Orlando Magic Daily
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Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: What’s left to do

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball against the New York Knicks on February 22, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball against the New York Knicks on February 22, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic, New York Knicks
ORLANDO, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic handles the ball against the New York Knicks on February 22, 2018 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic are not playing for very much on the court as the season winds down. What should they be looking to build for their future? We discuss.

The Orlando Magic’s season seems a bit pro forma these days.

There are just 15 games left in the season after Saturday’s game against the LA Clippers. That is not a lot of time to get much accomplished. Not that there is anything to accomplish.

The Magic are on the verge of playoff elimination for the franchise-record sixth straight year. That is just an inevitability at this point. It has been for some time.

Everyone within the Magic organization has to sense change is coming to the roster. Orlando still has a lot of work to do to sniff the Playoffs. Getting healthy being one of them. But it is obviously something much more than that. Health alone cannot explain why the team has fallen off so much.

That might become irrelevant now. The focus is firmly on the future.

And that is the biggest thing the Magic have left to learn in the final 15 games of the season. What can Orlando grow and build for its future? What kind of seeds can they plant? And what kind of foundations can they build?

The signs, of course, will be small. The team will have plenty of losses. Inopportune injuries to Evan Fournier (sprained MCL) and Aaron Gordon (concussion symptoms) have thrown the Magic further behind. There will be plenty of losses the rest of the season. There is no getting around or beyond this reality.

Still, there are things definitely to watch on the court. At least, part of the team’s future is on display. And the Magic still have things to learn about the group they have on the roster. Specifically Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac. Not to mention Mario Hezonja‘s still-uncertain future.

Yes, the Magic might very well do some suspicious tanking moves. Yes, the focus is more on the ping pong balls and adding another key player to the team’s core. Plus, the summer moves to come.

But there are still games to play and no opportunity should get squandered.

With that in mind, the Orlando Magic Daily crew got together to discuss some of these pressing issues before the end of the season.