Grading Orlando Magic's Final 15-Man Roster
There are plenty of fresh faces on the Orlando Magic's newly unveiled 15-man roster.
After an offseason in which general manager Rob Hennigan added some much-needed depth and a pair of explosive top-10 draft picks, the Magic could be one of the teams challenging for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Beset with unfortunate injuries to begin the year, the starting lineup might not accurately reflect the organization's vision. Key pieces are set to miss significant time, allowing for head coach Jacque Vaughn to do some tinkering with his versatile roster.
The last four players cut from the Magic were Kadeem Batts, Drew Crawford, Seth Curry and Peyton Siva, all of whom will end up with the D-League's Erie BayHawks should they clear waivers.
The Magic open their season Tuesday night against the New Orleans Pelicans, but before we tip off let's examine the 15 men that comprise the roster and hand out some grades in the process.
5. Center
1 of 5
Projected Starter: Nikola Vucevic
Backups: Andrew Nicholson, Dewayne Dedmon
Orlando sports two relative unknowns at the 5 spot behind Nikola Vucevic, one of the best young centers in the NBA.
At just 24 years old, the 7-footer from Switzerland has proven during his two seasons in Orlando that he is a walking double-double. Last season, he averaged a career-high 14.2 points and 11.0 rebounds a night. For a team that is still gradually recovering from 2012's Dwight Howard trade, Vucevic—the best piece Orlando received in return—has helped ease the burden.
He led the team last year in player efficiency rating (18.8) and win shares (.116) while being a force on the boards.
He's a huge part of this team going forward and should continue his stellar play throughout the 2014-15 season. The Magic must agree, seeing as how they just inked him to a four-year, $53 million contract extension.
Andrew Nicholson, the 6'9" former first-round pick from St. Bonaventure, has a varied offensive repertoire.
Even though he shot just 31 percent from three-point range last season, he demonstrated an ability to stretch the floor. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, however, sees him drifting away from the three-point line and placing an emphasis on his array of post moves, which made him so successful as a rookie.
The frontcourt is crowded in Orlando, but expect him to contribute more than the 15.4 minutes per game he played last season. He's an important cog to the bench unit.
Dewayne Dedmon went undrafted last year after playing his college ball at USC and spent the season bouncing between the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers and the D-League before eventually finding a home with the Magic.
A true 7-footer, Dedmon has explosiveness around the basket and can knock down a fadeaway from the post, but he projects as nothing more than a rotational big at this point for Orlando.
Grade: B
4. Power Forward
2 of 5
Projected Starter: Tobias Harris
Backups: Aaron Gordon, Channing Frye, Kyle O'Quinn
This is certainly a crowded group, but one with a versatile skill set and potential for elite production.
Tobias Harris leads the charge. He's been quite a find since coming over in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2012-13 season. He's settled in with Orlando, averaging 15.5 points and 7.4 rebounds a night in 88 games with the Magic, compared to 4.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 70 games with Milwaukee.
The pair of Harris and Vucevic is a formidable young duo, particularly around the basket. Harris sports a decent inside-out game and at 6'8", 226 pounds has the body to maneuver for rebounds. He had a career-high 20 boards in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers last season.
Aaron Gordon is the wild card. The No. 4 overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft projects to be a defensive stopper, even as a rookie. His energy and explosiveness are already at elite levels. He may be the most athletic player in last year's draft, which is saying something considering who some of his draft mates are.
He should really spend most of his time at the 3, especially if he begins to develop any semblance of an outside shot this season. His offensive repertoire is raw at best, so he will be relied upon as a defensive stopper and run the floor, capping fast breaks with highlight-reel dunks and pumping up the home crowd in the interim.
He could be the piece that gives head coach Jacque Vaughn some flexibility lineupwise as well. He'll be a Swiss army knife defensively, helping to improve a unit that gave up 102 points per game last season.
After signing a four-year, $32 million contract over the summer, Channing Frye instantly became the veteran presence on this team. They will also look to him for his shot-making, particularly from beyond the arc, where the Magic shot just 35.3 percent last season. The 6'11" Frye is a 38 percent shooter from distance for his career.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, he's likely out until late November with a sprained knee, so it will take some time for the frontcourt rotation to flesh itself out.
A former second-round pick from Norfolk State, Kyle O'Quinn rounds out Orlando's bigs. He averaged 17.2 minutes per game last year, primarily as a backup for Vucevic at center, while averaging six points and five rebounds. Expect more of the same this year in a crowded, but talented, frontcourt for Orlando.
Grade: B+
3. Small Forward
3 of 5
Projected Starter: Maurice Harkless
Backups: Devyn Marble
Even when Gordon plays some minutes at small forward, this is the weakest position on the court for the Magic.
Maurice Harkless is a former first-round pick from St. John's who showed flashes of potential in his 2012-13 rookie season, but saw all of his numbers decline during a rough sophomore campaign.
He has ideal size at 6'8" and is solid defensively. He has given talented wing scorers trouble on that end; however, his offensive repertoire has yet to evolve. His saving grace may be his increased reliance and improvement in his three-point shot, which went from 27 percent as a rookie to 38 percent last year—on 37 more attempts.
Perhaps when Frye returns from his injury, that will push Gordon to the 3 a bit more, but that remains to be seen. For now, this is Harkless' job to lose.
Coming off the bench is Devyn Marble, a 6'6" rookie swingman from the University of Iowa. He averaged 17.0 points and 3.6 assists as a senior last year.
If Harkless struggles with his shot out of the gate, Marble could be in for some minutes. But once everyone gets healthy and Gordon shifts almost exclusively to small forward, he and Harkless will get all the playing time at this spot. There are a lot of question marks here, to say the least.
Grade: C
2. Shooting Guard
4 of 5
Projected Starter: Evan Fournier
Backups: Victor Oladipo, Ben Gordon, Willie Green
Until Victor Oladipo got elbowed in the face at practice last week, a hit that required surgery and will force him to miss a month, he was penciled in as the starting 2-guard.
Last year's runner-up for Rookie of the Year, Oladipo was moving back to his preferred off-guard spot thanks to the drafting of Payton.
It's an unfortunate blow for one of the franchise's cornerstones. The 6'5" guard finished in the top 10 among all players in steals last season and projects as a terror defensively this year. The fans will have to wait awhile before they see their backcourt of the future work with each other.
In his absence, Evan Fournier will assume the starting duties.
Fournier was traded to Orlando on draft night, along with the pick that eventually became Devyn Marble, in exchange for veteran Arron Afflalo.
He's had an up and down start to his NBA career, but he's talented. At only 24 with ideal size for his position (6'6"), he has a bright future. He's also a 38 percent career three-point shooter; another weapon on the outside for a team in dire need of a balance to their interior presence.
Veterans Ben Gordon and Willie Green round out the position. Gordon was one of the league's deadliest shooters during his years with the Chicago Bulls. Since signing a big money deal with the Detroit Pistons in 2009, he's been essentially irrelevant the past five seasons (the last two as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats).
He signed a two-year, $9 million contract in the offseason. With the injury to Oladipo, he will get opportunities in the early part of the season to justify that move and find some old magic.
Green was picked up off waivers by Orlando after spending the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers. The veteran can knock down open shots, but once Oladipo gets healthy he looks to be the odd man out of the rotation.
Grade: C+
1. Point Guard
5 of 5
Projected Starter: Elfrid Payton
Backups: Luke Ridnour
The Magic are high on Payton, the 6'3" point guard of the future they traded up for in the 2014 draft.
He's a smooth operator, adept at probing defenses with a keen sense of awareness, always finding the open man for easy buckets. He attacks the rim, which typically results in two free throws for him or a scoring opportunity for someone else.
He's a legitimate dark-horse candidate for Rookie of the Year. He'll start with the ball in his hands from Day 1 and has a nice complement of shooters and skilled big men to feed. As long as he keeps his turnovers down and doesn't fall in love with his mediocre outside shot, the sky's the limit.
The only other true point guard on the roster is journeyman Luke Ridnour, and they could do a lot worse. The 33-year-old has 11 years of experience in the NBA and he's only a year removed from starting all 82 games for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2012-13 season.
If an injury should befall Payton, or he hits a rookie wall, Ridnour could step in and be serviceable. Yes, that's a nightmare scenario for a team looking to take the next step and climb up the Eastern Conference standings, but there are worse backup options.
The goal for Orlando is that Payton cultivates his talent and makes his teammates better, while Ridnour comes in with the second unit and keeps Payton fresh.
Grade: B
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference. Depth charts courtesy of ESPN. Follow Stephen on Twitter for more hoops discussion.
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