5 reasons why the Orlando Magic have one of the best young cores

All-Star Potential

The Orlando Magic’s All-Star last year was Nikola Vucevic. For the foreseeable future, the team will continue to run its offense through him. The safest bet is that Vucevic will remain the team’s best bet to be an All-Star.

That probably is not a solution for this team long term. Yes, there is Mohamed Bamba waiting in the wings. But beyond that, Vucevic is a solid player who provides consistency. He is not someone who stirs the drink.

That was part of the problem in the playoffs. The Toronto Raptors were able to cut him off and never had to double anyone. The Magic still have a lot of holes to fill. The biggest one is that superstar piece.

Orlando can still argue that it has four players in addition to Vucevic with All-Star potential. All are under 25 years old. Aaron Gordon is the oldest at 23.

Fans seemed eager to anoint Gordon the next star after his 2018 season.

He averaged 17.6 points per game, albeit on some inconsistency and inefficiency. That year he had multiple 40-point games. But he often went off on his own too much as he explored his own offensive game.

Last year, he pulled back on the reigns and became a better playmaker while also refocusing on his defense. There were times — especially in the playoffs — when it seemed like the team was begging Gordon to do more and take on a bit more of that offensive role.

It is still hard to peg down what kind of player Aaron Gordon can be. His potential still seems pretty limitless. At best he is perhaps a souped-up Shawn Marion, who was a multi-time All-Star and ace defender for the Phoenix Suns at his peak. Or maybe he can be more.

In either case, it is expected Gordon will take a step up this season. Maybe even flirting with scoring 20 points per game while also continuing to improve as a passer. Gordon certainly also wants to take a step toward his goal of becoming an All-Defensive Team player.

Jonathan Isaac also represents a player who could take another significant step up.

It became easy to compare him and his growth to that of Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam during the playoffs. Siakam turned himself into a near-All-Star last year after spending his first few years as a defender (or in the G-League).

Isaac could follow a similar trajectory. After a confidence-building end to last year, it seems like Isaac could be in for a similar surge of growth.

Maybe not to an All-Star level, but he might have it in him. This year will tell a lot in that direction.

The same would go for Bamba and Fultz, although both might as well be playing their rookie years this coming season after missing so much time with injuries.