https://youtu.be/bRdu4XIjQxA
If James Ennis makes it to the end of the season without playing for a team that isn’t the Magic (an extremely likely possibility, ain’t no one fighting for him on the buyout market), that will be the third time in his seven-year career that he has stuck with the same team for a whole season. He did it with the Heat his rookie year, the Grizzlies his third year, and now probably this year.
It turns out that teams just REALLY like trading this dude for a single second-round pick. And that teams just REALLY like acquiring this dude for the cost of a single second-round pick. This indicates that, like many other players, the idea of him is better than the reality of him.
Which is weird, because the idea of James Ennis III just isn’t that compelling. He’s a small forward who, aside from that random stint with the Pelicans, doesn’t really score that much, and he doesn’t do much else either. Defense, I guess. He must play defense, right? Otherwise how would he still be in the league at age 30? Maybe he’s reliable? Reliable at doing nothing? That’s a semi-positive attribute, definitely, and Tony Snell agrees with me.
22 points is a lot for him. If he can somehow regain some of that mojo he had with the Pelicans, which it seems like he might be doing, I’m ready and willing to anoint him as the best player on the Magic. I don’t care. I’ll do it, the second he scores 28 points or something, I’ll go down to my local commercial district with a sandwich board draped on my shoulders that says “James Ennis III is the best player on the Orlando Magic” on the front and “Please donate to the Patreon of Mr. DownToBuck” on the back.