Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

Five Orlando Magic rebuild eras that did not pan out

By Kenneth Oliver

Jan 14, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) and guard Elfrid Payton (4) high five after Oladipo dunked against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Houston Rockets 120-113. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 14, 2015; Orlando, FL, USA; Orlando Magic guard Victor Oladipo (5) and guard Elfrid Payton (4) high five after Oladipo dunked against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Amway Center. Orlando Magic defeated the Houston Rockets 120-113. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 7
Next

The Franchise & The Rook

The Orlando Magic were coming off a paltry 21-win season in the 2004 NBA season and looked to rebound quickly with Tracy McGrady leading the show.

The Magic won the number one pick in the 2004 NBA Draft and seemed destined to have a one-two punch looming with superstar McGrady and former UConn center and NCAA basketball champion Emeka Okafor.

Unfortunately a brief disagreement with then general manager Jon Weisbrod and McGrady led to a McGrady ouster to the Houston Rockets for prized All-Star guard Steve Francis and a set of veterans in Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato.

The Magic did not stop there, they selected high-school center Dwight Howard from Atlanta instead of the polished college champion Okafor, setting the table for a rebuild (and further pushing McGrady out the door).

The Magic expected to return to the playoffs immediately with the combination of talent assembled, but would soon find out Howard was too raw and inefficient on offense and Steve Francis was too limited on defense for the team to move forward.

Although the Magic did find marginal success in terms of wins after their first year of the pairing — improving to 36 wins for back-to-back years — it was never quite enough to take the team into the title contention conversation resulting in a Steve Francis trade to the New York Knicks in January 2006.