Alex Martins: Orlando Magic will be champs by 2030

The Orlando Sentinel took a look into the future recently and Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins seems confident a title is on its way in the next 15 years.

The future seems very far away for the Orlando Magic.

Their ambitious rebuild plan has not gone according to plan. They never hit it big in the draft lottery, failing to deliver that surefire star to anchor the entire thing. The young players they did draft became solid players, but no one broke out. And the team’s coaching choices failed to deliver.

Orlando has steadily improved each year, but got no closer to the Playoffs or achieving the high dreams the team set out to accomplish.

That led to this season’s seeming Playoff-or-bust mentality. The Magic pushed all in reach the Playoffs this season.

At 10-15, the Magic are still outside the Playoff picture but within striking distance. Everyone will watch the rest of this season with a ton of interest. And where the team goes from here after the season ends — with success or failure — is anyone’s guess.

As Magic CEO Alex Martins said at the beginning of the rebuild, the team is hoping to build some sustainable success. The Magic have not quite done that and their future does look a bit more uncertain than ever.

The franchise’s long-term health though looks good. And Martins is very confident about the product on the court and off the court for the long-term future.

As part of a series the Orlando Sentinel published this weekend on what Orlando will look like in 2030, Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel asked the Magic CEO for his predictions on the team. Martins was confident the Magic will win a title in the future:

"“I certainly believe by 2030 we will have won at least one championship,” Martins said. “And I say ‘at least.’ I firmly believe we’re going to get there and once you get there, you got the kind of team that hopefully can come back. I believe we will have won a championship.”"

Fourteen years, of course, is a long time. There will be several iterations of the Magic in that time. It is hard to see the team remaining stuck in futility that long. Even the most poorly run teams typically will get a push out of the first round in that time frame.

Then again, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings are pushing a decade without a Playoff berth. And the Magic themselves went 12 years without a Playoff series victory, despite a solid string of Playoff appearances in the interim.

Perhaps the optimism about the Magic’s future comes both from the confidence the team has in its ability to right the ship sooner rather than later, but also in Orlando’s growth as a city and the amenities the magic will continue to build.

Martins predicted the Amway Center would still be a flexible arena and stand up to any changes in arena trends. He also revealed the county and city created a capital expenditure fund to help keep the arena up to date.

The Magic will also open their entertainment complex in the next few years to create another revenue stream and downtown attraction. And they will also surely host another All-Star Game in the near future.

The Magic’s overall future does look very bright for the next 15 years. The only question mark is the on-court product. Surely the Magic hope their team can grow and improve quickly as the city grows and seems set to break out as a sports destination.

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Whether they will win that title before 2030? Like Martins, everyone has to have faith they can accomplish that goal.