Drafting Hezonja and Harvey, Magic address needs on offense, not defense
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Scott Skiles was hired four weeks ago as coach of the Orlando Magic, one of the goals he mentioned for his first season in charge was to have them jump from 26th in defensive efficiency to among the NBA's top five teams in that category.
The drafting of Mario Hezonja in the first round and Tyler Harvey in the second round Thursday night would appear to send a contradictory message to those intentions.
While some eyebrows were raised about using the fifth overall selection on someone who averaged fewer than 15 minutes and five points last season in the Spanish ACB league, Hezonja had a game earlier this year in which he hit all eight of his 3-point attempts. And Harvey averaged four 3-pointers made per game at Eastern Washington as a junior on his way to leading the nation in scoring with a 23.1-point average.
By no means were the Magic without weaknesses on offense in a 57-loss season under Jacque Vaughn and interim coach James Borrego. After Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon combined to go 24 of 90 from 3-point range as rookies, the need to add a 20-year-old swingman who can create his own shot was deemed a higher priority than someone who can block shots and protect the rim.
"All these picks are gambles," general manager Rob Hennigan said. "But we believe in the work ethic of these players we're bringing in."
Hezonja started in only seven of 32 regular-season games for FC Barcelona Basquet, the same team which produced NBA players Pau and Marc Gasol. The wild fluctuation in his minutes for the past three years is apparently not unusual for a player of his age overseas.
"You face a real struggle," Hezonja said. "Sometimes you're not able to compete immediately against guys who have spent 10 years playing."
Other than Toni Kukoc, whose 13-year career included being part of three championship teams with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, the track record of Croatian natives before Hezonja has been spotty. The last first-round pick from there to play in the NBA was Zoran Planinic, a guard who lasted three seasons with the New Jersey Nets after being drafted in 2003 and never averaged more than five points a game.
The player who ranks a distant second to Kukoc in games played was once a member of the Magic. Gordan Giricek, a combination shooting guard and small forward with a slighter build than the 6-foot-8 Hezonja, averaged 11.7 points in 75 games over parts of two seasons before being traded to the Utah Jazz in February 2004.
Skiles admitted that when he first became involved in the selection process, his knowledge of Hezonja was extremely limited.
"Other than his name, I wasn't that familiar with him," he said. "But Rob and those guys have done a tremendous amount of work on all of these guys, more than at any other place I've ever coached. So it was easy to get brought up to speed."
In contrast to what he went through in Barcelona, Hezonja will join a Magic team built predominantly around players 25 or younger such as Payton, Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic.
"Mario's been ingrained in a professional environment playing against grown men for several years now," Hennigan said. "We feel like that preparation can only help him as he makes the transition to the NBA."
Hezonja will likely not be in Orlando any earlier than until the middle of next week, and Hennigan expects him to be available for no more than a game or two in the Magic's summer league which begins July 4. Harvey will be part of a team which will include Payton, Gordon and 2014 second-round pick Devyn Marble.
The odds of making it in the NBA after being the 51st of 60 players drafted are long, but there have been late second-round picks before Harvey to make an impact. The Magic have gotten three productive seasons from forward Kyle O'Quinn, who was taken 49th overall in 2012, while Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Clarkson went from being the 46th pick a year ago to one of only four rookies to average more than 10 points a game last season. Marble played in 16 games with seven starts after being taken even later at No. 56.
Hennigan added that neither of the Magic's two summer league teams will include forward Janis Timma, whose rights were acquired by them Wednesday in the trade which sent backup point guard Luke Ridnour to the Memphis Grizzlies.
You can follow Ken Hornack on Twitter @HornackFSFla or email him at khornack32176@gmail.com.
