Orlando Magic have a few players ready to bid for All-Star berths

Team success will ultimately get the Orlando Magic back into the All-Star Game. And they have a few players who seem ready to answer that call when it comes.

It is called a rebuild, and the idea is pretty simple.  An organization will declare their current team is not going to get them to their target heights, so they dismantle the pieces and start all over again.

This is done by getting a lot of young players together and seeing if one will shine and be the centerpiece to build an entire franchise around. Normally this is achieved through the Draft, ending up in the lottery and selecting a future star with a high draft pick.

Said young player, free from restraints of high-seeded playoff pressure, gets a chance to hone and prove their skills as the team ages around them until, finally, the team has collected enough talent and developed enough to make a Playoff run.

The Orlando Magic have been in the lottery six times in a row. They have selected seven players in the lottery during that time. And they have had zero all-star selections in those six lotteries.

Victor Oladipo became an All-Star elsewhere after the team gave up on his development. The Magic have struggled to make good on that process to rebuild.

The Magic’s rebuild has moved into the better part of a decade, with no playoff appearances and no All-Star selections. There are large (although quite simple) arguments about exactly why that is. But they do not award retroactive All-Star selections. The team has struggled to form a cogent identity and find the one player to build around.

Let alone have the patience to wait on young players to grow up. Their revolving door of coaches has not helped matters either as the team’s overall development has stalled.

Stars win in this league and it is difficult to take any meaningful step forward without them.

President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman is trying to pick up the pieces and carve his own path forward for his team. He still has young players who are trying to be that guy for the team. And he is adding new pieces to the puzzle.

There are three categories when assessing all-star potentials:

The Missed-the-bus’s: those who have likely passed their peak and therefore their best chance of being selected.

The My-hand-is-up’s: those playing in or entering their prime and have the top chance of being selected.

And the Can-I-have-my-lunch-money-back’s: the youngsters who would be hoping more for Friday night at all-star rather than Sunday, but might show promise for far off in the future.