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Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Summer League Takeaways

By Philip Rossman-Reich

LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 9: Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns and Mohamed Bamba #5 of the Orlando Magic look on during the game during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - JULY 9: Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns and Mohamed Bamba #5 of the Orlando Magic look on during the game during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Mohamed Bamba, Deandre Ayton, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 9: Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns and Mohamed Bamba #5 of the Orlando Magic look on during the game during the 2018 Las Vegas Summer League on July 9, 2018 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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 Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic completed Summer League and saw some impressive performances, but still plenty they need to see improved from their young players.

Summer League is now in the rearview mirror. Everything with the Orlando Magic will go fairly quiet now as the rest of the offseason plays out behind closed doors. The internal improvement several Magic players need to make will be well underway. But no one will get a public view of what that looks like until training camp begins in September.

The next big date on the calendar is Labor Day when players will likely start trickling back into Orlando for pickup games and preparation for training camp. Unless the team does another group workout in Los Angeles or another location sometime in August. That workout last year was at least partially organized by Magic personnel like Becky Bonner and then-coach Frank Vogel.

But things will go quiet around the league. All we have to hold onto are the five games of Summer League to get us through to the season.

That showed a lot of promise in the Magic’s last two first-round picks in Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba. It also showed some promising play from some of the other young players from the Magic.

It still did not reveal a whole lot about what the Magic will look like once the season begins.

It is safe to assume coach Steve Clifford will have the team play with a defensive, disciplined mentality. That is the culture he brought to the Charlotte Hornets in turning that franchise around — at least to go from the basement to respectability.

But how everything will look when the team comes together in September is still a mystery. This is still virtually the same roster that finished last season. The only new additions are Mohamed Bamba, Melvin Frazier, Justin Jackson (still unsigned), Jerian Grant and Timofey Mozgov. Bamba is the only player expected to be a starter at the end of the year and beyond.

There is still clearly a lot of work for the Magic to do to get back to consistent contention. The team hopes it is on the right track. But they know it may take some time.

So where are the Magic after Summer League and what did we learn? The Orlando Magic Daily staff came together to answer these questions in our latest roundtable.