Orlando Magic

After another down year, crucial decisions await Magic in offseason

Published Apr. 16, 2015 6:38 p.m. ET

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ORLANDO, Fla. -- In Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris, the Orlando Magic finished the 2014-15 NBA regular season with three players who averaged at least 17 points a game.

That was three more than either the Atlanta Hawks or the Boston Celtics could claim.

But while the Hawks ended up with an Eastern Conference-best 60 victories and the Celtics will join them in the playoffs a year after being in the draft lottery, the Magic head into the summer reeling from a third consecutive season of more than 50 losses and -- for the first time since Rob Hennigan was hired as their general manager -- facing a likely coaching change.

"Nobody's happy with the season we had," Vucevic said Thursday, the day after a 103-88 loss at Brooklyn left the Magic with a final record of 25-57. "That's not what we expected. I feel like we have more than what we showed. For some reason, it didn't work out. We didn't do what we wanted out there. But we can't change anything. We've just got to look at the future. We can't come back next year and be like, 'Ah, we're young' and all that. We've really got to accept the fact that it's time for us to turn it around."

In 2013-14, the Celtics went 25-57 and had to settle for the sixth overall pick in the draft, two turns after the Magic selected Aaron Gordon. But they finished the season with six victories in a row, which is twice as long as any winning streak the Magic have pieced together the past two years.

"Do not tell me that Boston has better players than us, because that's not true," said guard Evan Fournier, who was averaging more than 12 points a game before missing most of the last two months with injuries. "It's just about playing together and understanding what it takes to win. But we have the right pieces, definitely."

The Magic have won a total of 68 games the past three years. Not even during the franchise's first three seasons, before the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal, did losses come with such frequency.

"We understand it has to turn at some point," Hennigan said. "We're confident we're on the cusp of turning this thing around. The key is just staying disciplined and staying strategic."

So here are a few questions facing the Magic in the weeks and months ahead:

Who will coach them next season?

James Borrego, who had never been a head coach at any level, finished with a 10-20 record after replacing the fired Jacque Vaughn in early February when the Magic were mired in a 10-game losing streak.

When Vaughn was let go after 52 games, opposing teams were shooting 47.1 percent against the Magic and averaging 102.3 points a game. Those figures dipped to 46.3 percent and 101.4 points by the end of the season, as Borrego put as much emphasis on defense as a coach without a bonafide shot-blocker could.

Borrego said he doubted he would meet Thursday with Hennigan but planned to do so "probably in the near future." Hennigan said Borrego will be interviewed as part of the search for a permanent coach but divulged no other details, saying "we've got to protect the integrity of the process."

Several recent reports have suggested Tom Thibodeau could be ready to leave the Chicago Bulls after their playoff run. His stressing of defense could benefit a Magic team that fell from 13th to 28th in that category in the past year. And with the Oklahoma City Thunder not making the playoffs after reaching the Western Conference finals in 2014, Scott Brooks might be available.

Borrego, the second-youngest current coach or manager in any of the four major team sports, is confident in his abilities.

"I see where this thing is headed," he said. "I do have a clear perspective of that. And really, nobody in the league knows this group better than I do."

"I thought JB did an admirable job," Hennigan said. "He came in under some trying circumstances."

Will Harris return?

The biggest contract concern is whether Harris, the forward who turned down a four-year extension worth $36 million before the start of the season, will look for a maximum deal with the Magic or elsewhere. Since he is a restricted free agent, the Magic can match any offer.

"Only God knows what's next," Harris said. "I can't control the future. No one else can. I'll leave that up to management to decide what the overall plan is, and you go from there."

"I've said all along that we don't envision a scenario where Tobias isn't with us next season," Hennigan said. "And we'll stay true to that."

The four-year veteran, who turns 23 in July, increased both his scoring and minutes per game averages but saw his rebounding average drop from 7.0 to 6.3. Depending where the Magic end up choosing in the first round, they could hard-pressed to pass on Duke's Justise Winslow, whose game is similar Harris'.

What's next for Oladipo and Elfrid Payton?

Except for a loss to Dallas in late January that Oladipo missed because of a sore right Achilles tendon, the Magic's starting backcourt went unchanged over their final 54 games.

Oladipo, the second player taken overall in the 2014 draft, increased his numbers in almost every offensive category from his rookie year and averaged close to 20 points a game after the All-Star break. Payton, who was something of an unknown quantity coming out of Louisiana-Lafayette, became the first Magic rookie in a decade to play in every game and led all first-year players by far in assists.

One of the few areas where Oladipo's numbers went down was in free-throw attempts per game. Payton was a downright liability at the free-throw line early in the season, and though he improved to 55.1 percent by the end of the season, he will need to add an outside shot at some point to his repertoire.

Both Payton and Gordon are expected to take part in the Magic's annual summer league in July, which consists mostly of rookies and free agents.

What happened to their home-court advantage?

At 13-28, the Magic finished with the fifth-worst record in the league at home. For much of the season, they had more victories on the road, where they went a franchise-worst 4-37 a year ago.

After wins at Utah and Sacramento in early December, the Magic were 9-14 overall and were not far away from a stretch over the holidays where seven of their nine games would be in familiar surroundings. While they posted victories at Charlotte and Miami before the end of the month, they went 1-6 at home and had to hold on to defeat the Celtics for their one win after squandering a 27-point lead.

In a game that might have cost whatever chance Borrego had of returning as more than an interim coach, the Magic scored only seven points in the second quarter of their home finale, an 80-79 loss to the dreadful New York Knicks.

You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.