The next move for the Orlando Magic may be its most important

The Orlando Magic are at a crossroads. No matter who has to deal with its effects, the Magic’s next move will set the franchise’s future for several years.

The Orlando Magic are at a crossroads, it would seem, as the midpoint to the season approaches. Our Zach Palmer wrote as much, laying out the paths the team can go down.

The team is still as focused as ever on making the Playoffs. And that would seem to necessitate a move in the trade market unless the team makes a major turnaround sooner than later. The team is just not turning that corner, losing its sixth game in the last seven outings on Wednesday against the LA Clippers.

Things are looking rather bleak with all the pressure put on this season to deliver a winning team. Fans are restless after four years without a hint of the Playoffs. This veteran-laden team — after the Magic sold off several young players to set up acquisitions this season — was supposed to deliver that more assuredly than the young, growing teams before.

That has not been the case. The Magic have cashed in their chips on these hopes. There are only a few avenues out and many may take time or severely limit the Magic’s potential for the future.

To be sure, the Magic seem to have made a misstep in pushing their chips in as they did. Getting out of what appears now to be a mistake could be a very tricky thing. And it leaves a lot of uncertainty for the future.

Whether the Magic decide to double down and push for the Playoffs, retool around the youth they have or rebuild completely, what the Magic do in the next month and a half will likely determine the franchise’s direction for the next two or three seasons at a minimum.

The trade deadline is the next time to reshape the roster. And the team has plenty of flexibility. As Jeremy Woo of Sports Illustrated points out in this week’s power rankings:

"It’s one thing to say Orlando’s active off-season backfired, but what it has given them is flexibility. For a small-market team, there’s something to be said for compiling assets, making improvements and hoping to wait out a big free agent fish. The sometimes-maligned Serge Ibaka leads the team in win shares (per Basketball Reference), Evan Fournier, on a long-term deal, leads the team in scoring, and then there’s a smattering of pretty talented role player-types, most of them on cheap, movable contracts. Elfrid Payton is playing markedly better of late, cutting back on turnovers and making a productive impact. That said, there still doesn’t appear to be enough to take a leap forward without a talent injection. The moves they made certainly weren’t a waste of time, but the next set, and how they flip these parts, is the critical part.There’s probably not a quick roster fix for the scoring issues. Barring a return to elite defensive performance, the Magic are on the outside looking in. They’ll likely pick in the lottery again, probably not high enough to cash in on the top tier of players, but in a relatively deep looking first round. Nothing here should be tied down. The front office has publicly said they want to be active in deals. They’ve got about six weeks to figure it out."

Orlando still seems capable of making deals. They have expiring contracts in Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green and Jodie Meeks to play with. Those contracts could also expire and the Magic could reap the rewards of the cap room, if they so choose.

There are still young players who should retain some value, although they may not net the returns everyone hopes for. Orlando could pivot older or younger very easily in the next month and a half to achieve their short-term goals.

There is still flexibility and at least remnants of that young group to build around.

If the Magic did want to pivot and re-embrace their youth and kickstart their rebuild in progress, they could easily do so by spinning off some of those high-priced veterans for young players on their second contracts or expiring deals they may be interested in retaining.

That is one of the paths Zach described.

Orlando could also double down, of course. The team could look for veterans and take on some big salary to try and save Playoff dreams this year and make their Playoff dreams for next year, lowering the ceiling but, at least theoretically, ensuring competitiveness in the middle of the Eastern Conference for a few years.

The Magic are in that tricky position of deciding which way to go, evaluating the risks and benefits and assessing their long-term goals.

Rob Hennigan’s seat might be warming as the team falls further out of the Playoff race. But, in all likelihood, he will be the one making this critical decision — a decision that could very well be his last as Magic general manager if the team cannot get itself going and make a major Playoff push.

If the direction is to double down on the Playoffs and the Magic target veteran players like Goran Dragic or Brandon Knight, the team could be tied down to high salaried players and have a virtually set roster for the next several years.

Fans have targeted these two guards specifically and both have multiple years left on their deals — Dragic at $54.3 million the next three years (with a player option on that final year) and Knight at $43.9 million the next three years. The Magic could very well be locked into whatever team they end the season with (considering Evan Fournier and Bismack Biyombo just started long-term deals).

Doubling down like that locks the Magic into a certain team (and they would still have Aaron Gordon‘s contract upcoming). They have seen an injection of high-priced veterans does not guarantee anything.

The best move for the Magic might be to go younger and keep flexibility to make a trade as young players continue to develop. Essentially a half-return to the rebuild and youth development could keep the team competitive while giving them the flexibility to make a change.

In either case, the Magic will be setting their franchise’s direction for the next several years. It will be the path they go down for the 2018 season and beyond.

This season will not act in isolation. The Magic’s decision to push all in for the Playoffs was a risk. Its success would have created some stability to build from. Its failure has only created questions.

The Magic have the opportunity to make changes, and clearly some options to do so. But they have to consider their future as much as their short-term goals.

Next: Orlando Magic need 'togetherness' culture to save season

Even if Hennigan is not the one who has to deal with its effects, the next move will set the Magic down a path for the next few years.