By John Denton
July 10, 2015
ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic left the Southwest Airlines Orlando Pro Summer League on Friday with Aaron Gordon’s game drastically improved, Elfrid Payton’s jump shot better but still under repair and rookie Mario Hezonja’s game somewhat acclimated to the speed of the NBA.
Come late September, those three promising players will join Magic franchise fixtures Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris and Evan Fournier and fiery new head coach Scott Skiles for one of the franchise’s most important training camps in recent years. With summer league done and free agency in its latter stages, the Magic are fairly certain of all the pieces that will be on the roster and they feel that there is more than enough talent, experience and leadership on board for the team to make some sizeable strides in the season ahead.
GM Rob Hennigan said as much on Thursday, stressing that he fully expects some tangible growth from the players next season and from the squad as a whole. Skiles, who has a history of making an immediate impact during three previous coaching stops in the NBA, said he wouldn’t have returned to Orlando if he didn’t believe that the Magic have the talent is in place to win now.
Payton, who has practically lived in the gym this summer while trying to better his all-around game, said he fully understands that the onus is now on Orlando’s players to push the franchise forward in the coming season. No more pointing the finger to youth and inexperience, no more playing teams close and losing late and no more rebuilding – Payton said it’s time for the Magic to be a factor in the playoff chase when the season begins in late October.
``Everybody is talking (among themselves) that this is the year that we need to make the playoffs and I think that’s everybody’s mindset going into the season,’’ said the 21-year-old Payton, who is actively trying to become more of a vocal leader and an example for others. ``I’m excited about our future.’’
Those thoughts were echoed by Hennigan and Skiles on Thursday when they announced the signing of veteran point guard C.J. Watson. Hennigan has stockpiled the roster with talent after nailing draft picks to land Oladipo, Gordon, Payton and Hezonja and trade acquisitions such as Vucevic, Harris and Fournier have blossomed into foundational pieces. Hennigan, like the Magic fanbase, is eager to see how well all of that talent can play this season now that it has had time to mature.
``We want to win and we want to be in the mix,’’ Hennigan said. ``It’s time to turn the corner – our guys know that and we all know that. We want to be in the (playoff) mix, for sure.’’
It will be the job of Skiles – a former Magic standout point guard from 1989-94 – to take that young talent and get the franchise back in the playoff hunt. Skiles coached previously with the Suns, Bulls and Bucks, and all three squads made big jumps in his first full seasons as head coach.
In Phoenix, he took over early in the 1999 season and led the Suns to a first-round upset of the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the 2000 playoffs. In his first full season in Chicago, the Bulls posted a 17-win improvement from 2002-03 (30 victories) to 2004-05 (47 victories). And in Milwaukee, the Bucks showed an eight-win improvement from 2007-08 to ’08-09. And in 2009-10, Milwaukee posted its first winning season (46-36) in seven years under Skiles, who finished second in the NBA’s Coach of the Year voting.
Skiles points to what Milwaukee did from 2013-14 (15-67) to 2014-15 (41-41) under the direction of new coach Jason Kidd as an example of a team jumping from the bottom of the standings into the playoffs. The Magic will only be able to repeat that feat, Skiles said, if there is continued improvement and a commitment to playing the right way next season.
``I wouldn’t have taken the job if I didn't see the potential for that (dramatic improvement), for sure,’’ Skiles said. ``We don’t want to win 25 games. We want to have a winning record. That’s our goal: To have a winning record. And I know that’s a huge jump.
``But Milwaukee made a big jump (last season),’’ Skiles continued. ``I’ve been part of a team before that made a big jump. So we have to do certain things to get there. We can’t just magically say, `We’re going to do it,’ and do it. We have to take action. But I have every reason to believe that we will.’’
The kind of individual improvement that the Magic are looking for was on display throughout the summer league by Gordon, Orlando’s prized first-round pick from 2014. Gordon, who won’t turn 20 years old until September, was the best player in Orlando all week while averaging 21.7 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. A large chunk of Gordon’s rookie season was ruined by a foot injury, but a limited offensive arsenal also put limits on his effectiveness. But Gordon has worked tirelessly to improve his shot and his counter moves, and his improvement was on display for everyone to see this past week.
``I’ve always had a lot in my arsenal, but I never was efficient enough to use it. Now, I’m starting to simplify my game and all of the stuff in my bag is starting to come out,’’ said Gordon, who insisted that he can play either the small forward or power forward slots in hopes of getting on the floor more in the season ahead. ``I’m strong enough and quick enough that I can match up with (power forwards). And then offensively they have to guard me too, so that will be a problem for them.’’
Hezonja looks to be a problem for defenders what with his rare combination of abilities to make perimeter shots and finish with explosive power around the rim. The 6-foot-8, 218-pound small forward, who was the No. 5 pick of the NBA Draft two weeks ago, won his first-ever NBA game with a go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds. In his second game, Hezonja drilled two more 3-pointers and had a couple of thunderous dunks after aggressively attacking the rim.
Hezonja, 20, was limited to just the two summer league games after having just completed a season where he played 53 games in the Spanish League and Euro League. He averaged 13 points and 2.5 rebounds and showed that he is very much ready for the transition to the NBA. He’s been a professional since he was 11 years old in his native Croatia, and he confident that he’s ready to mesh with his teammates, handle the American culture and thrive in the NBA.
``My first (mission) was to get great chemistry with the teammates,’’ said Hezonja, who plans to have family members live with him Orlando as he did in Barcelona when he jumped to the Spanish League at 17 years old. ``I did that and I’m really happy about that. As for the games, the summer league is the summer league. But to be out here and get along with Elfrid and Aaron (was important). Now, I just need to work on every detail of basketball to get better.’’
Payton, who has formed a fast friendship with the gregarious and confident Hezonja said: ``He’s definitely ready. He has a certain swagger about himself and plenty of confidence. I think he’ll be fine.’’
The Summer League offered up a potential glimpse of the Magic’s future as Gordon, Payton and Hezonja meshed well together and played off of one another beautifully. There was one sequence in Monday’s game where Payton rubbed off a Gordon screen, drove to his right and noticed Hezonja cutting behind his defender. Payton lobbed the ball to the rim where Hezonja caught it and stuffed it one-handed.
It was the kind of play that showed the chemistry and potential of the Magic’s youngest players. The Magic are hoping that kind of potential, combined with continued progress from their veteran players, will led to bigger things in the near future.
``This was just summer league and we still have a long way to go, but this was a very good start for us,’’ Payton said. ``It gives us amount of confidence and we can play free knowing that our coach has our backs. We’ve still have to go out and do it and it’s going to take a lot of hard work.’’