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2016-17 Magic Position Breakdown: Shooting Guards

Josh Cohen
Digital News Manager

By John Denton
Sept. 21, 2016

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic had one of their busiest offseasons in franchise history, hiring a new coach and drastically overhauling the roster through trades, free agency and the draft.

Now, with training camp set to open on Tuesday, it’s time to delve deeper into the roster and evaluate the team’s strengths and weaknesses.

The Magic stacked their roster with experience and talent this offseason by trading for Serge Ibaka, Jodie Meeks and C.J. Wilcox, signing Bismack Biyombo, Jeff Green and D.J. Augustine and drafting center Stephen Zimmerman. That group, combined with the returning core of Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja and C.J. Watson, gives the Magic the belief that they will be a playoff team this season.

Training camp, presented by Chase, opens on Sept. 27 (at the Amway Center), the first preseason game (in Memphis) is Oct. 3 and the regular-season opener (vs. Miami at home) is Oct. 26.

Today, we look at the shooting guard position, a spot that was made much clearer by the offseason trading of Victor Oladipo to free up more playing time for Fournier and Hezonja. Fournier proved to be one of the NBA’s most efficient and productive shooting guards in the NBA last season and he was rewarded with a long-term contract this summer. Hezonja, the fifth pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, is expected to make a big leap this season following a rookie season filled with several flashes of greatness.

Without further ado, let’s break down how the Magic look at shooting guard:

POSITION: Shooting guard

PLAYERS: Evan Fournier (6-7, 205, 4 NBA seasons); Mario Hezonja (6-8, 218, 1 NBA season); C.J. Wilcox (6-5, 195, 2 NBA seasons); Jodie Meeks (6-4, 210, 7 NBA seasons); Nick Johnson (6-3, 202, 1 NBA season); Kevin Murphy (6-6, 185, 1 NBA season).

PROJECTED STARTER: Fournier (2015-16 stats: 79 games, 15.4 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 2.7 apg., 46.2 FG percent, 40.0 3FG percent, 83.6 FT percent).

PROJECTED DEPTH: Hezonja (2015-16 stats: 79 games, 6.1 ppg., 2.2 rpg., 1.4 bpg., 43.3 FG percent, 34.9 3FG percent, 90.7 FT percent); Wilcox (2015-16 stats: 23 NBA games, 3 ppg., 0.5 rpg., 0.4 apg., 39.4 FG percent, 39.1 3FG percent, 75 FT percent); Meeks (2015-16 stats: 3 games, 7.3 ppg., 1.7 rpg., 1.0 apg., 35 FG percent, 44.4 3FG percent, 100 FT percent); Johnson (2015-16 stats: 28 NBA games, 2.6 ppg., 1.4 rpg., 0.4 apg., 34.7 FG percent, 23.8 3FG percent, 68 FT percent); Murphy (2015-16 stats: 17 NBA games, 0.9 ppg., 0.2 rpg., 0.1 apg., 25 FG percent, 20 3FG percent, 0 FT percent).

STRENGTHS: While the Magic don’t have an established all-star at the shooting guard position they do have two rising standouts in Fournier and Hezonja to man the position. Both possess great size, shooting range and a surprising knack for finishing around the rim. Clearly, their best basketball is yet to come and that could mean big things for the Magic considering that Fournier is coming off another career year. The steady improvement of Hezonja – a dynamic player because of his playmaking skills and shooting range – could be a major factor in the Magic’s ability to make the playoffs this season. When healthy, Meeks also gives the Magic another solid shooter from afar. However, he missed most of last season with a fractured foot and he’ll open training camp in a walking boot following a second surgery. Getting him back and knocking down shots from afar could be another big key for the Magic.

WEAKNESSES: An argument could be made that there’s not much proven depth behind Fournier considering that Hezonja, Wilcox, Johnson and Murphy have little experience at the NBA level. Meeks is a proven NBA commodity and he has a track record of being a clutch 3-point shooter, but his recent injury history is a major concern. Quelling the Magic’s fears somewhat is the fact that reserve point guards C.J. Watson and D.J. Augustin can both play shooting guard because of their solid shooting strokes and their basketball smarts. Both could see time there late in games when the Magic are trying to load the floor with shooters for spacing purposes.

ANALYSIS: GM Rob Hennigan faced a difficult dilemma in the offseason: Fournier or Oladipo at shooting guard? Stacked against one another statistically, Fournier won that comparison and the Magic acted accordingly. They turned Oladipo into Ibaka in a trade and they locked up Fournier to a lucrative, long-term contract.

Fournier averaged career highs in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and minutes last season. He led the team in scoring 19 times, had 24 20-point games and two 30-point nights. He had the game-winning 3-pointer against Minnesota on Nov. 18, the go-ahead basket for a win versus Houston on Dec. 23 and converted a game-tying layup in the final seconds of regulation against Dallas on Feb. 19 – a game that the Magic went on to win. Also, Fournier was one of just eight players in the NBA to shoot at least 45 percent from the floor, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the 3-point line this season, joining Golden State’s Steph Curry and Klay Thompson, San Antonio’s Kawhi Leonard, Charlotte’s Marvin Williams, Los Angeles’ J.J. Redick, New York’s Jose Calderon and Sacramento’s Darren Collison.

Hezonja could very well be the most important player on the roster this season because his potential improvement could mean everything to the Magic. If Hezonja can take another big jump with his play – meaning he’s more aggressive offensively and more aware defensively – he could see a big jump in his minutes and his production. Hezonja can play both shooting guard and small forward and his ability to drill the 3-point shot and run the pick-and-roll makes him a very valuable piece to the Magic.

Meeks will miss all of training camp and most likely all of the preseason as he recovers from a fractured bone in his foot. Because they already have a shortage of shooting, the Magic desperately need Meeks to be healthy enough to play the majority of the season. He’s made at least 38 percent of his 3-point shots four times in his career and that reliable shot should earn him minutes as a top reserve.

Wilcox has played only sparingly the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Magic are eager to give him a look because of his intriguing size and shooting stroke. In two NBA seasons, he’s made 16 of 42 3-point shots (38.1 percent).

Johnson, a standout on the Magic’s summer league team, is in a fight for a roster spot, as is Murphy.

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