Orlando Magic guard Joe Ingles signed a two-year deal last summer with the team, and many people didn’t think much of it. However, it turned out to be arguably the biggest move that translated to the team’s improvement this season.
The Magic were the fourth-youngest team in the league this season, but they would have been No. 1 if Ingles, 36, wasn’t on the roster. He provided a steady veteran presence that the Magic needed throughout the year.
“He is a great level of toughness for us,” coach Jamahl Mosley said on “The Old Man and the Three”. “Being able to be that vet that is not afraid of anybody, like he’s going to talk to everybody the exact same way. He can do it with experience and he can still play. You have to make sure that when you bring in a guy like that, they can still go and he can still go.”
Ingles certainly rubbed off on the Magic’s younger players this year, and that was a large factor in the team’s jump into the postseason.
Ingles’ impact off the court trumped what he brought in the games, but his 43.5 percent shooting from distance certainly wasn’t a bad thing.
The Magic have a choice to make with Ingles’ $11 million team option this summer. While his on-court stats suggest that the Magic should let him walk, his presence in other areas makes him valuable for Orlando.
Grade: B
