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By John DentonApril 28, 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: Victor Oladipo POSITION: Shooting guard NBA SEASONS: 3 AGE: 23 2015-16 SEASON STATS: 72 games, 16 ppg., 4.8 rpg., 3.9 apg., 1.6 spg., 43.8 percent FG, 34.8 percent 3FG, 83 percent FT. CAREER NBA STATS: 167 games, 15.9 ppg., 4.4 rpg., 4.0 apg., 1.6 spg., 43.1 FG percent, 33.9 3FG percent, 80.8 FT percent. 2015-16 SEASON HIGHS: 45 points, March 18 vs. Cleveland; 14 rebounds, Feb. 19 vs. Dallas; 10 assists, Oct. 30 vs. Oklahoma City; five steals, four times, most recently April 1 at Milwaukee; four blocks, twice, most recently April 1 at Milwaukee; 51 minutes, Oct. 30 vs. Oklahoma City.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Whether he was starting or coming off the bench, Oladipo was a reliable player on both ends of the floor for the Magic. Head coach Scott Skiles feels that Oladipo was a “first-team all-defense” player most of the season, but his work on that end likely won’t be recognized in the end-of-season awards because of the Magic’s poor overall record. He had the best shooting night of his life on March 18 against Cleveland, making 16 of 22 shots and six of seven 3-pointers for a career-best 45 points. Oladipo shot 48.3 percent from 3-point range in January and averaged 19.2 and 20.1 points in February and March to finish strong for a third consecutive season. Also, Oladipo greatly improved his rebounding this season, averaging career marks on both the offensive and defensive boards.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Oladipo suffered through an injury-plagued season, missing 10 games with a variety of bumps and bruises. Of concern are the two concussions that he suffered over a five-month span. He collided with teammate Dewayne Dedmon on Nov. 11 and suffered the first concussion and he was hit by a Hassan Whiteside elbow on April 8, causing him to miss the final three games of the season with another concussion. Also, Oladipo’s outside shot continued to be incredibly streaky, limiting his effectiveness. He shot just 27.7 percent and 28.2 percent from 3-point range in November and December before finding his groove in January (48.3 percent) from beyond the arc. His 3-point accuracy dipped again in February (32.8 percent) and April (30.8 percent), but was solid in March (38.8 percent). As a whole, Oladipo’s 3-point percentage (34.8 percent) was up over the previous season (33.9 percent), but he must become a more consistent 3-point shooter for the Magic to ever take major strides offensively.
FUTURE ROLE WITH MAGIC: Oladipo recently purchased a home in suburban Orlando and he looks to be a fixture with the Magic for years to come. No one can doubt how hard he plays and the passion that he brings to the arena every night, but the team just needs him to shoot the ball with more consistency and to play with more awareness late in games. Too often last season, Oladipo either launched ill-advised shots, broke plays or left his man defensively – leading to heartbreak for the Magic in close games. The Magic know full well that Oladipo has the kind of talent, character and work ethic that they can build around and they want him to be a part of their core for years to come. However, if the team adds one or more elite free agents this summer, Oladipo must be willing to accept a lesser role in the offense for the good of the squad. The Magic are also counting on the guard to work this summer to make more improvements in his game – something that he has done repeatedly throughout his three-year NBA career.
