2014-2015 NBA Season Preview: Orlando Magic

For the second time in 15 years, the Orlando Magic lost a franchise centre to Los Angeles in the summer when they lost Dwight Howard to the Hollywood squad. Although losing a star can be crippling to a team, the Orlando Magic have handled the departure of Howard pretty well. This summer, the Orlando Magic roster had a high turnover with eight new players coming in through draft, trades and free agency.

Roster

Power Forwards: Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon, Kyle O'Quinn, Channing Frye

Center: Nikola Vucevic, Andrew Nicholson, Dewayne Dedmon

Small Forwards: Maurice Harkless, Devyn Marble

Shooting Guards: Victor Oladipo, Evan Fournier, Ben Gordon, Willie Green

Point Guards: Elfrid Payton, Luke Ridnour

Key Additions: Aaron Gordon (Draft), Elfrid Payton (Draft), Devin Marble (Draft), Channing Frye (FA), Ben Gordon (FA), Luke Ridnour (FA), Evan Fournier (Trade), Willie Green (Waivers)

Key Losses: Aaron Afflalo (Trade), Jameer Nelson (FA), E'Twaun Moore (FA), Doron Lamb (FA), Jason Maxiell (FA), Ronnie Price (FA)

Projected Starters: Elfrid Payton (PG), Victor Oladipo (SG), Maurice Harkless (SF), Tobias Harris (PF), Nikola Vucevic (C)

Season Outlook

Best Case Scenario

Orlando Magic will win more games than last year's stat of 23-59 and will sniff playoffs. Victor Olapido and Elfrid Payton in the backcourt will keep the defence competitive while Aaron Gordon gets it right away with aggressive and switching strategy. Offensively, the team will avoid the bottom five, make 30 wins and Elfrid Payton gets some NBA Rookie of the Year (ROY) votes. Ben Gordon and Evan Fournier will provide some shooting and Tobias Harris will turn out to be borderline star and average 20.0 points per game.

Worst Case Scenario

Guards and wingmen Elfrid Payton, Victor Olapido and Aaron Gordon do not have a consistent outside shooting yet but the addition of Channing Frye should help in that department. Payton may have to work for his spot to become a legit starter in the league. Olapido and Maurice Harkless regress because of their lack of outside shooting and the lack of interior defence keeps the Orlando Magic out of the top half in the team standings. The Sixes and the Bucks are pegged to be two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference and the Magic are hoping they won't be in that discussion by end of season.