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Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag Vol. 29: Back to the future

By Philip Rossman-Reich

MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 10: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic walks backcourt during a game during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on January 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE, WI - JANUARY 10: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic walks backcourt during a game during a game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center on January 10, 2018 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 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. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images) /
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Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic
Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic /

The season is coming to an end and the focus for fans is clearly on the future. As I opened up the Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag, I peer into what’st to come.

For Orlando Magic fans, the focus is clearly on the future. It has been that way for several years now, actually. No avoiding it at this point. The team has lost some of its direction and is proceeding quickly to the bottom of the standings.

As things stand entering Sunday’s games, the Magic have the third-best odds for the Lottery. And so Sunday was an important day for them. Not because of any game that anyone played. But more because it was Selection Sunday.

The NCAA Tournament gives fans, at least, their last chance to watch the college stars who will populate the NBA Draft. To say the least, Thursday and Friday afternoon and evening will get spent dissecting every bit of these prospects. Some for the first time.

Try not to draw any conclusions. Or hard and fast conclusions about anyone. There is still a Lottery to get to after all. The draft order is not even set.

The Draft will play a very important part of the team’s future. This high pick upcoming is a foundational piece to whatever president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond are trying to build.

After this disastrous season and year of evaluation, change is definitely in the air. The roster has to flip over.

This is where much of the focus and attention goes for the final 15 games. The Magic do not have much to play for other than watching Jonathan Isaac‘s development. They want to build a culture and begin laying the foundations for who they want to be. But almost certainly, a lot of that hard work will come in finding the right people and flipping over the roster.

What the Magic have — in whatever combination it comes — does not work. And, as everyone expected before the season, every piece of this puzzle has to be examined.

That is where a lot of the question in this edition of the mailbag is headed. Everyone knows the team needs change. And everyone knows that it has to come soon.

During the All-Star Break, I opened up the Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag to take your questions and answer what will come next for the Orlando Magic.