[high floorParticipant]

Staying on the Magic… I’d like to follow up on my Serge Ibaka post to chat a lil’ bit about Mario Hezonja.  

Like many others on this site I was holding out hope for Mario to develop into a 2-way threat for the Magic. When I first saw his pre-draft videos I saw a guy with a huge chip on his shoulder, great size, elite athletic ability, and a confidence that the great ones possess. Simply put though, the development hasn’t been there for Mario this year:

• He’s only averaging 17 minutes per game on a team that desperately needs shooting
• He’s averaging 18% on threes for the year… yuck
• He cannot create off the dribble or do anything dynamic with consistency outside of a set shot or 1 dribble J
• He can’t get to the FT line at all, which is really disappointing considering his size and athletic ability. Orlando really, really needs players to initiate contact
• He is not buried on a depth chart. There is a very clear path to playing time and he’s not earning it for a team that really needs a player with his skills to step up.

Personally, I don’t think the "it’s still early" argument is super valid with him. I watch the games… and I’m not just looking at stats/box scores. Basic observation shows that he just hasn’t improved in key areas that needed work this offseason. I’m not even seeing flashes of improvement, which must be really frustrating to the team considering how well some of his peers are performing that were selected past him in 2015.

[SubZeroParticipant]

Could it just be that the Magic aren’t good at developing their players? Because Oladipo, Payton, and Aaron Gordon all haven’t completely lived up to their potential with them (I know it’s early on Gordon, I just mean most people projected he would’ve broken out by now)

[high floorParticipant]

I can question their player development with pretty much every prospect they’ve drafted since 2012. But unfortunately they have not drafted well-rounded players, with the exception of Oladipo. And even Oladipo needed some seasoning.

With Hezonja though it was clear that he needed to work on his ball handling and creativity this offseason if he’s to become anything more than a Gerald Green type.

My hope is that his confidence is just a little low because his shot isn’t falling… but if he had worked on his dribble-drive game he would be getting to the hoop and either converting within the paint or getting to the line more this season compared to last. That (plus his defense) are the reasons he’s not seeing the floor 

  

  

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

I think Hezonja is different. Part of the problem in Orlando’s rebuild was the drafting of players with the the same glaring weakness. They couldn’t shoot. In part to compensate, they overvalued a good, but not great Evan Fournier. They also took a project in Hezonja, and put a lot on his plate. He wasn’t playing much for Barcelona. Even with a club as great as Barcelona, it is safe to think that if a player is being protected on his team abroad, he will have a steep learning curve in the NBA. He was on the same team as Marcelinho Huertas, Tomas Satoransky, Alex Abrines, and Tibor Pleiss (also on that team but never given an NBA shot was Deshaun Thomas… poor guy can’t get a shot). He played the least, but because of his draft slot and team need for shooting came in with the highest expectations. For good and bad, Skiles is a pragmatist. He got them off to a good start, but in part because he limited the minutes of Gordon and Hezonja. Now having added offensive wonder Bismack Biyombo and Jeff Green, Orlando’s shooting amazingly has spiked all the way to 29th in field goal percentage, 27th in 3-point field goal percentage, and that goes really well with a defensive rating that is 29th. They needed him to break out. It doesn’t look like he is, but it really appears as though the roster construction is bad for both results and player development. 

[Robb_CParticipant]

I mentioned this before  Hezonja was drafted that he was a bit of a headache to coach and has a bit of an entitled attitude, He needed to go to a team with an established infrastructure and veterans who could keep him accountable.. Orlando certainly is not that place, He will end up burning out if he stays in Orlando. I guarantee he leaves and will flourish in a different system.. A team like the Atlanta Hawks immediately comes to mind

[HazelParticipant]

Wow!  The Atlanta Hawks are now  the place to go for player development.  Glad to see it.  I love to see organizations built right.  

[ZouldiersParticipant]

 Part of what makes the Hawks great is that Budenholzer came from the coach Pop’s coaching tree and are known to develop players well. The same reason why Howard is playing well right now.

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

 robb c has a point..mario wouldnt flourish in orlando’s stagnant offense…skiles offense doesnt fit his skills…

[Andv1 WaitingParticipant]

 Its still early may still apply here:

He has had two coaches in two years  which doesn’t actualy scream stability and the player development may need some work in orlando(sorry just an oberservation)

Skiles:Who is notorious for not playing rookies or not giving them minutes-See Tobias harris when he was a rookie with the bucks.I think Skiles only exception was Jennings due to not having another P.G

Vogel I haven’t followed his coaching style but judging by how he handled Paul George he may make them earn their minutes..Also as some have said above maybe Vogels offense doesn’t suit Mario.

I personally think he needs a change of scenary maybe a 3 team trade could get it done:

Something like this may work:

Denever give: Jamal Murray to the Magic could give you the shooting you seek from Herzona.

Orlando: give Mario Herzonia to the Thunder who could play Sf in our offense either on the bench with starters. He also gets to play with past team mate Abrines

Denver receive: Cam Payne and A morrow. Nuggets get a young prospect back that they can either keep or trade and an expiring contract that is very cheap and gives them shooting. 

This seems like a fair trade due to everyone getting some youth back in the equation,filling a need as such and moving a player that is not either used properly or maybe just doesn’t fit their current system.

If there is a better trade anyone could think of feel free to post it.

 

[omphalosParticipant]

 I wish Philly had taken him 3rd last year. They desperately needed someone on the perimeter with upside, Brett Brown is excellent at player development and he would have been able to play through his mistakes.

I don’t really know what Orlando is doing, they have some nice pieces but then do stupid things like trade for Ibaka.

Vogel is a great coach, but under a lot of pressure to win so can’t develop the young guys much.

 

 

 

[vulture711Participant]

 I’ll give you Stauskas, a future protected 1st, a years supply of Big Macs and 3 Big Screen TVs for him

[xJumpManxParticipant]

If I rememebr the wings were Herzonja, Johnson and Winslow for that pick. I still like Herzonja the most of those three players followed closely by Winslow and really really far behind is Johnson.

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