There are several ways to build your franchise up in the NBA. You can be in a big market and use the lure of your town and history to bring in talent. And until anti-tanking measures are further implemented, sending your team into a nosedive for a couple years can give you the draft picks necessary to turn your fortunes around. But sadly for some franchises, neither of those plans come to fruition and a state of limbo becomes their basketball reality. They are not big enough market-wise to attract free agents. The club is devoid of that one superstar to create a super team base. Yet, they aren’t bad enough to optimally go the draft route for a three to four-year span. The Orlando Magic tick all these boxes, making them the poster children for NBA limbo. And they aren’t getting out anytime soon.
The Magic came into the league in 1989. Within a few years, the club used a couple fortuitous bounces of ping pong balls to build a contender. In less than a decade from their inception, they were in the NBA Finals. Shaq and Penny left in the mid-90’s and it was back into the tank.
The Tracy McGrady/Grant Hill era was one of “What could have been?” with injuries and poor playoff performances. Once again the club blew it all up.
That was able to net them Dwight Howard and eventually another trip to the NBA championship series. Yet since Howard’s trade, the team has yet to strike gold again.
Florida is an attractive home for NBA players, but Orlando just isn’t Miami. The wholesome nature of the city wasn’t a draw to the NBA crowd like South Beach was. It still isn’t. The marketing opportunities aren’t there. The nationally televised games aren’t there. They will never attract a duo like McGrady and Hill to Orlando ever again. In today’s basketball climate I can say that with more surety than most things I’ll say regarding the league.
Orlando is going to have to go the draft route if they are ever going to escape NBA purgatory. And their recent track record isn’t sparkling. Not only is it the players they’ve picked, but where in the lottery they’ve landed. The lone time they’ve broken into the top three was the historically miserable 2013 Draft. The player they took second that night, Victor Oladipo, is already on his third franchise in five years.
Aaron Gordon was the fourth pick in 2014. Mario Hezonja was the fifth in 2015. Jonathan Isaac was the sixth this past draft. None are players that you would refer to as “franchise guys”. They’ll keep you afloat but never put you over the top. And that sentence right there is what is wrong with the Orlando Magic.
They lack the self-awareness to blow it up completely. They add just enough to make themselves moderately competitive in a woeful conference. As I like to call it with my beloved Indianapolis Colts, it is a “commitment to mediocrity.” To put words in the mouths of Magic fans, I’m sure they’d take three or so years of bottoming out completely instead of another five in the middle. There is no hope in the middle because there is no emotion, shame, or urgency in the middle.
Take a perusal of the Magic roster heading into 2017-18. I’ll give you a minute to take all of that in. That is what 28 wins look like. Past Isaac, who gives the home fans feelings of anticipation? Who at all gives opposing supporters feelings of trepidation? I can’t find a one. If you can please let me know. Better yet, please let the front office of the Orlando Magic know.
In conclusion, the Magic are the NBA equivalent of the meh emoji. Oh, you didn’t see the Emoji Movie? Don’t worry, it wasn’t very good either but like the Magic, it wasn’t bad enough for its backers not to try to trot out the same shit again next year.