GOAL 4: CHOOSE A DIRECTION
This applies beyond this season, but can be solved now.
As the team falls from the playoff race and the halfway point of the season, the whispers and doubt creep in.
OK, the Magic do have potential, and yes this is the best season record-wise for years, but is this the long term plan? Are these the players that should be taken forward or should this potential be cashed in on with an exchange for more established player before the whole thing falls apart like it has for other young teams in the past?
Doubt does no favors to player or fan.
The fans, already frustrated with the losses, begin to call for change. Owners and general managers sometimes listen to the fans, if the seats start emptying. But more than that these young players will suffer.
Uncertainty in their future, to say nothing of their place and role in the current team, can not produce good results. They play worse, the fans call for more trades, the players feel less unappreciated or more abandoned, they play worse.
Many opinions divide on which the correct option is. The Magic are on the higher steps of a rebuild. Do they struggle up these hard steps or try and jump right to the top and missing the top step all together?
Whichever it is, a jump and a change of mind halfway through will only result in a fall, as will simply waiting for that vicious cycle to knock them back down the stairs again.
Next: Finish