The Magic: The Rise and Fall of Orlando’s Team

It’s no secret that the Orlando Magic have been one of the NBA’s worst teams this season. Sitting at 18-38 and as the second-to-worst team in the Eastern Conference, there have been multiple factors that can be credited to Orlando’s dysfunction. Some people may say that injuries ruined the 2020-2021 season for the Magic, as Orlando did lose two of their best players to injury early in the year. Due to an ACL Tear, both Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz missed the entire season. The injuries wouldn’t end with Isaac and Fultz, though. In fact, at the March 25th Trade Deadline, Orlando had a total of 16 different players suffer an injury since opening night, including Isaac and Fultz. The Magic have failed to develop their young players, as the team went through seven straight lottery picks from 2013-2018 and didn’t draft a single franchise contributor.

Unfortunately, the Magic have been in the position of ‘starting over’ before. After the Dwight Howard Saga ended in 2012, the Magic just crumbled. Since Howard’s departure in 2012, the Magic have gone 232-415 over the last eight seasons (2012-2020). Orlando has been unable to get a ‘Franchise Cornerstone’ except Nikola Vucevic, who is now on the Bulls. So, with this NBA Season headed to the dumps for the Magic, where do they go from here? Well, as the old saying goes; “In order to get where you want to go, you must first identify where you are right now”. So, let’s take a look at the journey including the Rise and Fall of the Orlando Magic.

2012-2013 Season: Magic Draft Victor Oladipo After Horrendous Season

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To no one’s surprise, the Magic were the worst team in the NBA after completely breaking up their NBA Finals Core. The Magic finished with the league’s worst record at 20-62, even worse than the Charlotte Bobcats (Hornets). Fortunately, the Magic received the second overall selection in a deep draft class consisting of CJ McCollum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Steven Adams, among others. Ultimately, the Magic selected Victor Oladipo out of Indiana. Oladipo was a smart pick since the Magic were thin in the backcourt. Oladipo turned out to be a great pick by the Magic, as he has already notched three All-Stars in his career. The only problem is, Oladipo didn’t notch a single All-Star appearance in Orlando. Oladipo didn’t post terrible numbers in his three seasons with the Magic, at 15.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 4.0 APG, but lost plenty of playing time in favor of veterans.

2013-2014 Season: Magic Slightly Improve, Draft Aaron Gordon, Trade for Tobias Harris and Nikola Vucevic

Orlando Magic: 2014-15 Season Preview - Page 2

The Magic were able to improve their league-worst 20-62 record from last season, but not by much, finishing 23–59. Oladipo had a solid rookie season, averaging 13.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 4.1 APG, and made the All-Rookie Team. Head Coach Jacque Vaughn and General Manager Rob Hennigan understood the roster needed a shake-up, and did just that. Through a trade, the Magic acquired Tobias Harris from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for J.J. Redick. Harris became an instant contributor for the Magic, averaging 14.6 PPG and 7.0 RPG for the team. The Magic also landed Vucevic through the four-team Dwight Howard deal. Vucevic played well in his role that season, averaging 14.2 PPG and 11.0 RPG. During the 2014 Draft, the Magic selected Aaron Gordon with the fourth overall selection. It took time for Gordon to develop, but the selection started to solidify the Magic’s young core.

2014-2015 Season: Magic Marginally Improve Again, Select Mario Hezonja With Fifth Overall Pick

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There weren’t any major changes in the 2014-2015 season, as Orlando improved by two games than the previous season, sitting at 25-57. The team did move up to the 13th seed in the Eastern Conference after being the 15th seed two seasons ago. Vucevic led the Magic in PPG (19.3) and RPG (10.9) in just his third season with the team. Oladipo and Harris also had productive scoring seasons, with both players averaging north of 17 PPG. Despite this, Orlando finished fifth in a competitive Southeast division and landed another top-five selection. The Magic made their first regrettable selection in the draft by selecting Mario Hezonja, a forward out of Croatia. Hezonja’s impact wasn’t spectacular, at 6.9 PPG and 2.8 RPG in his three seasons with the Magic. In a deep class consisting of Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Kristaps Porzingis, and Devin Booker, the Magic whiffed with selecting Hezonja.

2015-2016 Season: Orlando’s Front Office Sets Team Back With Poor Trades

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Funny enough, it was the Magic’s success that set the team back for many years. After the 2015-2016 season ended, the Magic finished with a 35-47 record, their best since the 2011-2012 season. HC Scott Skilles and General Manager Rob Hennigan thought this team was ready to contend, despite finishing fifth in the Southeast for a fourth straight season. Hennigan would quickly deal Harris to the Pistons for Ersan İlyasova. Hennigan would then trade Ilyasova, Oladipo, and future All-Star Domantis Sabonis, who was selected with the 11th overall pick to the Thunder for Serge Ibaka. The Magic thought they were getting a steal in getting Ibaka, but he would stay with the Magic for the remainder of the season before being dealt to Toronto in exchange for Terrence Ross. Orlando would make the switch at HC by hiring Frank Vogel to replace Skilles as the next HC of the Magic.

2016-2017 Season: Magic Fire GM Hennigan in Wake of Fifth Straight Losing Season

Jonathan Isaac, Bismack Biyombo, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets

At last, Hennigan’s unforgettable tenure as the Magic’s GM ended on April 13th, 2017, capping off a 29 win season. The Magic posted a 132-278 record under Hennigan, which was the worst five-year stretch in team history. The Magic would go on to hire John Hammond as their next GM. Hammond wasted no time in trying to build back up the Magic after Hennigan’s terrible moves. He resigned Evan Fournier to a five-year, $85 million contract. Hammond would continue to bolster Orlando’s roster by signing Bismack Biyombo to a four-year, $72 million contract, D.J. Augustin to a four-year, $29 million contract, and Jeff Green to a one-year, $15 million contract. Finally, Hammond and the Magic’s Front Office decided to select Florida State‘s Jonathan Isaac with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Hammond believed these transactions could propel Orlando back into the playoffs sooner than later.

2017-2018 Season: Magic Hire Steve Clifford as Current Head Coach, Draft Mo Bamba

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Well, Frank Vogel didn’t last long in Orlando. After Coaching in Orlando for three seasons, Vogel was fired on April 12th, 2018. The Magic began their search for their next HC, and enter Defensive Specialist Steve Clifford. Clifford had little to work with, as Orlando just notched their sixth straight losing season, at 25-57. Clifford and the Front Office did make a controversial selection with the sixth overall pick in the Draft, selecting Texas’ Mo Bamba. At the time, Orlando didn’t need another center. The team already had an emerging Vucevic, Khem Birch, and Timofey Mozgov. As suspected, an unproven Bamba wouldn’t receive much playing time, and his production has been lackluster as a result. Bamba averaged an obscure 6.2 PPG and 5.0 RPG in his rookie campaign, which isn’t much better than his career averages, at 5.9 PPG and 4.8 RPG.

2018-2019 Season: Magic’s Stellar Defense Lead Them to First Playoff Series Since 2012

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Well, you could say the hiring of Clifford worked. In Clifford’s first season coaching the Magic, he led them to a 42-40 record, which was a 17-game improvement from a year ago. Mainly, it was Orlando’s defense that improved. Orlando’s defensive rating went up ten spots to eighth overall in the NBA, at 108.1. They also held their opponents to fewer points than the previous season, from 108.2 PPG to 106.6 PPG. The Magic were able to sneak into the playoffs as the seventh seed, where they matched up with Kawhi Leonard and the eventual champion Raptors. The Magic surprisingly won game one, 104-101, behind Augustin’s 25-point performance. Leonard and the Raptors regained control of the rest of the series, however, winning the next four games. After being eliminated, the Magic needed to find an upgrade to pair with Augustin. Orlando ended up trading for Markelle Fultz from Philadelphia.

2019-2020 Season: Magic Sneak Back Into Playoffs With Another Solid Season, Draft Cole Anthony and Sign Chuma Okeke

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For the second straight season, the Magic made it back into the NBA Playoffs, this time as the eighth seed, with a 33-40 record. Vucevic led the Magic to a steady season with his first All-Star Appearance, as he averaged 19.6 PPG and 10.9 RPG. In the playoffs, the Magic matched up with the Bucks, who had the NBA’s best record, at 56-17. Just like the last playoff series, Orlando prevailed in game one, beating the Bucks 122-110. Vucevic was spectacular, with 35 points and 14 rebounds. The game one stunner was all for not, as Milwaukee beat Orlando in four games. Vucevic had an amazing series, averaging 28.0 PPG and 11.0 RPG. As the NBA Draft rolled around, Orlando had its eye on a guard. So, Orlando chose Cole Anthony with the 16th pick, and signed Chuma Okeke to his rookie deal after drafting him in 2019.

2020-2021 Season and the Future: Where do the Magic Go From here?

As we all know by now, the injury-plagued Magic haven’t had too many things go their way this season. The development of Orlando’s young players have been hindered by various injuries or the loss of playing time in favor of veterans. Orlando’s only ‘franchise cornerstone’ since Howard in Vucevic is no longer with the team, and the team hasn’t gotten ideal production from their role players when healthy. Combine all of that up with a shortened offseason, and you get the 2020-2021 Orlando Magic.

On a positive note, you could look at this season as if it’s a carbon copy of the fire sale the team had when Howard requested a trade back in 2012. Orlando then received major assets from that trade, just like they did with the trades of Vucevic, Fournier, and Gordon. The good news for the Magic is that there is no direction other than ‘up’ for the team, meaning they will improve, some way or another. Orlando has the rotational players to return to the top of the East, and they have the draft compensation to land a major star through a trade or the draft. Now, equipped with the tools and the opportunity, Orlando has to do something they’ve struggled with since the franchise was created, and that is to complete the process of a Rebuild

 

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