Arron Afflalo Reunites With The Orlando Magic
Years after being traded for the guard who became his replacement, Afflalo joins the Magic’s increasingly solid bench.
The Deal: 1 year, $2.1 million (veteran minimum)
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Magic signed Arron Afflalo to a one-year, minimum deal.
Afflalo adds to the growing list of solid veteran players the Magic have added to shore up their bench. He joins free agent guard Jonathon Simmons and draft pick Jonathan Isaac as backup wing options, and Shelvin Mack among the guards.
Afflalo’s path through the NBA is an unusual one, considering how he’s jumped back and forth between teams. He was drafted by the Pistons — his signing is hardly a coincidence when you realize it was John Hammond and Jeff Weltman who drafted him there — and then played three seasons for the Nuggets, before finding himself on the Magic as part of the massive Dwight Howard trade. A few seasons later, he was traded back to the Nuggets in return for Evan Fournier and a late draft pick, one of Rob Hennigan’s better moves in acquiring the player who would turn out to be the superior option moving forward.
Still, it wasn’t like Afflalo’s career fell off a cliff. While he’ll never match the heights of his 2013–14 season in Orlando, Afflalo was a solid contributor in Denver and Portland, as well as the Knicks soon after. In his 10th season at age 31, Afflalo was not an integral part of the Sacramento Kings’ lineup, but he continued his career-long excellence from long distance by hitting over 41 percent of his 3-pointers.
Now, for the second time, he finds himself back for a stint with a franchise, albeit this time by choice.
Arron Afflalo 2016–17 Stats:
8.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 turnovers
Fit:
Afflalo is unlikely to become the focal point of an offense in his career, but he fills a big need on Orlando’s bench: shooting. While Jonathon Simmons and Shelvin Mack are exciting defensive options for the Magic, neither projects as a great shooter next season. Neither of the rookies, Jonathan Isaac or Wesley Iwunudu, are likely to provide much long-distance help themselves. D.J. Augustin was the team’s best bench shooter last season, and he couldn’t even hit 35 percent from deep. Jodie Meeks was hurt, and now he’s gone.
Afflalo will look to step into that Jodie Meeks void. Meeks was a big deal for the Magic when he was healthy; their offense was at its best in the first half of the season when he was able to play, especially during a high-scoring December. However, he fell off dramatically after he got hurt.
It wasn’t until the Serge Ibaka-Terrence Ross trade late in the season that the Magic rediscovered an effective offensive attack, but their bench was brutal, especially Jeff Green. Many of Orlando’s most common two-man bench lineups with Green were disastrous: per NBA.com, Green-Biyombo was -11.1 per 100 possessions. Green-Watson was equally bad, and Green-Augustin even worse, -17.9.
In fact, Green had only one positive two-man pairing the entire season: his 279 minutes with Jodie Meeks. Afflalo will be expected to fulfill the role that those two shared: hit some shots, and when necessary, put the ball on the floor for a simple drive-and-kick attack.
Overall, I give this a B, so long as the coaching staff doesn’t go overboard by using veterans at the expense of their young players. Afflalo himself shouldn’t be competing directly with anyone except perhaps Jonathon Simmons, but if he ends up in the starting lineup — “We just wanted to get some veteran presence on the court, and Arron’s just a solid player who makes smart, experienced decisions.” — it’s a symptom that something has gone terribly wrong.
For the role he should play, however, Afflalo hits nicely. If the Magic make a surprising playoff run, their upgraded bench will be a significant factor, and Afflalo’s shooting could be a big part of that.
Grade: B
