By John Denton
May 3, 2017
ORLANDO – Orlando Magic coach Frank Vogel is hopeful that continuity – something many of the team’s players have not had in the past three years – will be beneficial going forward as the franchise looks to end their five-year playoff drought.
For a fifth consecutive season, the Magic are being forced to watch the NBA playoffs instead of participate in them. That happened because the team fell well short of expectations and ended up just 29-53 this past season.
Major changes could come – as evidenced by the recent firings of GM Rob Hennigan and Assistant GM Scott Perry – following a season worth of struggles. Still, there were plenty of positives to come out of the season considering the major strides made by some of Orlando’s key players.
Vogel, who recently completed his first season with the Magic, feels the Magic aren’t as far away from becoming a playoff team as some might think following a difficult season. He is excited that much of the Magic’s core is signed through next season and should return barring some major personnel moves in the offseason. And, after the franchise has gone through plenty of coaching turmoil in recent years, Vogel will be back to bring some much-needed continuity to the sidelines for the Magic.
Orlando has plenty of avenues with which to upgrade its roster this offseason. The Magic possess two first-round picks and they could have as many as four of the top 34 picks in the draft. They will find out the position of their top selection in the May 16 NBA Draft Lottery.
The actual NBA Draft is slated for June 22. Free agency, where the Magic figure to have a much as $15 million to spend, opens on July 1.
Before looking ahead too much, OrlandoMagic.com will look back at the regular season that just ended. We’ll break down what went right and what went wrong with many of the Magic’s key players over the next few weeks. Without further ado, here is today’s player analysis:
PLAYER: Nikola Vucevic
POSITION: Center
NBA SEASONS: 6
AGE: 26
2016-17 SEASON STATS: 75 games (55 starts), 14.6 ppg., 10.4 rpg., 2.8 apg., 1.01 spg., 1.0 bpg., 46.8 percent FG, 30.7 percent 3FG, 66.9 percent FT.
CAREER NBA STATS: 399 games (338 starts), 14.6 ppg., 9.9 rpg., 2.0 apg., 0.8 spg., 0.9 bpg., 50.2 FG percent, 29.7 3FG percent, 71.9 FT percent.
2016-17 SEASON HIGHS: 30 points, Jan. 13 at Portland; 19 rebounds, Feb. 7 at Houston; eight assists, March 22 vs. Charlotte; three steals, seven times, most recently April 8 vs. Indiana; four blocks, Jan. 29 at Toronto; 40 minutes, Dec. 20 at Miami.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Vucevic had a down season as a scorer, but he turned his focus to other things and did them well. He had career highs in 3-pointers made (23), assists (208) and steals (76) and he had the second-most blocked shots (74) in his career. He was moved into a reserve role for 20 games as the Magic tried starting Bismack Biyombo alongside of Serge Ibaka, and Vucevic handled it like a true professional. He averaged 14.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 20 games off the bench. On the season, Vucevic led the Magic in scoring 19 times, in rebounding 45 times and in assists 10 times. On April 10, Vucevic – Orlando’s leader in rebounding each of the past five seasons – passed Shaquille O’Neal to become second in Magic history in rebounding with 3,691 boards. Also, Vogel said that Vucevic proved himself to be a much better defender than he initially envisioned and he thinks the center is still a piece in the middle that the squad can build around.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Vucevic didn’t handle the rotation of Ibaka, Biyombo and himself well at all early in the season. He didn’t get the ball nearly as much and didn’t have the offensive freedom that he enjoyed in the past, and it torpedoed much of his rhythm and effectiveness on the offensive end. His 14.6-point scoring average was the lowest since 2012-13 – his first season in Orlando. His shooting percentage (46.8 percent) was the lowest since his rookie season as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. Vucevic made (23) and attempted (75) far more 3-pointers than at any point in his career, but his lack of accuracy (30.7 percent) damaged his effectiveness as a go-to scorer for the Magic. Admittedly, Vucevic didn’t handle the frustration of losing well this season and he hopes to return next season as a different player more intent on being a leader.
FUTURE ROLE WITH MAGIC: Vucevic is the longest-tenured player on the Magic and he has high hopes that his time with the Magic will continue long into the future. Vucevic desperately wants to see the Magic win and get to the playoffs – especially after enduring the struggles of the past five seasons. But the reality of the situation is that the franchise might need to move the big man this offseason to shake up the core of the team. Two areas where Vucevic struggles – being a physical presence at the rim and scoring from the low block – are things that the big man struggles to do consistently. However, Vucevic’s shooting ability and his desire to become a better 3-point shooter could make him a more dangerous weapon going forward. Vucevic’s contract makes him a tremendous value relative to his production levels and his desire to win is strong, so the Magic certainly have plenty of reasons to stick with the 7-footer. Only time will tell now as to whether Orlando’s next GM wants to build around Vucevic or trade him elsewhere.
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.