The Orlando Magic have spent the entire season looking for a player to take them forward. In Elfrid Payton, they look to have found him.
To the naked eye, it doesn't look like much has changed for the Orlando Magic.
They're 4-6 over their last 10 games and Sunday night's one-point loss to the Washington Wizards was tough to take.
But while their playoff hopes are essentially done, games have now been about building something for next season.
Certainly this year will be looked on as kind of a lost one, the team failing to ever reach the heights of playoff outsiders.
While that is reason to once again look at this roster negatively, something fantastic has occurred over the last number of games.
It began with the addition of Terrence Ross from the Toronto Raptors, with Serge Ibaka going in the other direction.
Mar 6, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; New York Knicks guard Chasson Randle (left) shoots as Orlando Magic guard Elfrid Payton (right) tries to block his shot during the second half of an NBA basketball game at Amway CenterThe Knicks won 113-105. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
From there, it seemed that the court opened up for everybody else. Nobody has taken advantage of this more than Elfrid Payton.
The point guard now has five career triple-doubles with the Magic. Astoundingly, that is the highest in franchise history.
This is difficult to comprehend when you consider some of the star players who have graced this team down through the years.
There's been something wonderful about the way in which Payton is putting up these numbers though, and that is the key to him emerging as the leader of this team.
Whereas Russell Westbrook gets there through sheer will and because his team needs him to, Payton quietly stockpiles his numbers.
You don't notice him nearing a triple-double because he is doing so while ensuring his teammates are having big nights themselves.
Wednesday's impressive 98-91 win over the Chicago Bulls was no different. While Payton certainly was the team's best player, he didn't completely take over.
No, there was Evan Fournier right beside him, putting up 20 points and nine rebounds. Similarly, Ross (14 points, three rebounds) and Aaron Gordon (13 points, four rebounds) helped.
This is the key to Payton's future success with this team and to see it happen so rapidly after the roster shakeup has been so encouraging.
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Many times in the past, I had been concerned with Payton as the starting point guard of this team.
His skill set most closely resembles that of Rajon Rondo and Dennis Schroder, two guards who many believe you can no longer win big with in this league.
With the NBA going three-point crazy, Payton is actually trending in the other direction. His 26 percent from distance this season by far a career-low.
But in a smaller lineup (another trendy league-wide move) and backed up by a more traditional center in Bismack Biyombo, Payton is thriving.
This would ordinarily be an expensive price to pay, fitting the other four players in the lineup around the unique skills of their floor general.
But with everybody else looking more comfortable on the court as well (with Gordon being deployed as a power forward again), the team looks in much better shape.
Playing with those smiles on their faces has driven their intensity up and this was especially evident in that win over the Bulls.
The team grabbed15 offensive rebounds and generally outworked a Bulls team that was stubborn and tough to put away.
Payton was central to that and his 22 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists (on 6-of-7 shooting) led to a game high rating of plus-13.
This wasn't even a one off though, as on Monday in a tough loss to the New York Knicks, Payton put up 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
.@elfrid joins Jason Kidd & LeBron James as only players with 2 triple-double streaks at 23 or younger (in last 30 yrs) per @EliasSports! pic.twitter.com/8e9fq8PYkF
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 9, 2017
They didn't get the win, but Payton's strides are exactly what this team needs heading into next season.
It has also come at a great time, as along with Fournier, Ross and Gordon, this team suddenly has a young core with some promise.
All it took was the trading of Ibaka (who took 12.6 shots per game) and the inserting of a spot-up shooter like Ross who can also create for others.
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In the short term, it has helped Payton's numbers, with the 12.5 points he's averaging per game a career high, as are his effective field goal (49.1 percent) and free throw percentages (67.9 percent).
Small gains, but consider this. With 17 games to go in the season, even if Payton starts them all, it will still be the fewest amount of games he's started in his three years in the league.
As it stands, the 29 minutes he plays each night are also a career low. As little as six weeks ago, head coach Frank Vogel was experimenting heavily with rotations at that position.
Payton's rookie deal expires after next season and the question of if he was worth keeping around had crept up on a number of occasions.
His back was against the wall and since the All-Star break, Payton has delivered. He's been this team's best player, without ever being in your face about it.
He still excels at providing for others and it's easier to do this when guys such as Ross and Fournier can spread the floor.
It also helps having Biyombo next to him, as he is the perfecter screener and rebounder when Payton drives to the basket.
Which is all to say that finally both player and team have found a balance. It may have cost them some players, but the Orlando Magic look like a functioning roster.
As for Elfrid Payton, well he looks a lot more like the talent the team thought they were getting back in 2014.
