Orlando failed to address many needs in the offseason, and while they have a lot of youth to work with, it leaves them with a depleted lineup at times. The backcourt is one of the worst in the league, and starting D.J. Augustin at point guard every game is not ideal. Evan Fournier isn’t the worst shooting guard in the league, but this team lacks an attacking scorer. Jonathan Issac and Jonathon Simmons both split time at small forward, and starts will vary between the two. The front court is where the bread and butter is, as Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic are strong options. Most of the offense runs through these two on a nightly basis, and when Gordon misses time, we usually see the Magic slide up a man and play another guard or small forward. There likely won’t be any youth takeover in the backcourt during the rest of the season.
Orlando has been a team that brings some fantasy relevance despite not being very good, and also despite not having a major plan for the future. The Magic went out and drafted Mohamed Bamba out of Texas. Bamba is a great defender, but will need to adjust a bit offensively to fit in the modern day NBA. With Nikola Vucevic still on the roster, and likely starting, Bamba isn’t a guarantee for big minutes right off the bat. Vucevic is one of the better offensive centers in the league, and sees sizable usage in this offense. We saw last year with Elfrid Payton off the floor Vucevic had a major usage.
With no prominent point guard in play at the moment, Vucevic could see that role again. Aaron Gordon resigned with Orlando this offseason, and is one of the promising young players in the league. He often deals with injuries, but when healthy has shown the ability to put up some big lines. The Magic have some depth behind him with Jonathan Issac and Khem Birch. Issac is a second-year player and is going to have to work to get ahead on the depth chart. Evan Fournier continues to log plenty of minutes and is a reliable source of fantasy production despite not being a huge name. Jonathon Simmons is someone who can takeover ball-handling duties for the Magic, and it would be a plus to his value if he did. Simmons showed the ability to do so last season with Payton out of town, and many injuries to the Magic. If he does not assume this role, you are looking at D.J. Augustin and Jerian Grant to pick up most of the run. With Grant playing well in Chicago last season, he should be the favorite to get more minutes over Augustin.
