After spending last season in Milwaukee playing for a Bucks team with title aspirations, veteran forward Joe Ingles opted to sign with the Magic in free agency, joining a rising club that hasn’t made the postseason since 2020.
Speaking to Eric Nehm of The Athletic, Ingles explained that Orlando and the Magic “ticked a lot of boxes” for him and his family when he was considering his options as a free agent this summer. There’s a local school that’s a good fit for his son Jacob, who is autistic, and he liked the role that head coach Jamahl Mosley was offering, as well as the ability to be a veteran leader on a young team.
“I’m very well aware of where I’m at in my career,” Ingles said. “Like, I’m not going to play 35 minutes, so I’ve been enjoying that side of it. And then obviously, the lifestyle for the kids and (my wife) Renae and everything just kind of lined up. The money’s a bonus in the scheme of things, but it kind of ended up being a pretty easy decision at the end of it.”
Ingles, who is earning $11MM in his first season in Orlando, spoke to Nehm about a handful of other topics. Here are a few of the highlights:
On spending the 2022/23 season with the Bucks:
“We really enjoyed the year. Everything was really good, except the way we lost. So that part was the disappointing part, but I guess that’s kind of like the NBA. It’s hard to win. I think we had the best record or the second-best record or whatever we had. It shows you how good the league is. … (But) I got to play with some great players and learn a lot and obviously playing for (Mike Budenholzer) and doing all that stuff was really cool. So definitely no regrets of why I went there or the decision, but obviously winning would have topped that off.”
On joining a team that isn’t currently considered a contender:
“It’s an adjustment, even just the mindset of like, ‘Yeah, you guys might not have won games previously or many games previously, but f–k that. We’ve been in every game this year, why can’t we win these games?’
“… I think it’s just us learning on the fly, playing the right way, winning, closing games. We talked a lot about like not beating ourselves, like I think we had 12 turnovers at halftime the other night. We were still in the game though, so those things can show how good we can be. And I think that is the defensive end. We might have 12 turnovers, but if we can be a top five, top 10 or whatever that ends up being defensively, then we’re going to put ourselves in a position to be in every game.”
On Paolo Banchero and the Magic’s “young” roster:
“(Banchero) works his ass off. He is really unselfish. He’s a great teammate. I think having that combination of stuff sets you up pretty well for the future. Obviously he’s got a lot of basketball ahead of him and so does Franz (Wanger). All that potential and now it’s about us harnessing that and putting it in the right spots. Using our young guys, or whatever people want to call them, in the right way.
“I think to me it’s like, ‘Oh, you’re young. You’re young, young, young.’ But I think it’s a positive, too. Like if we’re young, that means someone is old. So, it’s like, let’s use that to our advantage and a part of that is obviously getting experience. And I mean, there’s been two or three games this year we probably should watch like we should be 6-2 or 7-1. … So, for us, it’s just taking those lessons and yeah, it’s been a fun year so far.”