NBA PM: Magic Counting on Young Core to Lead Playoff Push

Magic Counting on Young Core to Lead Playoff Push

By now, every NBA team has hosted their media day. The annual event signals the beginning of a new NBA season, as training camps typically kick off the following day.

The day gives fans a first look at the new players their teams acquired over the summer. Players also discuss how their offseason went and what they worked on during the summer. Above all, the day hypes up fans for the upcoming season.

For Orlando Magic fans, media day brought plenty of excitement and optimism. It’s perhaps the first season in the post-Dwight-Howard era in which the Magic feel they can legitimately compete in the Eastern Conference. Listening to players talk on Friday inside the Amway Center, the feeling is that these guys expect to compete this season. Nearly every player who spoke to the media mentioned the playoffs in some capacity.

Although the roster is filled mostly with players who were on last season’s lottery team, they believe they’re ready to take the next step in their development. The team has been methodical in how they’ve pieced together the roster throughout their rebuilding effort.

They’ve made a lot of moves and players have come and gone, but they now feel that their young core is ready to play at a high level and win some games. They’ve picked out Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris, Mario Hezonja, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Nikola Vucevic among others to be part of their long-term plan. This core is expected to shoulder the load and potentially lead the Magic back into the postseason.

“I think it’s time [for the playoffs],” Vucevic told Basketball Insiders. “We’re young [but] we’ve been playing in this league for a couple of years now and [played] a lot of minutes and a lot of games. I think we have what’s necessary to make the playoffs. I think that has to be our goal, to make the playoffs. I think we have good quality [players], we have good talent, and we just have to go out there and prove it.”

From an outsider’s perspective, it may seem like a long shot for a 25-win team to post the likely 15-game improvement needed to land back in the playoffs, but these players are trying to change that mindset. The organization has done an extensive search to find the right players. They prioritized high-character guys who are willing to buy into the long-term plan, and those are the kind of players they’ve acquired.

An encouraging sign from several of those young players is the fact that they are willing to take on additional responsibilities this season and become team leaders. Everyone understands that silencing critics will require a team effort and improvement from everyone on the roster is necessary to become a playoff squad.

“I have to be one of the leaders on this team,” Vucevic said. “I think with the way that I’ve been playing, I’ve earned the right to do that and I think that I need to do it; I think that’s going to be important for this team. I’m going to try to make improvements to be more vocal for these guys.”

“I think myself, Victor and other guys too, we all have to [make] a collective effort,” Harris said. “I think one of the biggest things is we got to hold each other accountable as teammates on the floor.”

Payton emerged as one of the more vocal leaders on the court last season even though he was a rookie, and he wants to carry that over into this season.

“[I’m] just continuing to ride that wave, continue to work hard, continue to put in the work and continue to show my teammates I’m putting in work and just going out there and taking care of business,” Payton said. “Me, along with Vic and Tobias, I think are the three leaders. But [I’m] definitely continuing to work hard and guys are going to follow.”

Players put in extensive work over the summer to become even better. Gordon debuted a new jump shot during the Summer League and said he’s now very confident shooting three-point shots. Harris told Basketball Insiders that he made defense a priority over the offseason. He also took up yoga classes in an attempt to become more flexible to obtain more mobility.

Payton looked visibly bigger at media day after bulking up to help finish better in traffic, and he also worked extensively on his shooting. Hezonja and Evan Fournier played overseas for their respective national teams and will come into the season in great shape. Center Dewayne Dedmon established a mid-range shot and even joked that he feels confident enough to challenge media members in a shootout.

One of the veterans the team added this summer is seven-year veteran Jason Smith, who will add depth to the frontcourt. Much like head coach Scott Skiles did during his playing days, Smith has established himself as a grit-and-grind player and seems like a great fit for the new system. He’s one of the newest members of the Magic, but seems to have already bought into the culture the team is building.

“Playing together and building the chemistry is a big part of being successful,” Smith told Basketball Insiders. “I think Coach [Skiles] really stressed that to us. September 1, a lot of guys were already here working out, building that chemistry on the court and in workouts. We’ve been working hard. The character of guys that we have here is competitive. I think that’s what we’re going to try to form this team into being and I think it’s going to be a great year for us.

“To make the big jump as a young team is really all about discipline. I think Coach Skiles is going to preach that to us. I think he’s going to give that to us. We really just have to trust him [and] trust the system. He’s going to put us in the right direction and we just have to go.”

Of course, it’s up to these players to produce results. It’s easy to declare the team as a playoff contender without having yet played a game. Harris and Vucevic come into this season in the first year of their respective new deals that make them the team’s highest-paid players, so it will be those two who must prove themselves the most.

Based on what we’ve seen and heard so far, it seems as though the Magic will show some improvement this season. The question then becomes, how much of an improvement will they make?

Bryant Unsure If 2015-16 Season Will Be His Last

One of the biggest storylines heading into training camp is Kobe Bryant’s status following the upcoming season. Bryant is preparing to enter the last year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, which will pay him $25 million.

Bryant’s last three seasons with the Lakers have ended prematurely, as he’s suffered consecutive season-ending injuries that limited him to just 41 games played. Understandably, he was the main attraction at Lakers media day on Monday.

“If it is, it is,” Bryant said when asked if this season will be his last. “If it isn’t, I’ll be ready for next season. I don’t spend too much time thinking about it. I’ve got enough to think about.

“I’m excited to be back on the court. I’m excited to be out there with the young players who are starting their careers, starting their journeys. I’m excited to help them out and kind of show them things I’ve learned. I’m as excited for this season as I’ve been in a long time.”

Bryant’s former head coach and current New York Knicks president Phil Jackson believes that this could be Bryant’s last season with the Lakers, and that if he’d play in 2016-17 it would be for a different team. Bryant ended those rumors on Monday.

“A lot of players want to go to different teams or contend to win championships,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports. “I’m a Laker, man. I’m a Laker for better or worse.”

Bryant will participate in Lakers’ training camp this week in Hawaii and says he will play in the Lakers’ preseason opener against the Utah Jazz.