A healthy Markelle Fultz gives Orlando Magic one of the best young cores

The case for their core being top-five

Once again, this is keeping in mind Markelle Fultz is healthy and a contributor for the Orlando Magic. It does not have to be immediate playing time, but more so the next two or three seasons.

With this intact, the Magic players under 25 years old are Markelle Fultz, Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba, Chuma Okeke, Wesley Iwundu and Melvin Frazier and DaQuan Jeffries and Vic Law on Exhibit 10 deals. Five of these players (Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba, Chuma Okeke, DaQuan Jeffries) are 21 years old or younger to show how young this team really is.

While Wesley Iwundu, Melvin Frazier, DaQuan Jeffries and Vic Law could develop into solid role players, we are going to focus on the five first-round picks to narrow the core down to the expected impact players.

We will start on defense and how this core could form an elite group on that side of the floor.

The combined wingspan of the five most promising player — Gordon, Fultz, Bamba, Okeke and Isaac — is more than 35 feet. That is length across the board and a great foundation for any defense. Let alone one that is athletic at every position.

Switchability is massive in today’s NBA, and these five can defend or hold their own on the perimeter. Fultz is solid. Isaac spent time defending wings all season. Aaron Gordon played great defense on Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs and can guard multiple positions.

Bamba was not good defensively in his rookie year, but his potential to anchor a defense with his fluid movement and 7-foot-10 wingspan is phenomenal. Even with his poor overall defensive numbers, he still averaged 3.0 blocks per 36 minutes. His issue was more about understanding positioning, things the team can correct.

Okeke defended the 2-4 in college. His biggest concern is how well he moves after tearing his ACL.

There are no matchups to take advantage of against this lineup. The Magic could switch pick and rolls and opponents would go from Fultz to Isaac or Gordon or Okeke and not have a significant dropoff in terms of stopping the ball handlers. The length causes havoc in terms of deflecting passes and challenging shots.

The development will need to take place on offense.

The most successful offenses have multiple ball handlers and shooters, something this group has to a lesser degree. Fultz would be the ideal halfcourt creator, operating the pick and roll and being the closer for the team.

Gordon is a growing facilitator and ball-handler himself. And he is only 23 years old. He has increased his assists per game average every season. That number should continue to rise as his playmaking role increases.

Okeke was above average breaking down defenses after they closed out on him. That is the area he will find himself more often than not. Isaac falls into this category as well where Bamba needs to learn how to make reads coming downhill on pick-and-rolls.

Orlando Magic

But the floor spacing and shooting are not ideal.

Asking Fultz to be a consistent 3-point shooter is a massive question mark. He shot 26.7 percent on 3-pointers for his career so far as the shoulder injury impeded his shooting stroke.

Gordon shot a career-high 34.9 percent from beyond the arc last season. And that was considered a step up for him.

Okeke shot 38.7 percent last season in college. Isaac shot 32.3 percent from deep last season, but he improved as the season went on. Bamba, despite having a very smooth stroke, has yet to prove it will translate to NBA games.

If these players can improve their shooting a little, the offense will be solid in the halfcourt. In transition is where Fultz and Gordon will thrive the most, especially with athletes flanking them all over the court.

That is a lot of potential and talent on both sides of the court. Legitimately a group with no weaknesses defensively, multiple ball handlers offensively that are smart and can play at any tempo. That is a full lineup of players all 23 years old or younger.

Not many teams can offer that much upside and talent with five players. It comes down to health and shooting development, something every team covets and only a few can find.