Clifford isn’t the guy building the roster, he’s just a coach using the tools he was given.
If Weltman wants to see what Fultz’s ceiling looks like going into fourth year in the NBA, he needs to have room to create. Playing him alongside Dwayne Bacon and Michael Carter-Williams will give teams the ability to help on his drives. He has no outlet which forces him to take tough shots or pass the ball to non-shooters in order to reestablish penetration.
Weltman just signed Isaac and Fultz to extensions, so his vision to build internally has taken hold. This team needs to bring in shooting (Ex: Philadelphia bringing in Danny Green and Seth Curry to play around Simmons). Fournier is an unrestricted FA this summer, so this FO needs to retool as soon as possible to ensure that there is a solid structure for a competitive team and with a high ceiling for development. Shooting does not mean lack of defense. There are plenty of players in the NBA who can do both, and without a superstar in Orlando, the team needs to find the right pieces to complement their developing assets. This will be where true growth happens for this young team and production-starved fanbase.
