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By John DentonMay 4, 2016
ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic’s season was filled with some dramatic highs and lows, notably the promising 19-13 start and the crushing 2-15 stretch throughout January and early February.
That up-and-down play resulted in the Magic making a 10-win improvement over the previous season for just the fourth double-digit jump from year to year in franchise history. But it also caused the Magic to miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive year.
Clearly, the Magic have many of the pieces already in place needed to put together a contending team in the Eastern Conference. Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier make up a solid core, while young players Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja are filled with promise.
However, there are still plenty of holes in the roster that the Magic must address this summer in the draft, trade market and free agency. Expect GM Rob Hennigan and head coach Scott Skiles to be active this offseason in helping the Magic use their available salary cap space to recruit more talent to Orlando with the hopes of building Orlando into a playoff contender.
The NBA’s pre-draft camp in Chicago is May 11-15 and the order for the NBA Draft will be set in the lottery on May 17. The NBA Draft is June 23 and the free-agent courting period begins on July 1.
Over the next month, we’ll look back at the play of each of the Magic’s main players from last season.
PLAYER: Elfrid Payton POSITION: Point guard NBA SEASONS: 2 AGE: 22 2015-16 SEASON STATS: 73 games (69 starts), 10.7 ppg., 3.6 rpg., 6.4 apg., 1.2 spg., 43.6 percent FG, 32.6 percent 3FG, 58.9 percent FT. CAREER NBA STATS: 155 games (132 starts), 9.7 ppg., 3.9 rpg., 6.5 apg., 1.2 spg., 43 FG percent, 30.6 3FG percent, 56.9 FT percent. 2015-16 SEASON HIGHS: 24 points, Nov. 18 vs. Minnesota; 10 rebounds, three times, most recently March 23 at Detroit; 12 assists, three times, most recently March 29 vs. Brooklyn; five steals, twice, most recently Dec. 20 vs. Atlanta; two blocks, March 26 vs. Chicago; 42 minutes, Feb. 10 vs. San Antonio.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: After struggling with the transition to Scott Skiles’ offense and various injuries, Payton played his best basketball down the stretch to somewhat salvage his season. After the all-star break, Payton averaged 9.9 points, 7.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game while shooting a solid 45.8 percent from the floor. December (12.7 ppg. and 5.3 apg.) and March (11.1 ppg. and 7.5 apg.) were his best months of the season – not coincidentally they were also the Magic’s best months. Payton led the Magic in assists 46 times and he notched the third triple-double of his career on Mach 23 in Detroit when he had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. That performance allowed him to become just the second Magic player ever to notch a triple-double while being used in a reserve role.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Payton says that he never missed a basketball due to injury in junior high, high school and college and that was the case during his rookie season when he played all 82 games. However, this past season he missed two weeks of the preseason with an ankle sprain and then he missed nine games with a bone bruise in his ankle and an elbow strain. His ankle injury in January coincided with a swoon (2-15 in 17 games over January and early February) that ruined Orlando’s season. Also, Payton seemed to lose his aggressiveness early in the season as he adjusted to a new offensive system that centered more around passing and cutting than dribbling. Payton’s shooting improved from the field (from 42.5 percent to 43.6 percent), 3-point line (from 26.2 percent to 32.6 percent) and free throw stripe (from 55.1 percent to 58.9 percent), but he still has a long way to go to keep teams honest in guarding him. Payton’s ability to become a more reliable shooter is one of the most important offseason areas of concern for the Magic.
FUTURE ROLE WITH MAGIC: The season was filled with some dramatic highs and lows for Payton, who had to battle through injuries and a system change for the first time in his career. The way he flourished late in the season – when his energy level and aggressiveness picked up – shows that he can be successful. Payton is most likely a core piece for the Magic moving forward, but the team could also look to improve at the point guard position with the addition of a free-agent player. Payton has the physical tools and the strong basketball IQ to be an elite player in the NBA, but his shot must improve dramatically and his energy and focus levels have to become more consistent. His ability to improve over the summer could be directly tied to how much the Magic are able to improve next season. Simply put, it’s difficult to win in the NBA these days without getting stellar play from the point guard position considering the wealth of talent there. Orlando desperately needs Payton to improve his game so that it can get back into the playoff mix next season.
