Orlando Magic should remain active to improve roster

The Orlando Magic are already getting connected to players in certain rumors, a sign the team knows it must stay active and aggressive to improve this team.

The Orlando Magic’s roster is relatively set now heading into training camp. There are 13 players under contract with the potential to add a few more training camp invites. The Magic are set and will head to their season with the group they have.

The core group at least.

The basic rotation of Elfrid Payton, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo seems set. D.J. Augustin, Jeff Green and Mario Hezonja seem set to come off the bench for major contributions. This will largely be the roster the Magic employ for the season.

Whether this roster satisfies anyone in this seemingly make-or-break season remains something to be seen. Outside projections are not particularly high on the Magic, although there are still plenty of believers.

The 2016 Magic will face some very real questions to achieve their goals that they will have to answer, both individually and as a team. The Magic will have to embrace this challenge to achieve their goals. A lot of the growth will come internally, especially early in training camp.

But this is not a complete group. No one is mistaking this core for a title-winning team. People still wonder if this is a Playoff team. That can lead to one conclusion only.

The Magic are and still should be looking to improve.

Yes, Rob Hennigan and the Magic massively reformed the roster this year. It is a continually evolving process though. The Magic are not going to stop their work improving the team, nor should they. This is still an incomplete and uncertain team.

The rumors for trades began seemingly from the time the Magic signed Bismack Biyombo. It has been difficult to find a good fit for Nikola Vucevic in this new reality. Even Serge Ibaka and his expiring contract has been some subject of trade talk — Doug Smith of the Toronto Star is already suggesting the Toronto Raptors will pursue Ibaka in free agency.

Surely if the Magic do not reach their goals, that will become an option as Ibaka enters free agency. The roster is full of scenarios like that too — what if Aaron Gordon does not quite work at the 3 or if Mario Hezonja takes a leap in his play and puts pressure for more playing time? There are a lot of questions about just about every player on the roster.

The Magic are going to be aggressive on their own too. There are still holes to fill on the roster and the Magic should have some cap flexibility to offer if anyone is shopping a star. Jeff Green is a veteran on an expiring one-year, $15-million contract. A team could use him to free up cap space.

The Magic maintained flexibility to make a splashier move if they need one during the season.

Orlando is already getting connected to Blake Griffin with the Los Angeles Clippers, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. This interest may be little more than a passing interest at this point and the Clippers are not likely pursuing offers right now.

Expect more conversations like these though. And the Magic need to be involved in these conversations as they reshape this roster and try to take the next step.

It was always part of the plan for Rob Hennigan to search for ways to cash in his assets and improve the team. The idea was to do this with another star established on the team through the draft. That part of the plan fell through.

Now Orlando is scrambling, of course. The Magic are trying to make their playoff push and force their way in. That was the purpose of all the offseason moves.

It is unclear whether they accomplished this goal.

That does not mean the Magic should panic. But it does mean Orlando needs to be in tune with the team’s progress and be ready to move and search for better options quickly. They must always have their ear to the ground and show a willingness to part with big players to get something bigger if the opportunity arises.

Nothing with this team is set in stone at all.

A lot will be learned every time the team steps on the floor. Both about how the team works together and just how good this team is. With results seemingly mattering so much to the team this year, these answers early on in the season could set the tone for the entire year.

Orlando’s goal of making the Playoffs — and the seeming desire to make the postseason — will put added pressure to make things happen. And the Magic roster, no matter what anyone wants to believe is not assuredly there. Arguments exist for and against the Magic’s Playoff hopes this season.

The only thing that is clear is that nothing is clear with this team. Nobody seems to know whether this whole project will work. The only thing anyone seems to know is that the Magic are determined to make the Playoffs.

The first few months of the season will be important. The Magic will have to come together quickly and establish their identity and begin to find their groove. They cannot fall out of the Playoff race.

It is easy from this point to dig deeper into the hole, continuing to cash in assets for veterans that put a ceiling on a team or simply getting capped out on talent and stuck in mediocrity. That appears to be where the Magic are headed.

So far though, Hennigan has done well to keep the team financially flexible and not tied down by bad contracts. Bismack Biyombo and D.J. Augustin are the only players really locked into above-market value contracts long term, perhaps.

They will try and continue to push to improve the team in any way they can. They are not done by any means.

Next: How Bismack Biyombo can contribute offensively

So rumors and trades will continue to pop up. The Magic should remain active trying to improve the team. And no player should be safe. At this point, any thing the team can do to improve the roster, the team should explore.