By John DentonNov. 30, 2014
PHOENIX – Channing Frye, who grew up in suburban Phoenix, went to college a couple of hours away and spent the past five NBA seasons in the Valley of the Sun, said that the bitterness over his messy divorce from the Suns was quelled by landing in Orlando with the Magic.
Frye was an integral part of Phoenix’s surprising run to 48 wins last season – his advanced metrics revealed him to be one of the league’s most efficient power forwards – but the Suns didn’t make him a top priority when he became a free agent in July. One theory floated out was that the Suns were unhappy when Frye opted out of the final season of his contract, and the organization instead chose to pursue LeBron James and tried to trade for Kevin Love.
Meanwhile, Frye was impressed by Orlando’s aggressiveness in courting him to be a leader on its young team. Brushing the emotions of the moment aside, Frye ultimately signed a four-year contract with the Magic and never looked back.
``It’s just a business part of it and it’s hard to separate business and personal stuff, especially with me being from here and loving the teammates here as much as I did. But at the end of the day, I know I made the right decision (signing with the Magic),’’ Frye said on Sunday before his Magic played the Suns for the first time since his departure. ``I made the right decision, not only for me, but for my family. The (Suns) organization did pretty dang well (when he was in Phoenix) and they are doing well without me. So no hard feelings. Of course, I wanted to continue to play with my (Suns’) boys, but I’m finding new friends and working things out in Orlando.’’
Frye, a nine-year NBA veteran, has had some difficulties in meshing with his new teammates in Orlando. First, he missed almost all of training camp and the entire preseason after spraining a knee ligament in his third practice. And even though he’s shooting a robust 42.7 percent from 3-point range, his scoring average is down from 11.1 points per game last season in Phoenix to 8.9 ppg. this season with the Magic.
Frye, as eloquent as any player in the Magic locker room, admitted on Sunday that returning to Phoenix for the game stirred up many of the emotions that he felt last July when he became a free agent. Frye had dinner with Suns’ players Miles Plumlee and P.J. Tucker on Saturday night and he hoped to catch up with other former teammates while in town.
``There was a lot of tension at the time (of free agency). Anytime somebody moves or goes away from something that they are familiar with there’s always that breakup time and you get emotional about it because you don’t know what’s going to happen,’’ he said. ``But for me, no hard feelings and I wish them all the best.’’
GONE NOT FORGOTTEN: Asked on Sunday about injured forward Aaron Gordon – a collegiate All-American last season at the University of Arizona – Magic coach Jacque Vaughn pointed out again how much his squad misses the versatility, hustle and defensive grit of the talented rookie.
Gordon, the No. 4 pick in last June’s NBA Draft, saw his solid start to the season come hit a major snag on Nov. 15 when an X-ray showed a fracture in the fifth metatarsal in his left foot. Gordon had surgery on his foot on Nov. 21 and he is expected to need six-to-eight weeks of recovery time before he is allowed to resume any sort of basketball activities.
Gordon averaged just 5.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11 games, but he had a big impact on the team with his ability to defend two positions and change tempo with his all-out hustle. Gordon scored a career-best 17 points – including six in overtime – in a defeat of Minnesota earlier in the season and he also helped the Magic rally to a win against Milwaukee with more stellar play off the bench.
``I thought Aaron was really starting to understand his role on our team and with his versatility he was able to guard multiple positions for us,’’ Vaughn said. ``He handled the basketball and rebounded for us and gave us energy and effort on a nightly basis – all of the things that when I go to sleep at night that I’m wishing for.’’
Vaughn said one of the things he loved most about Gordon’s early impact was his willingness to accept his role off the bench and his ability to change games with his energy. ``He enjoys the game of basketball and he enjoys the challenge of guarding another man on a nightly basis. It’s the competitive nature of why you play this beautiful sport,’’ Vaughn said.
ROAD WARRIORS: Magic players and coaches are loathe to make excuses, but the fact remains that after Sunday’s game in Phoenix that Orlando has played more games (19) and the second-most road games (12) of any team in the NBA.
The Magic’s early-season schedule is so arduous that they open the season with 16 of their first 23 games on the road.
The Magic have been in the road so much that they will go seven weeks between playing consecutive games at the Amway Center. The first two home games of the season – Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 – were at home and Orlando won’t play two straight at home again until the Dec. 19-21 home games against Utah and Philadelphia.
Some of the lackluster play from Friday night could have been attributed to the fatigue of the travel, but Magic players have stressed that they do not want to fall into the trap of using the schedule as an excuse.
``Every team kind of goes through it during the season where they are on the road a lot,’’ Magic center Nikola Vucevic said. ``The Spurs’ whole month of February is usually on the road (because of the annual rodeo in their home arena). It’s just part of the job that we do and we can’t use it as an excuse. We have to find a way to get wins. The issue for us has been not playing good enough and having the right approach. We have to improve on that and I don’t think (Friday’s loss) has a lot to do with us playing a lot of road games.’’