The Orlando Sentinel: 2015 Season Preview
Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:45 pm
2015 Season Preview
With the 2013-2014 season in the rearview and the Magic finishing 12-70, good (or bad) enough to net them the 3rd overall pick in the 2014 CSL Draft which netted them PF Aaron Gordon from Arizona University along with UCLA SG Zach LaVine at number 8 (via the NY Knicks), Orlando is looking to gain some momentum this season with the Free Agent acquisition of C Greg Oden who they signed to a 4yr/ $32M deal, along with hopeful improvements from the young guys such as SF Harrison Barnes, SG Terrence Ross, and C Jonas Valanciunas (who in that order led the team in scoring) already on the roster.
Jeff Van Gundy is quite optimistic about the future of the franchise as well as the current state of the team.
Orlando Magic 2014-2015 Roster:
I'm ecstatic about the decisions we've made to remain young and to continue on our path to teach these kids to one day become the team we envision them becoming and I feel we have a solid ball club and a nice foundation moving into not only this season but for the next seasons to come... We've got youth at every position and all of these guys have a willingness to learn and want to become better players...
PG: Dennis Schroeder| Zach LaVine| Norris Cole
We're looking at Dennis Schroder to come in and make strides from last season as it was a rocky journey for the young man but we have the utmost confidence that he'll do a fantastic job... We'll run the rook out there Zach LaVine in stints who has impressed us with some of the things he's been showing he's capable of doing both as a scorer and playmaker and then of course we have Norris Cole to help round out the rotation with his defensive pressure...
SG: Terrence Ross| Zach LaVine| Jamal Franklin
We believe Terrence has come into camp and shown he's capable of being a very good quality SG and that last year was no fluke and we look for him to step up even more... we'll play Zach there as well and hope to be able to exploit his athletic ability on the break and then we have Jamal Franklin who can shoot the ball and defend as well as showing he's a heady player on the court and we feel the youth of our SG strength is one of the best in the entire CSL...
SF: Harrison Barnes| Anthony Bennett| Jonas Jerebko| Jamal Franklin
Harrison Barnes has improved this offseason and has shown in the preseason that he's ready to step up to the plate and be one of the leaders of this team... Anthony Bennett has also made strides and has shown he's willing to fight Harrison for PT if not the starting SF position as we ran Anthony out there alot at PF last season and he handled it quite well... Jonas Jerebko is a vet who can help this club out with his shooting and tenacity while Jamal will be our safety net should injury occur...
PF: Jonas Valanciunas| Aaron Gordon| Anthony Bennett| Jonas Jerebko
Starting off the season we're gonna look at Jonas Valanciunas at the PF position to give us a different look initially with his height and size and look to take advantage of this... he's an improved rebounder and scorer we look to exploit that... Aaron Gordon is a very good looking rook who has shown great defensive and rebounding instincts and we look to get him out there in the open floor as a finisher while also giving teams different defensive looks due to his speed and quickness... AB will come in at PF as well so we can continue to get the young fella looks and needed experience...
C: Greg Oden| Jonas Valanciunas| Andrew Nicholson
Orlando Magic General Manager Statement:
We're gonna start off with a defender in Greg Oden in the paint and try a Twin Towers sort of look to start the season and see how he and Val look together giving us much more size in the interior than we've had previously... we'll get Val back at the C spot to keep our size in the post but giving us a different look when he and Aaron Gordon or AB are out there and then we have Andrew Nicholson who'll serve as our 3rd big...
Go Magic!!!
We look to field a competitive young team on the floor night in and night out... we expect nothing less from Coach Van Gundy and our guys... They, as well as you the fans can be assured that we will do our jobs, that I will do my job to make sure our team... our franchise... our organization... will remain competitive, relevant, and make every effort to put together the best possible product on the court... both now and in the future by any means... and we guarantee we will ultimately be successful and achieve our goal... and that's to bring a championship here to Orlando!
I'm so proud of you my children