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Orlando Magic and the Tobias Harris dilemma

The Orlando Magic face an uphill battle when they take on the San Antonio Spurs. (Michael / Flickr)
Roar Rookie
3rd July, 2015
2

It’s been an exciting week for Orlando fans, as for the first time since Dwight Howard was there, the Magic threw some big money around.

Free agent Paul Millsap was offered a four-year, $80 million deal, however the all-star decided to stay in Atlanta to contend for a championship.

Now Orlando shift their attention towards their own free-agent forward, Tobias Harris.

Harris can score from anywhere on the floor and is a hassle for opposing teams to defend. He can bully smaller defenders with his strength, can blow by bigger defenders with his speed, has improved his long-range shooting dramatically, and is a superb finisher around the rim.

Harris is also an average defender at best and has been riddled with injuries his whole career.

The biggest question is how Harris fits in the Orlando squad. Nearly every NBA expert will say that the Magic are in desperate need of offence and shooting, after drafting a number of athletic non-shooting prospects. Harris definitely brings these qualities, but he doesn’t fit this team for a number of reasons.

Harris struggles to stay in front of perimeter players while on defence, which makes it difficult to play him at the small forward position. Orlando also don’t have the luxury of having a big-two guard capable of defending dangerous threes. Victor Oladipo is a tenacious defender, but at 6”4, it might be a bit much for him to defend forwards like the 6”9 Paul George.

If Harris is to stay in Orlando, he is best fitted at the power forward position where he can use his strength to defend bigger players, and his quickness and athleticism to hurt them on the other end of the court. One of the Magic’s main weaknesses this past season was interior defence and rim protection, because their starting centre and best player, Nikola Vucevic, is incredibly skilled offensively, but doesn’t offer a lot when it comes to guarding the paint.

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Orlando have already committed to Vucevic for the next five years and if they want to make the next step as a team and start making some noise in the Eastern Conference, they need to pair Vucevic with a power forward who is a defensive specialist. This is where Millsap was supposed to slip in. Unfortunately, Harris doesn’t brings this to the table.

As Harris enters the craziest free agency period the NBA has ever experienced, the 22-year-old will likely demand a max contract. Harris would be earning around $16 million a year, making him Orlando’s highest paid player. As a restricted free agent, Orlando has the ability to match any offer Harris receives.

If he is to stay in pinstripes, don’t be surprised if Harris comes off the bench while a bigger defensive presence starts to hide Vucevic’s defensive deficiencies. Having your highest paid player coming off your bench isn’t exactly an ideal position for the Magic, not for consecutive years (cough, cough – Channing Frye – cough).

It is therefore in the Orlando Magic’s best interests to let Harris walk.

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