National Basketball Association

Orlando Magic Preview: At least they are watching now

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

foxsports

The Orlando Magic spent the last four years in the anonymity of a rebuild. They spent their summer remaking their roster and becoming interesting at least.

For the last four years, the Orlando Magic were a curiosity more than anything.

The yearly Zach Lowe column checking in on the weird batch of talent Rob Hennigan put together would get the national public excited and intrigued in the Magic and their future before they receded back to the background and irrelevancy.

That is the bane of rebuilding. And the Magic were in a long rebuild.

This summer changed all of that. Orlando was done waiting and made it clear with the splashy moves they made throughout the summer. All of a sudden in June and July, everyone was talking about the Magic.

The draft night deal of Victor Oladipo for Serge Ibaka got everyone talking as one of the big storylines of a busy draft night. The Magic then went out and spent some money, signing Bismack Biyombo to double down on their rim protection.

There may not be a ton of belief the Magic will accomplish their goal and return to the Playoffs, but everyone is at least intrigued.

The Magic get brought up without much prompting in national podcasts with J.J. Redick and Zach Lowe (18:41 mark):

New @TheVertical pod is up w/ ????@ZachLowe_NBA. Lots of great NBA basketball talk. Plus mascots! And logos! Link- https://t.co/FpmpmicXvW

— JJ Redick (@JJRedick) October 10, 2016

In their discussion of the upcoming season for the Magic, Tom Ziller and Paul Flannery of SBNation admit the Magic will at least be watchable. Interest is some currency in the NBA attention market.

The Magic are aiming for the Playoffs. That is their clear and overarching goal. Whether the national media or pundits believe the Magic can get there is irrelevant. Orlando is expecting a postseason berth after a four-year absence.

As I wrote for FanSided in their preview of the Magic:

The Orlando Magic are trying to make the playoffs in 2017. They gave up a lot of future assets in the last year with the hopes of getting competitive for the playoffs. After two failed seasons saying they would compete for and make the playoffs, Orlando gave up on the long-term rebuild and pushed their chips in for veterans and free agents just to get in.

That plan can and may deserve criticism. The organization is under a lot of pressure to deliver and get back to relevance after four straight sub-.500 wins. The Magic are currently under their longest playoff drought in franchise history. And the lottery did them no favors during their four-year rebuild.

This is a sentiment brought out elsewhere too. The Magic may not have rebuild the way everyone wants them to, but they are pushing in for a more determined and set goal.

Whether the Magic had to make all these moves and push their chips in is certainly a matter for debate.

The Magic had done their methodical rebuild waiting to win the Lottery and slowly making progress. They could not strike it big and get the star player they needed.

As Tom Ziller of SBNation describes, the Magic amassed talent but could never get it to coalesce:

In one sense, it’s typical of a certain brand of failed rebuild. We’ve seen teams amass hot prospects, but be unable to turn it into a winning team in the past. The Kings of the past decade are one example; the Timberwolves before the Love trade are another. As Sam Hinkie learned in Philadelphia, amassing “assets” and prospects is just part of the battle. You’ve got to pick wisely and you’ve got to assemble the collection of talent into a coherent team.

Rob Hennigan definitely amassed prospects and I’d argue he’s picked wisely. He’s trying to finish the job by turning it all into a team. This season could do that, albeit at the expense of one of his more promising prospects in Oladipo.

The Magic’s offseason was spent forcing an identity onto the team. Ibaka and Biyombo almost guarantee the team will be strong on the defensive end. Frank Vogel only adds to that increasing defensive reputation and expected defensive identity.

If there is one consensus about the Magic, it is that they will defend and defend well.

The goal of creating an identity, at least, worked.

The offense will be a question, as Matt Moore of CBS Sports asked. The first few preseason games have shown the offense will continue to be something of a struggle. The starting unit is short on shooters and still gaining chemistry with so many new players on the roster.

As Frank Vogel has said repeatedly, it will be an ongoing process.

One thing seems certain as the Magic quest for the 2017 Playoffs, everyone will be watching and waiting to answer all these questions.

The journey is just beginning.