Terrence Ross has always had a funny career, filling gaps but never reaching his full potential. An injury last year put his career in a new focus.

Before I sat down to write this article I checked Instagram, and there was a post from Terrence Ross. It was 11 A.M. on a Wednesday and he was in the gym.

Anyone who follows him would know that this is not unusual. Ross is a hard worker. And the Orlando Magic especially needs him in the gym this year after missing 58 games due to a sprained MCL and a non-displaced fracture, both in his right leg. Ross needs to mount a comeback season in a contract year heading into a large free agent class.

In the 2018 season, Ross had a lackluster offensive showing. He put up 8.7 points per game, albeit on a career-low usage of 17.3 percent, and was taken out of the starting lineup just a couple days before his essentially season-ending injury. That was a move Ross requested as he recognized his struggles and the team’s slowly flagging fortunes.

It is hard to gauge how good Ross is seeing as how he started the season playing below average. He was never given the chance to regress to the mean and show what he could bring to the team, like he did the year before.

This is a big turning point for him and his career as he prepares to enter free agency. Ross needs to bring his offensive game back to where it has been in seasons past and show he can continue to be a valuable perimeter defender.

The Magic are thin on guards so he will likely be getting play time no matter what, but it is unknown where he will fit into the lineups coach Steve Clifford will be playing.

Evan Fournier and Jonathon Simmons are likely to be Terrence Ross’ main competition at the 2. Orlando’s front-court is likely set for the foreseeable future, with Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba.

Who starts on the wing is yet to be seen and will likely depend upon how Ross comes back from injury and how training camp and pre-season goes.

This year will also serve as a testing ground for Ross to explore his relationship with the team, and see if he wants to re-up his contract for next year. The Magic and Ross could be at very different points in their trajectories. So it is yet to be seen if he is in Orlando this time next year.