For Kevin Durant, Orlando Magic still must make a move

Kevin Durant is the big prize of free agency this upcoming summer. The Orlando Magic have money, but have work to do to get into the race.

Throughout the regular season, the notion that the Orlando Magic would make some kind of move in free agency in 2017 persisted. It is hard not to with the potential haul that could be there — even before the Magic made the deal at the deadline to free up more cap room.

Anyone who is anyone had to find a way to create cap room and at least give themselves a chance at Kevin Durant, right?

There is at least a portion of any fan base who believes there is always the possibility to reel in the biggest fish of all. And with Durant, there is at least the connection to Rob Henningan from his time in Oklahoma City. That is enough to get thoughts rolling.

The constant response from those that want to operate a little more realistically is that Durant wants to win now. The Magic do not have a winning team even with all the young talent on the roster. Durant is not a man to wait.

That is the polite way to put it. Perhaps Tracy McGrady can put it a little more bluntly on The Jump on ESPN.com Monday:

Yes, McGrady throws a little bit of shade, just laughing off the suggestion his former team would get into the Durant sweepstakes. But he is also bluntly correct.

It is going to be tough for a 35-win team to persuade a superstar to join them. That is a humongous leap of faith.

But Rachel Nichols is right. As has been written time and time again, the Magic have cap space for at least one max player and they can make the room for two depending on what they do with the players that are to become free agents this year. Orlando is going to be very active this summer, there is no doubt about that.

Despite all this flexibility though, there is no denying the Magic are not in the running for the big dogs and the most sought-after free agents in this class.

The reality is the Magic have a nice young core and some potential to play with, but also a lot of uncertainty. None of that potential has been tapped and no one is quite sure what this team is or can be yet.

Orlando has slowly progressed in the win column — from 20 wins to 23 wins to 25 wins and now 35 wins — but has not really accomplished anything of note. There are no playoff appearances, no sneaky all stars. Just a lot of questions.

And superstar players are aware of those questions just as they are aware of that promise.

For a guy like Kevin Durant, a new team has to give him a reason to leave a perennial 50-win team in Oklahoma City with Russell Westbrook in tow. At this point — Durant will be 28 at the start of next season — Durant’s only concern is championships. As it should be. His window and his prime are finite and he needs to put himself in position to win. There is no wallowing to wait while a team grows and discovers itself.

That is why the Magic are not part of the conversation and why McGrady or everyone else should laugh off the notion of the Magic getting into the Durant sweepstakes — or really much of any free agent that is a sure max player at this point.

For Orlando to make a true splash, the team has to use part of its cap room to acquire a player through a trade. The team needs to bring in a more established player to entice the big-name free agent to come to Orlando.

Otherwise, the Magic are likely taking a risk in free agent or standing pat and waiting for this group to mature a little bit more and become more attractive to the top-end guys. That is the reality of the free agent market where everyone has money.

Orlando has some work to do to get a meeting, much less be among that group.

This was the risk of the Tobias Harris trade and making free agency a priority this summer. The roster is not ready to attract someone who can truly make a different right now. That can change in a hurry and it might be worth some more patience to see if that can change.

That does not mean the Magic have failed in any way. They have maintained flexibility and are waiting for the right moment to strike. That may be now or it may not.

It is not impossible for the Magic to get in the race. Asking the question tying the Magic and Durant is not ridiculous. But thinking it will happen with the roster as currently constructed is a bit far fetched. For the moment.