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Frye Expected to Help Others Reach Potential

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

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By John DentonOct. 1, 2014

ORLANDO -- Channing Frye is a career 38.5 percent 3-point shooter, he has the versatility to play two positions along the frontline and his smarts are off the charts in terms of the dynamics of a basketball team.

But another of the primary reasons that the Orlando Magic heavily pursued and ultimately inked Frye to a free-agent contract back in July was because of what he can do for others on the team.

When Frye is positioned on the wing, it should open up Mac Truck-wide driving lanes for cat-quick guards Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton. When Frye sets up shop in the corner, the opposing power forward won’t dare leave him to double-down on center Nikola Vucevic in the post. And with Frye always a threat to pump in threes, it should give an attacking Tobias Harris – Frye’s first cousin, coincidentally – even more room to operate in the middle of the floor.

So while some in the national media might have scoffed at Orlando’s offseason pursuit of Frye, the signing was ultimately about so much more than simply adding a 31-year-old ``stretch-four’’ who can knock down the occasional 3-pointer. History has shown, specifically last season in Phoenix with the surprising Suns, that Frye can help a team both with his shooting and his ability to make others around him better.

``I think that’s the ultimate compliment for a player – that you are someone who makes others better,’’ Frye said on Wednesday prior to the Magic’s second day of training camp practice. ``It’s also the hardest expectation on myself. I still have to continue to be me and do my job. … But it’s a huge compliment and an honor that they think I can make others better and now I just want to live up to those expectations. I want to grow with these guys and have them make me better also.’’

Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who has totally remade the team’s roster over the past two seasons, certainly did his homework when pursuing Frye during the free-agent courting period. Despite missing the previous season with a viral condition in his heart, Frye was an integral part on a Suns team that was the surprise of the NBA last season with 48 victories. Simply put, the Suns were significantly better when Frye was on the floor for his 28.2 minutes a game than when he was on the bench resting.

The Magic delved even deeper into Frye’s impact with the Suns last season and found a player who not only was especially effective with his shooting, but also one who greatly impacted those around him. To wit:

Frye ranked 11th in the NBA last season in ESPN’s ``Real Plus Minus (RPM)’’ rating, a statistical category created by Jeremias Engelmann that isolates a player’s plus/minus ratio while also accounting for the production of the teammates around him. The others ranking in front of Frye last season in the RPM category were a Who’s Who of all-stars: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Andre Iguodala, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Steph Curry, Nick Collison, Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. Among power forwards, he was the fifth most efficient player at his position.

In the category of ``Wins Above Replacement (WAR),’’ a rating that heavily weighs victories, games available, minutes played and defensive value, Frye ranked 14th in the NBA and sixth among power forwards. All five of the power forwards rated just ahead of Frye – Nowitzki, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Aldridge and Serge Ibaka – are considered standout players.

When Frye was on the floor last season his Suns teams were a plus-297 in points on the scoreboard. That’s 3.6 points per game and 4.6 points per 36 minutes on the floor – numbers that put him in the league’s top 40 players in efficiency. Phoenix’s primary rotation (Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Miles Plumlee, P.J. Tucker and Frye) had a plus-3.3 plus/minus rating per game, good for the 10th best five-man rotation in the league.


``We looked at the productivity of when he was on the floor, (the productivity) of the guys around him when he was out there and wasn’t and it was a significant difference because of his ability to create space on the floor,’’ Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. ``His old team (in Phoenix) had guards who could get into the paint and make plays and hopefully our guys here (in Orlando) will be able to do the same.

``I think when we look at people who we want to acquire and bring in we look at how they are going to help the core of guys that we have be more productive,’’ Vaughn added. ``Spacing was an issue for us and the ability to shoot the basketball is a premium and (Frye) is unique because he does it at a big position. It’s just unnatural sometimes with the movement of guys for them to guard him on the perimeter. So the thought process was will that have a chance to make driving lanes more open for our guys? Will that allow us to get into the paint and create drive-and-kick situations? His signing made sense for us.’’

Orlando launched an all-out assault on trying to land Frye, sending Hennigan and Vaughn to the West Coast to recruit the power forward. It also didn’t hurt that Harris already had family ties and Frye’s best friend in the NBA, Grant Hill, played for the Magic, still lives in Orlando and is now a neighbor.

Harris, who grew up going to Frye’s NBA games early in his career while playing for the New York Knicks, said it is downright surreal to now be on the same team with his first cousin. (Harris’ mother and Frye’s mother are sisters). Harris said he was blunt when pitching the Magic to a player he has looked up to for much of his basketball life.

``I knew he was a free agent and I asked him who he was considering and if he would consider us as a team. When he said yes, I told him that we needed to get that done,’’ Harris said with a chuckle. ``Obviously Rob talked to him and got a deal done. But Channing’s a guy that I wanted on this team and I wanted to play with him because he knows how to win games. … Obviously, Channing had to make the best decision for himself and his family. He has two kids and I knew Orlando would be ideal for him. So I just told him, `Get down here.’ I told him to bring his butt down here as the big cuz and play with his little cuz.’’

Frye’s choice to sign with the Magic was significant because of the fact that he had eight-to-10 teams in pursuit of his services, and many of those teams were expected to compete for the NBA championship this season. But Frye believed in the Magic’s long-term vision and he said helping build a young team would mean more to him than simply joining an already established winner.

``For me, nothing is guaranteed in this league and I wasn’t going to go to a team that was just expected to win. It was the challenge of winning somewhere that isn’t necessarily expected to win and they are the underdog,’’ Frye said. ``I asked Rob what kind of guys he was going to bring in and I knew then that I could be a part of this. I respect what they want to do here, I want to bring something here and help this team shock the world.’’

Frye shocked some in the NBA last season when he returned from his temporary heart ailment to play all 82 games and average 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. Last season, he made six 3-pointers in a January game against Milwaukee, hit five threes in a game six times and connected on at least three triples 25 times. He dropped 30 points on Denver in January by putting on a 10-of-12 shooting exhibition (with five-of-seven 3-point shooting). Also, he scored at least 20 points in 11 games.

``When Channing is on the floor, he spaces the floor so much because you have to respect him and guard him. And he releases the ball so quick that his man has to stay close to him,’’ Magic guard Maurice Harkless said. ``I think he’s going to be great for us. He’ll help guys like Victor, Elfrid and myself and myself to give us driving lanes.’’

Frye said he’s eager to build a chemistry with Oladipo similar to the one that he had with the blossoming Dragic in Phoenix. Frye said he’s already become a fan of Oladipo’s because of his relentless hustle and his fearlessness in driving to the rim. Frye wants to open up driving lanes and give the second-year guard the occasional release valve in hopes of making him an even more effective player in the future.

``The biggest thing right now for Vic is that he has to understand that I’m here and I’m here for him, really,’’ Frye said. ``We haven’t been on the same team much yet, but when we are it’s really about him just slowing down some because sometimes he moves too fast. I think it will come with maturity and with him being around guys who are used to playing with him. I hope that I can help him.’’