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A few weeks ago, our Chris Littmann conducted an interview with Magic forward Brandon Bass about, amongst other things, his lack of playing time. While Bass didn’t explicitly say it, it was clear that he was frustrated with his situation in Orlando.

Now he’s being more open with his discontent. From FanHouse:

"I felt in my heart this was the right place for me,” Bass said Thursday after practice. "When I signed, it just felt right – but it’s not going right, (right) now. I’m not playing, and that’s bad.”

"Do I want to stay here?” Bass repeated the question. "If they feel I could help here, sooner than later, then I would love to stay here. But if nothing changes, then that means I can’t help the team, that they don’t want me here, then maybe I have to do what’s best for me.”

Tony Dutt, Bass’ agent, added his thoughts in the Orlando Sentinel:

Dutt is not actively seeking a trade for Bass, 24. He said it could be "premature" to demand that Bass be moved, considering Bass’ role could change. […]

But Dutt is still baffled by how little Bass has played. "The consensus is that they see a role for him. Maybe it’s just taken longer for that to happen. But to bring him in and not play him. … It doesn’t make any sense," Dutt said.

It’s hard to see where Bass fits in Orlando. In Dallas, he proved himself to be a capable, athletic scorer and rebounder in about 20 minutes per game. But Orlando likes to play a shooter at the four spot, which Rashard Lewis(notes) and Ryan Anderson(notes) can certainly do, and Marcin Gortat(notes) is the clear backup to Dwight Howard(notes). No matter how hard you try to find one, there’s just not a place in the regular rotation for Bass.

It makes you wonder what the Magic were thinking when they picked him up. After last season’s Finals loss to the Lakers, the Magic clearly entered the summer looking to stock up on talent wherever they could. However, with all those big men in town, someone was going to end up unhappy, and the byproduct of the situation is an air of disappointment and frustration that can pervade the whole locker room. What looked good on paper has had unforeseen negative consequences.
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