Orlando Magic Offseason Review: Solving The Offensive Maze

Plus, why Banchero must never become Melo

TL; DR ORLANDO MAGIC

• THE FIRE RISES

• Signed Tyus Jones (1-year, $7 million)

• Gary Harris left in free agency

• Signed Paolo to the supermax

• Re-signed Mo Wagner

ADDITIONS

• I wrote on the Magic trade for Bane here and why it was so good.

  • The high and low end outcomes for Bane in Orlando are pretty wide.

    • He might legitimately leap into All-Star consideration and look like an entirely different level of star

    • He might watch his shot burn to a crisp like a check under a candle as so many offensive players have seen in Orlando

• I am still baffled at what happened to Tyus Jones.

  • In Memphis, he was one of the best and most valuable back up point guards in the league.

  • He wanted to pursue starter money.

  • He averaged seven dimes in less than 30 minutes per game in Washington for a team with no offensive talent

  • He goes to Phoenix to be the missing piece which absolutely should have worked just like the rest of that roster should have worked and it didn’t

  • Now he’s a one-year, $7 million guy?

  • What the hell?!

• Jones is a great way to handle a delicate situation at point guard

  • Jalen Suggs wants to play point

  • He’s not quite good enough offensively or as a playmaker to do it

  • Having Jones means you can get to lineups with a floor general if you need it.

  • Jones-Suggs-Bane-Paolo-Goga is going to be a pain in the ass lineup to deal with

  • Jones is even more vulnerable to the Magic offensive slide if that continues than Bane

DEPARTURES

• The Magic were +7.2 net rating with Gary Harris on the floor last season, 8.6 points per 100 better than without him.

• He had a 95th percentile defensive EPM and was one of the few Magic to shoot close to league average from 3.

• But he only played 711 minutes in 48 games.

  • As it has been since he suffered a core injury in Denver, Harris simply hasn’t been the same or been able to stay on the floor since

• That said, while Bane and Jones are upgrades at guard/wing, the rest of the Magic’s cadre of young guys were so underwhelming offensively and mostly unimpactful defensively that losing Harris could actually matter.

• Their two biggest departures, Cole Anthony and KCP, were directly replaced by upgrades in Tyus and Bane respectively.