NBA PM: Are The Magic Still One Piece Away?

Still One Piece Away? If you have been watching the Orlando Magic this season, there are a few things that jump off the page: the team is much improved over last year in how they play and prepare for games and as much as things are progressing, to really be elite the Magic still seem one player away.

The lack of a clearly defined franchise player has put the Magic in a precarious situation because not only do they have a roster full of promise, they also have some looming free agency decisions that could shape how aggressive the Magic stay the course with the core they have.

During the offseason, the Magic cleared out some of the logjams at the three and four, agreeing to sign-and-trade Kyle O’Quinn to the New York Knicks and deal Maurice Harkless to the Portland Trail Blazers for basically nothing in return.

Those moves have helped define the Magic’s frontcourt, but their backcourt remains somewhat congested. Magic guard Victor Oladipo has emerged as an amazing athlete and impact player on both ends of the floor, but his shooting has regressed significantly at the same time that would-be free agent Evan Fournier has started to really blossom.

Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but the Magic drafted Mario Hezonja in the first round and while the coaching staff is trying to find him minutes at the small forward spot, his natural position is more at the off-guard spot. That creates something of a log-jam on the wing.

The point guard position isn’t as murky, but the offseason trade that brought in Shabazz Napier has proven to be a solid one, giving the Magic more shooting at the point guard spot to help off-set the limitations second-year guard Elfrid Payton has from the perimeter. Payton has evolved into a do-everything guard, but his limitations as a shooter are real.

Orlando faces some choices. While a ballooning salary cap will allow them to retain anyone they’d like to keep long-term, the question becomes: is one of these promising pieces that are part of the log-jam more valuable in trade than as a long-term piece?

The Magic have yet to find a meaningful role for forward Aaron Gordon, and as the young guys start to require more time can a team that’s focused on winning now manage the need for young guys to grow and blossom while at the same time keeping the players that can truly win games on the floor?

That’s not an easy puzzle to solve.

The Magic are not actively looking at trades or changes, and they likely won’t do much in the way of outbound shopping this year. While every team is open for business, the Magic are truly using this season to figure out who are really the long-term pieces to the championship puzzle.

The Magic are going to face some tough decisions in the immediate future, mainly because as bright as some of the parts are, the Magic are still one player away from being a serious contender, and that may require cashing out some duplication to get there.

Not Nash, But Not Bad Either:  When Minnesota Timberwolves guard Ricky Rubio burst on to the scene during the Beijing Olympics as part of the Spanish National, there was a sense that Rubio might be the next superstar point guard.

NBA teams began to clamor over him, and some people thought that he might be a top-three pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.

After a crazy series of pre-draft workouts, Rubio landed in Minnesota as the fifth overall pick. Like many promising young international players, Rubio opted to play abroad for a couple of seasons before finally joining the Wolves as an NBA rookie in 2011.

For as much hype as Rubio had coming in his career, he has been marred by injuries and limitations. Since 2011, Rubio has missed 114 out of 324 games – having played 82 games just once in his five NBA seasons.

Between the injuries and less than stellar shooting, Rubio had started to look more and more like a bust than the future star he was supposed to be back in 2009.

However, this season has shown a very different side to Rubio. He has battled back from his injuries to post what’s shaping up to be his best season as a pro.

He is steadily emerging as not only a solid floor leader, but his 8.6 assists ties him for the third in the NBA with Washington’s John Wall in assists per game. Rubio’s two turnovers per game put him just behind Memphis’ Mike Conley for the fewest turnovers by high usage point guards.

While Rubio isn’t lighting the world on fire from the field, he is averaging 11.6 points per game with a 19.53 PER rating, which ranks him 11th in the NBA ahead of the likes of Los Angeles’ Chris Paul (18.51 PER), Atlanta’s Jeff Teague (19.03 PER) and San Antonio’s Tony Parker (17.10 PER).

While Rubio hasn’t turned into the Steve Nash-type floor leader some hoped he would be, he is starting to silence his critics with solid play on the floor. If his shooting ever turns the corner, Rubio might end up being a very solid NBA point guard. Considering the road to that point, that would be a huge accomplishment.

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