Orlando Magic Daily
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2019 Orlando Magic: Five questions for the third quarter of the season

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - NOVEMBER 18: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on November 18, 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 - NOVEMBER 18: Aaron Gordon #00 of the Orlando Magic shoots the ball against the New York Knicks on November 18, 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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Terrence Ross, Orlando Magic
ORLANDO, FL – NOVEMBER 14: Terrence Ross #31 of the Orlando Magic celebrates after making the game winning shot against the Philadelphia 76ers on November 14, 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) /

Which direction will the Orlando Magic take their trade deadline?

Coach Steve Clifford addressed the media following the team’s loss to the Sacramento Kings earlier this week and was oddly short on answers. He has had plenty of questions about how he manages his rotation and how he jumbles lineups and precious few answers. The Orlando Magic’s bench has been unable to sustain strong play from the starting lineup.

That only makes the team’s narrow path to victory smaller.

That press conference where Clifford put the onus on himself for failing to come up with the right combination was also a quiet nudge to management. The roster is the biggest problem facing the Magic. They have some talent but there is little room for error and few pathways to success.

Jeff Weltman was fairly quiet for the second straight summer with the Magic’s roster. Like the year before, he did not have a lot of cap room to spend. And with the team rebuilding and trying to dig out of a salary cap hole, he was not about to dig it deeper and commit long-term money to someone he does not believe in just to fill out a roster.

This trade deadline will feature some of the biggest decisions he has made since taking the job. And what he decides to do likely comes down to whether the team feels it can realistically make a Playoff push. That decision likely comes in the next week or so. The Magic cannot wait much longer.

Orlando should be one of the teams most active at the trade deadline. They clearly need to add something to the roster to make a Playoff push.

But they also have two players on expiring contracts playing at career-best levels in Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. Both would be extremely valuable to a Playoff team. And so the Magic could extract some assets for them.

So the big decision is as much about whether the team will make the push to make the Playoffs this year as it is about whether they are willing to invest long-term in Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. Those are very big questions indeed.

Essentially in the next week, the Magic must decide whether they believe they can make the Playoffs or not and then decide whether they will retain two key players to long-term contracts. No pressure.