The Orlando Magic made clear their intentions. They pushed their chips in acquiring Serge Ibaka and dealing away Victor Oladipo. It was a sign of change for the Magic. The rebuilding was over, they were cashing in some of their young players and looking for something a little more certain.
Victor Oladipo was a good player. The Magic seemed ready to build around him. But he had not completely matured in the role the Magic needed from him.
Orlando needed Oladipo to become a star. His 16.0 points per game and 48.9 percent effective field goal percentage needed to increase. His 53.4 percent true shooting percentage was solid and beginning to creep up too. There are some indications Oladipo can take the step up.
His season last year was inconsistent. The Magic moved him to the bench at one point. And that inconsistency had the Magic struggling through points of the season. Some games he looked like everything the Magic wanted, and other games, he looked like a good but not great player.
Oladipo seemed far away from an All Star and a player to build around.
That is not to say Serge Ibaka is that player. He is not. He has never proven that either. Playing with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Ibaka perhaps never had that chance.
A big part of the Magic’s deal is taking a bit of a gamble on Ibaka and what he can bring to the Magic on defense and banking on his ability to grow on offense. Ibaka’s career high in points is 15.1 points per game in 2014. He is not known as an offensive player.
And therein lies the rub for the Magic. Orlando traded one incomplete player for another in this offseason to try to build a playoff-contending team. They do not have that sure thing. They are still looking for it in free agency.
And so the questions with whether the Magic made the right deal here is a legitimate one. Did Orlando really improve from June 22 to June 24?
That has been the question asked of the Magic since the deal. Have the Magic gotten better. It was a question posed directly to me on Tuck and O’Neill on Monday. It has a multi-part answer:
Certainly the Magic have some major holes to fill. They lack outside shooting still and need a guard who can create his own offense.
If the Magic had to play tomorrow, this team is probably not better than it was last week. They have to rely on a still undeveloped Aaron Gordon or Mario Hezonja as a starter with little depth behind him and they do not have a player who can create his own shot or get into the paint consistently. These are all needs the Magic have to fill in free agency.
If they can fill those needs though, the debate gets more interesting. And it would appear the Magic are better for it.
Serge Ibaka is an elite shot blocker. Much of the offensive production Oladipo had can be found elsewhere. Add on Frank Vogel’s defensive chops and the Magic should be able to make up for whatever is lost on the defensive end from Oladipo’s departure.
It is hard to say whether the team is better though. Truly better. The picture is still very incomplete for the Magic. They have to hit on free agency to complete this roster and make the Playoffs. That is the focus for the next week.
Orlando’s roster is far from complete. The Magic made a big move but still have more to come. And while they still have flexibility to make a big splash in the next month, the odds of that still seem low with the team coming off a mere 35-win season. The Magic might have been better off letting the whole thing marinate another year and look to cash in the chips then.
Then again, Oladipo’s stock may not have been higher on the trade market. It netted them a player with an elite skill.
It is unclear exactly how this trade will turn out. What is clear is the Magic have a lot of work to do yet to accomplish their summer goals.
More NBA Draft talk and Arena Football
In addition to appearing on Tuck and O’Neill, I appeared on the Bang the Book Podcast to break down the surprises of the NBA Draft and the Magic’s draft move.
I also spoke a bit about the Orlando Predators’ season and how they have played in the Arena Football League. My appearance is at the beginning of the show:
SBNation makes early bowl projections
UCF should be an improved team, but few have the Knights returning to the bowl scene this upcoming year.
SBNation released bowl projections for the upcoming college football season (now that we can kind of see it out in the distance on the horizon) and left the Knights off the list.
In fact, once again, SBNation has the American Conference failing to fill its bowl allotment.
For the Orlando bowl games, they project Cal to take on Troy in the AutoNation Cure Bowl, marking the second time a team from California would travel cross country to fill a bowl spot. It would seem unlikely a team like the Golden Bears would make that trek especially to play a Sun Belt team.
In the Russell Athletic Bowl, SBNation projects Louisville to take on West Virginia, and in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl, they project Penn State to take on Ole Miss. Ole Miss will open its season against Florida State in the Camping World Kickoff Classic. Florida heads to the Outback Bowl, leaving the Citrus Bowl with that interesting decision there after the Gators played in the game last season.
Fortunately for the bowl games, they do not have to make these decisions for another six months. College football season has not even started yet.
