Follow The Leader: Orlando Needs To Find Their Voice

As the playoffs progressed, it became clear that what the Orlando Magic really lacked was an on-court leader. The team needed someone to get on his teammates’ backs. Snarl at the referees. Throw their weight around. Talk trash to the Raptors. Become that irritant that every fan hates...unless they're on your team.

Throughout the series, Magic fans (and commentators) became sick of Kyle Lowry's constant barking at the match officials after seemingly every call. Whether he was right or wrong, Kyle was right. It wears thin on opponent fans, but brings results. You cannot deny the passion he has for the game and his desire to win. It's the exact kind of fight that you want to see. The closest we got was Michael Carter-Williams running down the referees with blood all over his face after a shocking no call. An iconic moment that will live on. That raw emotion and sense of injustice. This is what we needed more of, and would have been worth a technical foul (I think the officials were too shaken up by the situation to dare give MCW a tech).

As frustrating to fans as a free throw to the opponents after a technical foul can be, to me it shows a willingness to fight and not give up on your team. This regular season the Orlando Magic were 20th in total technical fouls, at 51. Sitting on top were Phoenix at 85 (a lot were probably borne out of annoyance at another losing season), but interestingly the top six included the Golden State Warriors, LA Clippers and Toronto Raptors. Teams that have veterans and winners on their roster who will not stand by and accept second best. Draymond Green is infamous for his hounding of officials, but is the soul of the reigning champions. Shouting, fighting and never giving an inch to opponents.

For a long time, this has been a weakness of the Magic. They tend to shy away when the going gets tough, and look to each other. The trust is there when the team is in rhythm, but no one steps up and shakes them loose when the odds get stacked against the team. As a young team that has been pulled all over the place with trades, coaching and front office changes in recent years, this is an obvious problem. Now that we have a structure in place, it's important for players to grow in confidence and find their voice. This is the main positive that will come out of the playoffs, that self-belief. I hope.

A big hole that the Magic need to fill though is without doubt veteran presence. Someone who will stand up, and get in opponents’ and team mates’ faces. Lead by example and take the team to the next level. D.J. Augustin is the oldest player on the roster at 31. As solid as he is as a player, he doesn't come across as a leader. He's a great example of a dependable pro, but not the sort who will lead you when you need to step up. Our other 'veterans' on the team are Nicola Vucevic and Evan Fournier. The future with Vooch is far from determined, but even so the playoffs highlighted again one of his great short comings. He doesn't like to get physical in the game. Marc Gasol was bumping him throughout the series and he certainly shied away, almost becoming a non-factor. It's important for the big man on any team to be a physical leader and they have got to fight for the team. It becomes infectious. From little things like hanging on the hoop after a dunk, or flexing after a power play, these small showings of emotion get both the team and fans pumped. It's just not part of his game though. Fournier is the closest we have to a leader in that sense. He can be very emotional and will bark at officials, leading the team with seven technical fouls over eighty-two games (placing him at 58th total among players). The problem this season was that was mostly due to frustration at his performance than a leader mentality taking his team forward. His struggles have been well documented this year and he is not the player that we can consistently look to. 

The 2018-19 season felt like a turning point for the franchise. The accountability from Steve Clifford helped develop a tough defensive identity that lead the team to finally ending their post-season drought. The confidence and trust in each other grew with each game, with far less frustrating moments of hero ball. While the showing against Toronto in the First Round was disappointing at times, the roster will have learnt important lessons and developed self-belief to take into next season. This is where there is hope that the leader and voice of the team can come from within. The confidence that this year’s unexpected success will bring could well make our young core produce that player who will step up. Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac are prime candidates to become our alpha, particularly Isaac. He isn't scarred by years of mediocrity and backlash from both fans and media, and seemed to take his Rising Stars snub as motivation to take his game to another level. He would be a great leader and finally quiete the mocking of Orlando's drafting failures at the same time.

In closing, it was clear during the playoff run that what we really need to address this summer to carry us to the next level is the addition of a veteran leader or truly vocal presence to the team. The current position of the Magic makes it difficult to attract the superstar player that would push us over the top and lead from the front, although we are certainly making strides in the right direction as a desirable destination. The cap situation makes us more likely to approach second tier Free Agents, which is probably as good as we can hope for at this stage in our development. Our safest route to find that leader is in the form of a vocal veteran, someone like DeAndre Jordan were Vucevic to leave. He's a free agent this summer and could probably be got for $17-20m on a 1-2 year deal. Although the salary is quite high, it's an option were we to get priced out of Vooch. While his is declining as a force in the NBA, his outgoing personality is the sort that we need in the locker room. These are the types of player I think the team should look to add to help with the transition into the next stage. It really feels like the Magic have turned the corner in the rebuild and it's now essential that we maintain this push. The self-belief this run has given the team may well create a leader internally, and that is what would be the most satisfying outcome of all.

By Phil Harlow