10. Orlando Magic will need a major trade
The Orlando Magic can be a good team. Coach Steve Clifford is right that this team is more talented and capable of making a playoff run than last year’s team. Even if they are not realizing that full potential quite yet, the hints are all there.
But there are plenty of hints the other way. Fans wringing their hands saying this is not a team that can win in the playoffs might very well be right too.
In a lot of ways, Orlando is the same team as it was last year. They are tough to play against and rarely beat themselves with turnovers or mistakes. They have a stellar defense that will allow them to compete.
But when the playoffs come around, they have clear weaknesses that will be tough to scheme around. The way the Magic are playing now feels more reminiscent of the way they played in that playoff series against the Toronto Raptors.
The team has gotten stuck offensively without a go-to player who can create his own shot and make his own tough shot. Clifford said at one point this season, the Magic do great within their sets but they struggle just playing basketball.
It is this improvisation the team lacks. And it is getting harder to see where that creation will come from on this roster. Especially without a slew of great shooters to space the floor for the players who need the help to come out.
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Orlando is scratching and clawing offensively. Zach Lowe of ESPN.com is right in this observation, teams that are elite in one area and abysmal in another will not win.
There are some fundamental flaws with this roster. Flaws that are not going to solve themselves for internal development. It should be clear the Magic need to be active in the trade market. And if they are really intent on taking another step, it is going to mean parting with a major piece.
Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer is already reporting the Magic are “scouring the trade market” looking for scoring with DeMar DeRozan as a potential target. Expect to hear more rumors like this.
Whether the Magic make a deal now or next summer, it is clear the team needs change to take the next step. There will not be another summer of standing still.
Orlando’s main goal this year was to match their results of last year, continuing growing their young players and prepare to take that next step. That next step may inevitably involve a trade.
The team’s lack of focus on acquiring shooting and scoring — although Orlando used much of its offseason retaining two of its better offensive players in Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross — is hurting the team right now. They clearly need a boost there in a major way.
Only time will tell what fleshes out. But the honeymoon period of the Magic’s playoff appearance is well over. Now the team has to do more to match those results and accomplish the goals they set for themselves.
The next 10 games to round out the first quarter of the season will determine a lot in the direction the Magic will head.