National Basketball Association

Evaluating the Orlando Magic's assets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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May 23, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan talks with media as Frank Vogel is introduced as the new head coach during a press conference at Amway Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Orlando Magic made some major changes throughout the 2016 offseason. No matter what happens, the Magic have options to continue improving.

The Orlando Magic have been in the middle of a rebuild project since Dwight Howard departed in 2012. Since then, the team has been building around young players and stockpiling assets they hope to one day cash in to acquire a star rookie via the draft or to help them facilitate a trade that can help the team land a superstar player in return.

This offseason, the Orlando Magic made an attempt to speed up the rebuild by acquiring Serge Ibaka in a trade and signing veteran free agents Bismack Biyombo, Jeff Green and D.J. Augustin.

The Magic also brought in an experienced coach in Frank Vogel who will have the responsibility of putting all of the pieces together and making it work right away.

The moves the Magic made during the offseason clearly indicate the team would like to move on from the rebuilding years. The front office is ready to see this team compete in the Eastern Conference and get back into the Playoffs this upcoming season.

The team took the right steps this past offseason to accomplish that goal by adding veterans to their young roster.

But the Magic are only starting to put together this team. And just making the Playoffs is only the next step in the process.

Where does that leave the Magic? How do they improve their roster going forward? What assets or financial ability do they have to help build a quality basketball team for years to come?

Let’s take a closer look at the collection of assets that the Magic have to help them build a competitive roster for years to come.

Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Aaron Gordon (Arizona) poses for a photo with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Picks

Without question one of the most valuable assets in the NBA are draft picks.

Teams that want to get better year over year need to build their roster through the draft. Not only does it help the team financially to acquire valuable talent at an inexpensive price, but it also helps the development of the team year over year.

You can look at the Golden State Warriors for example. The team is where it is today because of their ability to draft the right players and with the help of some luck. They were able to find rotation players in the second round of the draft, which is not always an easy thing to do.

The acquisition of young players and their development then opened the door for the Warriors to add key pieces through free agency and trades to complement their young core. When you combine young talented players with useful veterans, the team then becomes a contender.

The Magic have control of all of their first and second round picks. The team also will be receiving a second round pick in 2017 from the Sacramento Kings, the most favorable second round pick between Cleveland, Houston or Portland in 2018 and a 2019 first round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers, which is top-5 protected. That Lakers pick has some complicated protections and could become two second round picks if it is not conveyed to the Philadelphia 76ers this year.

Even though the Magic have spent plenty of time on the Draft the last four years, they should still be able to supplement their team with young players no matter where they are drafting in the near future.

The Magic have a solid collection of picks to help them acquire some good talent in the draft in the next few years or they could trade one or two of them in a trade where they are able to acquire a star quality player.

Oct 14, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic forward Serge Ibaka (7) drives to the basket as Indiana Pacers forward Thaddeus Young (21) defends during the first quarter at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Expiring Contracts

If the 2017 season does not go as planned for the Orlando Magic, they potentially could look to trade some key players with expiring contracts for something of value. If the team chooses to go in that direction, they could look to trade four players that are set to hit free agency during the offseason: Jeff Green, Serge Ibaka, Jodie Meeks or C.J. Watson (the final year of his deal is only partially guaranteed).

Expiring contracts are valuable because it provides cap flexibility for teams who would like to be active in the free agency period. As a result, teams can trade expiring contracts and get something of value in return, rather than losing the player in free agency for nothing. And the acquiring team can either obtain the player’s Bird Rights to gain an advantage in resigning that player or let them walk and take advantage of the extra cap room.

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The Magic are in a win-win situation by having four players with expiring contracts this year.

If things go well, they can keep the players and have plenty of financial flexibility during the offseason to improve the roster. If the team does not perform as expected, they can cash in on their players and try to acquire picks or players that can fit their situation better before February’s deadline.

Regardless of how things play out, the Magic control their destiny with these players. They can either keep the flexibility to re-sign these players, trade them for more assets to help the team or let them walk and take advantage of the potential cap room.

What happens with these expiring contracts will depend on how the team performs during the regular season and how the players perform individually.

Either way, whether there is a trade opportunity or not, the fact the Magic have these contracts coming off their books at the end of the season, puts them in a good situation.

Oct 5, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; Orlando Magic center Nikola Vucevic (9) dribbles against Cleveland Cavaliers forward Chris Andersen (00) in the second quarter at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

Friendly Contracts

Reliable players on a solid contract are hard to find in today’s NBA.

Due to the increase of the NBA’s salary cap, these days role players are making more than what some starters are making. For example, this past offseason the Miami Heat signed Tyler Johnson to a four-year, $50-million contract with an annual salary of $12.25 million.

Only two years ago, Nikola Vucevic signed a four-year extension that tops off at $12.75 million per year in the deal’s final year.

With such a friendly contract, if the Magic decided to trade him, they should be able to ask for a very solid return. And that kind of value for Nikola Vucevic’s production should have them receiving plenty of offers — especially considering Bismack Biyombo is now waiting in the wings getting paid $17 million per year off the bench.

Vucevic has proven that he is a solid starting center in this league and he is only 26 years old.

The Magic also have three young players under rookie contracts they could trade. Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja are all under contract for less than $5 million per season as they play out their rookie contracts (another value of protecting draft picks).

For the right offer, the Magic could decide to trade one of these players individually or in a package to a team that is looking for a young player with an extremely friendly contract.

Salary Cap Space

The Magic have only $54.5 million in guaranteed salaries for the 2018 season. This means, excluding cap holds for potential free agents, they could free up significant funds for free agents next summer.

The Magic will have to spend some the money to try to resign Serge Ibaka if he fits in well with the team this season. But they will have his Bird Rights to do so. The Magic can go over the cap to re-sign Ibaka if needed (Ibaka’s cap hold will total $18.4 million, so they certainly could time his signing last to maximize their cap space).

Depending on what the Magic decide to do with Ibaka, the team will have plenty of financial flexibility during the offseason to acquire more talent regardless.

The Magic have three players that have a long-term contract. Bismack Biyombo, Evan Fournier and D.J. Augustin are the only three players on the roster with long term deals.

Bismack Biyombo and Evan Fournier will be earning $17 million annually. Biyombo’s contract is for three years with a player option for the fourth season. Fournier’s is for four years with a player option for the fifth season. Augustin’s contract is a much friendlier contract, four years with an annual salary of $7.25 million.

The rest of the Magic roster is a collection of players that have reasonable contracts and players with expiring contracts.

Having financial flexibility is one of the most important things for a team that is looking to build a competitive roster for years to come. There are many examples of teams that stay in the bottom of the standings due to poor financial management.

Those lengthy and expensive contracts can affect a team’s ability to acquire talent or to keep players that end up developing into solid players. The Magic have a few long-term commitments but are not saddled with many allowing them flexibility to make moves and strike when the opportunity arises.

Mar 16, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Orlando Magic forward Evan Fournier (10) goes up for a shot against Charlotte Hornets center Cody Zeller (40) in the first half at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports

Final Thoughts

John Buhler of FanSided ranked the Magic’s collection of assets as the fourth best in the NBA. It is clear to see why he ranked the Magic so high on his list.

Not many teams in the NBA can say that they have salary cap space, draft picks, expiring contracts and team-friendly contracts.

The Magic may not be sure who they are right now due to the many new faces the team integrated into the roster this offseason. But you cannot deny that the Magic have a bright future ahead.

Rob Hennigan, despite plenty of criticism and frustration over the team’s progress, has done a tremendous job at putting this team in a situation where he has the flexibility and the ability to improve this roster without having to give up too many of their valuable assets.

With that being said, this season will be a difficult for Rob Hennigan and the rest of the front office. Fans are getting anxious to see a competitive basketball team and to see their beloved Magic back in the Playoffs.

Key decisions on the team’s direction will have to be made as early as mid-December depending on how the team performs early in the season.

Regardless of what happens, the front office and the fans can relax. The Magic have a collection of assets many NBA teams can only dream to have.

When you have assets that other teams want, anything is possible.

The focus for now needs to be on getting this team to get comfortable with one another on the court and winning basketball games. The rest will be taken care of in the future, which looks very bright.

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