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

Final thoughts

A franchise’s outlook comes down to a number of things: Health, the meshing of personalities, talent accumulation and a number of other factors. But health is arguably the most important, and the Orlando Magic have a serious question moving forward with Fultz’s health.

The beauty of the Magic’s roster that puts it on par with the other teams is their depth.

Teams that consistently pick in the lottery give themselves chances to draft the most talented, or highly touted, players in their draft classes. Orlando has done that and increased their odds of finding that high-level, All-Star player to build around.

Now they wait and see how they develop. In the meantime, the Magic are competing for a playoff spot as those players grow, building a stronger culture for winning.

Orlando has built a team through its defense through the draft. The Magic proceeded to add their player with superstar potential in Markelle Fultz. They are clearly behind the Denver Nuggets and New Orleans Pelicans, while being behind, or on par, with the teams with the superstars.

The Magic are in the same group as the Atlanta Hawks. Both have built deep, young cores with no player showing true star potential yet (Trae Young not there yet).

This question will not be answered until years from now. The differential in team building throughout the league is fascinating.

But health will be a serious role as always, and if Fultz returns to health, the Magic will be right up there with the best of the best in the near future.