The Orlando Magic are done with the trade deadline with one major change. What is left for them to accomplish this season? Turns out there is lots to do.
Everyone’s focus for the Orlando Magic is on the future right now.
A team that has sunk to the bottom of the standings in December has had an eye on the Draft and an eye on remaking its roster. Everyone knows the team has to do something because another sub-30 win season will not do it. Not with much of the same core.
Looking at the standings reveals how close the race to the bottom really is. Seven teams are within one game of the worst record in the league. The Chicago Bulls, tonight’s opponent, are just two games clear of the worst record.
For those that want to focus on ping pong balls, they will have a tight race to worry about.
But the Magic are not going to be concerned about that. They are looking to win games and get the most out of this season.
The Elfrid Payton trade was almost certainly the beginning of a round of changes likely to come this offseason — and bleeding into next season. It was just the first step for a team that is trying to remake its image.
As president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman put it, the Magic did not feel like they could commit to the same core long-term financially. And so Orlando moves on.
But how do they move on? How do they make the most of what is left this season?
Orlando has a clear goal. The team still wants to win. And there are still several players coming back from injury who need to play to prove they are healthy and need to play just because they are good players. But there are also young players deserving of an opportunity and more a part of this team’s future.
How do the Magic split this time and these competing goals?
It creates a tricky balance for the Magic to pull off. The rest of the season does not have a clear direction it needs to take. Orlando is a team seemingly stuck somewhere in the middle between rebuilding and too old to do anything but make the most of what is left this year.
The biggest thing to do is to continue developing young players like Khem Birch, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac (expected back from injury soon) and Wesley Iwundu. And, yes, even Mario Hezonja as he enters an uncertain restricted free agency.
The Magic have a lot they need to accomplish still. And they still have several games to play. There is a lot of season left.
In the aftermath of the trade deadline, I discussed what comes next for the Orlando Magic and how they can continue the development that has led to some moderate success in recent weeks in this week’s Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live:
On This Episode:
- The Orlando Magic were unable to get the win despite a strong effort against the Milwaukee Bucks
- What can the Orlando Magic do with Mario Hezonja this summer and would he stay?
- What are the Orlando Magic’s goals for the rest of the season?
- Explaining the Orlando Magic’s roster crunch as the team gets healthy.
- Mario Hezonja’s recent success and how the Orlando Magic can keep developing him.
- The Orlando Magic are a young team finally delivering the fruits of their labor.
- What are the things the Orlando Magic need to learn from their roster the rest of the season?
- The Orlando Magic’s improving player development culture.
- An update on the top draft prospects.
Next: Orlando Magic seeing the fruits of their growth
Be sure to join the Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live on our Facebook page every Sunday at 12 p.m. ET! Next week, I will be off for the All-Star Break. So join us again Feb. 25 for the next Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live. Also, subscribe to Orlando Magic Daily’s daily podcast, Locked On Magic, on Panoply, iTunes, Stitcher and TuneIn.