By John Denton
Feb. 23, 2017
ORLANDO – Choosing to continue building around its young, talented core while also maintaining financial flexibility for what figures to be another busy offseason, the Orlando Magic stood pat at Thursday’s NBA trade deadline.
The Magic pulled off a major trade last week when they acquired versatile wing Terrence Ross in exchange for power forward Serge Ibaka. Orlando GM Rob Hennigan promised to be active in the days and hours leading up to Thursday’s 3 p.m. deadline, but no deal ever materialized for a Magic franchise highly disappointed over how this season has played out.
Magic head coach Frank Vogel was in on those talks on Thursday, and he said he was pleased that the Magic resisted the temptation to further shake up the roster. The Magic hope that more continuity with Nikola Vucevic, Bismack Biyombo, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Mario Hezonja, Ross and head coach Frank Vogel will lead to big things in the future.
``I was there the whole afternoon, or just about, and things really quieted down toward the actual deadline,’’ Vogel said of the potential trade calls the Magic received. ``You can’t talk about all the deals, but certainly saying `no’ to some deals makes sense in a lot of situations. That was the case today.’’
Orlando will have a couple of avenues with which to try and make major improvements this summer. The Magic are scheduled to have two first-round draft picks – their own and the lesser of the Raptors and Clippers. The Magic entered Thursday with the NBA’s fourth-worst record and if things stay that way over the final 24 games they will have strong odds at landing another top-five pick.
The Magic have $83 million in salaries committed to players for next season, meaning they could have as much as $27 million to spend if the salary cap takes another significant jump as expected based on the league’s revenues from its television deal. Four current Magic players – Jeff Green, Jodie Meeks, C.J. Wilcox and Damjan Rudez – don’t have contracts for next season and veteran point guard C.J. Watson’s deal is only partially guaranteed.
ROSS TO START: Terrence Ross had to wait a week to make his Magic debut after his clearance was held up before last Wednesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. However, he won’t have to wait on getting the expanded role that he’s sought for years after backing up all-stars DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry in Toronto.
Ross, a 6-foot-7, 206-pounder, got the start at shooting guard on Thursday night in his Magic debut. His promotion into the starting lineup forced Vogel to move Evan Fournier to small forward and Aaron Gordon to power forward.
While the shooting guard and small forward roles are basically the same on the offensive end of the floor, the move from small forward to power forward was a major shift in thinking for Gordon. Vogel said last week that the team was leery of altering Gordon’s position because he’s had so much success on the defensive end of the floor in guarding elite wing scorers. However, the decision was made to shift Gordon back to the position that he played during his first two seasons in the NBA to complement the Magic’s plan to play with more 3-point shooting and speed.
In 54 games with Toronto before the trade, Ross was used strictly as a reserve. But Vogel wanted him on the floor from the start on Thursday – even if it meant altering much of the rest of his lineup.
``It shows how high we are on (Ross) and we want to see him in the starting lineup,’’ Vogel said. ``We want to see what he can do as a starter. He’ll have a great opportunity here to show what he can do.
``We had talked about Aaron Gordon playing mostly (small forward) and a little bit of (power forward), but it’s probably going to be the other way around,’’ Vogel added. ``Evan and Aaron had success at those positions last year down the stretch. We’re sizing down a little bit, but with those guys and Terrence Ross, it gives us a chance to get our strongest club out there.’’
WATSON WAITING: Watson left the Magic’s morning shootaround in a walking boot on Thursday to protect his sore right Achilles’ tendon.
Watson, a 10-year NBA veteran, said the back of his foot had been sore for more than a week and he tried to play through it last Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs. Watson left that game at halftime and a MRI on Wednesday revealed a strain in the tendon.
``In the (San Antonio) game it felt way more sore than it had been and I tried to tape it up, but it wasn’t feeling good,’’ Watson said. ``I don’t know who it happened, but I just wanted to give it a little rest and see how it feels after a week.’’
Watson was on the Inactive List on Thursday, allowing Elfrid Payton to move back into the starting lineup.
Prior to the injury, Watson had been one of the Magic’s steadiest players of late and had recently started nine games at shooting guard and point guard. This season as a starter, he’s averaged 10.2 points, 2.6 assists and 1.22 steals.
``It’s very frustrating, but it’s part of basketball and you’re going to get hurt,’’ Watson said of the timing of the injury. ``I’ve just got to bounce back. (The MRI) was a big relief, so I’ll rest it for a week in the boot and see how it feels after that.’’
OLD FRIENDS: It’s never easy on NBA players to get traded in the middle of a season as they are forced to uproot their lives and their families and move to a city where they are unfamiliar. Then, there’s the matter of trying to blend in on a new team filled with players you barely even know.
That isn’t the case at all with Ross, making his transition to Orlando a bit easier.
Ross played with Biyombo, a close friend, in Toronto last season and he’ll get the chance to do the same now in Orlando. And his relationships don’t stop there.
``It’s always nice having somebody that you’ve played with and have known and it’s nice being here because I have a few guys here that I know,’’ Ross said. ``I played against (Vucevic) in college, Elfrid and I have the same agent and C.J. (Wilcox) and I went to the same college (at the University of Washington). So knowing those guys makes the transition a lot easier.’’
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.