The Orlando Magic have a pretty simple goal—they want to add big stars.
Since trading Dwight Howard back in 2012, the team has not only lacked star power, but they have struggled to contend. The Magic haven't made the playoffs since the 2011-12 campaign. Although they improved in 2015-16, they were still just 35-47 overall.
If the team wants to get back into the playoff mix, they're going to need an infusion of veteran talent, according to Magic CEO Alex Martins.
Via Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel:
“The first part of the plan and the process is to develop your own (players) and grow your own (players). And when you inject veterans at the wrong period of time, it has an impact in the way that you're trying to develop your corps of young players. It can't just happen immediately. It's got to happen at a certain point in time – after your players have matured and developed.”
The team has managed to accomplish the first part. Orlando has a number of talented young players in Evan Fournier, Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton. However, outside of Fournier, neither of those guys have any playoff experience.
With the team hiring a playoff-tested coach in Frank Vogel, it would seem the only missing ingredient are a few veterans to get the franchise over the hump.
Martin stressed that the organization is now ready to go after veterans in free agency:
“And we always believed that this summer and next summer were going to be the two summers of free agency for us that we needed to focus on after developing our young guys…I think we're being very open about the fact that in order to take that next step we have to inject veteran leadership,” Martins said. “Our young guys are talented; they're continuing to develop.”
The CEO also commented on what Vogel's impact will be on the team:
“But the one thing that virtually none of them has is playoff experience, and you just don't wake up one morning and understand what it takes to get to the playoffs. People have to help you through that, and it's going to be a coach like Frank Vogel, and it's going to be experienced veterans that we would be able to obtain in free agency.”
If the Magic are able to sign a big-name free agent like Al Horford, it would come as no surprise of Orlando were to clinch a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference in 2017.
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