Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Aaron Gordon (Arizona) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center.
Jun 26, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Aaron Gordon (Arizona) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected as the number four overall pick to the Orlando Magic in the 2014 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center. REUTERS

The Orlando Magic are done tanking and are now filling up their roster with serviceable veterans in hopes of making a playoff push in the 2014-2015 NBA season. The Florida franchise has added Channing Frye to their roster offering the versatile big man a $32 million contract over four years.

The 31-year-old has career averages of 9.9 points and 5.2 rebounds in 8 NBA seasons playing for the New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns.

Frye’s true value to all of those teams however comes with his style of play. Considered a “Stretch 4”, his range extends to the three-point line, a valuable commodity in the league today especially from a 6-foot-11 big man.

In his last season with the Suns, which made an impressive run at a playoffs spot in the tough Western Conference last season, Frye averaged 11.1 PPG and 5.1 RPG with two 3-pointers per game at 37.0% three-point shooting.

Earlier in the 2014 offseason, Orlando also committed to signing veteran shooter Ben Gordon.

The addition of both veterans should pave well for the development of its young guys. Key upstarts for the Magic include 22-year-old combo guard Victor Oladipo, 23-year-old center Nikola Vucevic, 21-year-old forward Tobias Harris.

In this offseason, they also acquired 21-year-old shooter Evan Fournier in a trade with the Denver Nuggets and got 20 year-old point guard Elfrid Payton and 18-year-old forward Aaron Gordon in the 2014 NBA Draft.

With such a young roster, the Magic needed a veteran like Frye who will serve as a mentor/leader for these young guys.