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Magic Now Look Ahead to Busy Offseason and Player Development

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John DentonApril 16, 2015

ORLANDO – Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan said on Thursday that while this past season was ``frustrating,’’ there is still a great belief in the players in place and he added that if the right coach can be hired and the individual pieces can improve, the franchise can soon be a playoff team again.

Hennigan didn’t run from the fact that the 25-57 Magic – one that fired head coach Jacque Vaughn in early February and finished out the season with interim coach James Borrego – fell well short of expectations. Hennigan, who has been tasked with rebuilding the Magic the past three years, admirably said that the blame for the lack of progress falls at his feet, pointing out ``I’m responsible for putting the team together, so I’d say all of it’’ when referring to the blame that should be his.

``We want to be a playoff team. We’re not trying to be a lottery team. That’s counter to our goals,’’ Hennigan said firmly at the conclusion of Magic exit interviews on Thursday. ``This season has been frustrating. I think you can ask our players, coaches and myself – we expect more. We’re also realistic about how young we are. I think we’re realistic about the development that our players can make going forward. We think with their continual development, with a few pieces added here or there, we will start to turn this thing around.’’

Orlando showed flashes of hope and progress from its bevy of young players this season, but it still finished well out of the playoff chase in the Eastern Conference for a third straight season. For every individual growth – such as Nikola Vucevic playing at a near all-star level; Tobias Harris becoming a better all-around player; Victor Oladipo expanding his scoring and playmaking roles; and Elfrid Payton evolving into one of the NBA top rookies – there were still far too many bad stretches filled with head-scratching losses and regression. That cost Vaughn his job when the Magic were slogging along at 15-37 and the 10-20 finish likely did little to help Borrego have a good shot at becoming the full-time head coach.

Still, that didn’t stop Borrego – a highly respected coach among the Magic brass and players who brought some much-needed structure and defensive grit to the team over the final 2 ½ months from lobbying hard for the job. Hennigan said that Borrego – the youngest coach currently in the NBA at 37 years old – will be considered for the position and will soon receive a formal interview.

``I’m at peace with where I’m at and I’m in no hurry. My family is in a great position, we love Orlando and I’m in no hurry for an answer,’’ said Borrego, who is under contract with the Magic for one more season. ``I’ll have my time (for an interview). I have a clear picture of what this place can look like and what our group can look like both in the immediate and long-term future. I’m proud of what we’ve done under these 30 games and under these circumstances. With a full staff, a full summer and a full training camp, I think we could see even deeper growth and with an opportunity I’d love to have that. I think we’ve made some major strides with limited practice and limited time. We’ve changed some things, but we’ll need a full training camp to build on and change.’’

Hennigan didn’t go into detail about the qualities that he will look for in the next coach, saying he wanted to ``maintain the integrity of the process’’ of finding the full-time leader. He has made it clear that he wants a coach in place who both develops Orlando’s bevy of young players, but one who also instill a competitive fire and holds the team accountable.

``We’re going to consider everything,’’ Hennigan said when asked if he would hire coaches from the college ranks or solely on the professional level. ``Our focus and goal is to make the right decision in order to find the right person to coach this team to lead us to where we want to get.’’

Orlando will have the fifth-best odds at getting the No. 1 overall pick in the May 19 NBA Draft Lottery. It has an 8.8 percent shot at landing the first pick, a 9.7 percent chance at No. 2 and a 10.7 percent odds at No. 3. The Magic hope to add to their talent base via the NBA Draft and free agency where they could potentially land a superstar with a maximum-salaried slot – although that doesn’t seem likely of happening at this stage in rebuilding.

Hennigan’s strongest statement of the day was in regard to the pending restricted free agency of forward Tobias Harris, who set season highs in several different categories in addition to becoming a more well-rounded player. Harris, 22, will be a restricted free agent on July 1, meaning he is able to go out and sign offer sheets with other teams and the Magic will hold the option of matching it or letting the 6-foot-9, 235-pound Harris walk away. Harris said the decision to return is ultimately out of his control, adding: ``Only God knows what’s next. I can’t control the future.’’

Harris’ future in a Magic uniform is fairly certain, Hennigan stressed.

``Well, I’ve said all along that we don’t envision a scenario where Tobias isn’t with us next season and we’ll stay true to that,’’ the GM said.
Vucevic was rewarded with a four-year contract extension prior to the season and he led the Magic in scoring and rebounding. But he admitted that ``losing isn’t fun,’’ and he was frustrated that the team has been unable to turn the corner over the past three seasons while showing flashes of promise and repeated signs of regression.

``We wanted (to play more meaningful games), but obviously we didn’t achieve that. We weren’t happy that we didn’t do very well with our record,’’ Vucevic said. ``We showed glimpses of what we can do, at the end of the season we started playing well and we played some good teams well. But at the end of the day when you win 25 games it’s not a good season.

``But we can’t be negative about it,’’ Vucevic said. ``We have to take the challenge this summer to improve and come back better next year. Obviously nobody is happy with the season that we had. I feel like we had really more than we showed. But it didn’t work out and we’ve got to look at the future. We can’t look at next year like, `Aww, we’re young.’ We have to accept the fact that it’s time for us to turn it around.’’

Oladipo boosted his scoring from 13.8 points per game as a rookie to 17.9 points per game this past season, but the Magic’s success rate was still very minimal. He said that all of the struggles from the past two seasons will fuel his work throughout the summer – most of which will be done alongside of Payton so that the two can develop more chemistry – in hopes that he can help the Magic make significant strides next season.

``It was a tough year with a lot of ups and downs and changes, but we’ve got the talent here to be good,’’ Oladipo said. ``We’ve got the tools and attributes that can definitely help us where we need to be. But in order for that to happen we all have to get better. It’s going to be a big summer for myself and I’m looking forward to it. I have to get better if I want to help this team get to where it needs to be.’’

Hennigan said that his message to players was that their individual improvements can add up to collective improvement for the team by next season. The GM’s message to fans was one of continued belief that the team is on the right path and is going about the process of building a sustainable product in a patient and principled way.

``I think just to continue to believe in what we’re doing,’’ Hennigan asked of Magic fans. ``We fully believe in our plan. We believe that what we’re doing, the way we’re building, the pieces and the players that we’re putting together will put us in a position to be competitive for a long time. We certainly understand the frustration of the fans. We understand the sense of impatience. We are doing it a little differently this time around, and I think that our belief is steadfast and our hope is that our fans will continue to stick with us and help us see the plan through.’’

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