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Orlando Magic fall in ESPN Future Power Rankings

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mar 18, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket as Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) defends during the second half at Amway Center. Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2016; Orlando, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives to the basket as Orlando Magic guard Evan Fournier (10) defends during the second half at Amway Center. Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic 109-103. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Orlando Magic’s summer of change came with a focus on the present more than the future. It is no surprise they tumbled in the future power rankings.

The Orlando Magic once had a universally bright future. Observers and critics saw the group of young talent and the flexibility of those small contracts as a potential springboard for the franchise. They did not have any top-end talent, but there was still plenty of hope and seemingly endless possibilities.

This summer changed all that.

The Magic pushed their chips into the center of the table to make the Playoffs in the short term and sacrificed some of their long-term potential to do so. They tied themselves up to some long-term money and brought in some veterans.

Orlando wants more immediate results. Whether they have achieved that remains to be seen.

And for that reason, as much as anything, the Magic’s future has turned a bit more cloudy — if not simply muddied.

ESPN released its annual Future Power Rankings earlier this week and dropped the Magic three spots to No. 16 — still a hopeful spot, but not the sunny future the Magic seemed headed toward at the beginning of the rebuild.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com writes:

"The Magic made a major leap in our rankings to No. 13 last edition, but after a puzzling summer they’ve lost three spots.Orlando’s decision to package Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis for Serge Ibaka is defensible, but given where the Magic are in their developmental curve and where Ibaka is in his career, it appears to be a move sacrificing the future.Their other summer additions — Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Augustin, Jeff Green — cost a combined $112 million dollars, and all three are less talented than their younger counterparts already on the team.So while we remain optimistic about new coach Frank Vogel’s fit, we are increasingly losing confidence in GM Rob Hennigan’s ability to craft a contender or show the necessary patience to rebuild. He’s somewhere in between, and that rarely works."

The concerns raised here — dipping between continued rebuild and trying to win now and rushing toward making the Playoffs — are certainly concerns raised elsewhere about the Magic and their summer.

The Magic rank low in terms of player and management, but rank highly in market and draft. If this latest foray to try to win does not work out for Orlando, the team should be able to recover quickly with some of the assets they have and the drafting staff they have built. Along with some of those future assets they have held onto.

Then again, Orlando has yet to see any of that turn into fruition in the last five years.

ESPN’s Future Power Rankings are a projection of team success in the next three years. It is certainly fair to say about the Magic they do not have the galvanizing star to propel them to the top of the heap. They are a middle-of-the-road team.

The rankings have the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers as the top two teams.

The Minnesota Timberwolves are the highest rated non-Playoff team from 2016. The Timberwolves finished fifth. Certainly the benefit of having two top overall picks on the roster in Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Next: Elements of Orlando Magic's pace-heavy offense

A good season from Orlando would go a long way to changing expectations for the team in the future. Clearly the Magic view this season as an important one for their franchise’s development and future.