This is the fifth season since the Orlando Magic parted ways with coach Stan Van Gundy and center Dwight Howard, and it looks a lot like the previous four. At 18-28, the Magic have a lower winning percentage than last year and have gotten worse on both offense (from 17th to 29th) and defense (from 17th to 22nd) under new coach Frank Vogel.

This was definitely not the plan, and general manager Rob Hennigan spoke to the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins about the state of the team in an extensive interview.

The part that sticks out: Hennigan said the front office will "be aggressive" on the trade market and he'll be looking to add more scoring and shooting to the roster.

OS: Does the team need to make a trade before the deadline to get back into the playoff hunt? Hennigan: The simple answer to that is we need to explore every and all options to improve the team, and so we're going to be aggressive. We're going to be active in our discussions and in the opportunities we seek out. So we're going to look to be active. I'm not sure it's a "necessity," but it's certainly something that's in our best interests to explore. OS: The league is going toward more small ball. At least the league is more oriented toward the 3-point shot and toward better spacing. Are the Magic optimally constructed offensively to be a part of that trend and constructed defensively to defend against small-ball teams? Hennigan: As we continue to build the team we certainly need to keep in mind the trends of the NBA. We built this team to be a defensive-minded team. And we also built this team to have the flexibility to play multiple ways. And while that hasn't necessarily manifested itself throughout the season, we feel like our vision and our philosophy now and going forward will be to construct a team that can play big, that can play small and vary from opponent to opponent. I think certainly -- absent an elite player that becomes available -- we need to continue to try to add more shooting and shot-making and basketball IQ to the team wherever we can find it. But we need to continue to place an emphasis on rim protection as well because of the way the game's officiated nowadays.

Hennigan repeatedly said that he's disappointed in Orlando's defense because it was constructed to be a defense-first team. Its offense, though, has been a total disaster, and this was predictable. By asking Vogel to deal with a logjam in the front court -- a logjam that would have existed even if the Magic didn't sign Jeff Green to a one-year, $15 million deal last summer -- the front office set him up for failure when it comes to scoring. This has been a weak spot for years, and Orlando just hasn't been able to figure it out.

The trade deadline is less than a month away and the Magic will be one of the more fascinating franchises to watch. Not only are they upset with the lack of progress they've made, they have an important player going into free agency (Serge Ibaka), a young player with star potential playing out of position (Aaron Gordon) and a skilled center who might be squeezed out (Nikola Vucevic). And that's before even getting to Elfrid Payton, who has been demoted and heard his name in trade rumors despite playing the best basketball of his career.

Orlando has a lot of interesting parts, but it has been years since the whole has been impressive. Hennigan's job is to balance the roster and help the coaching staff give this team an identity. Evidently, this has been a tough task.