The offseason is here and the end date is not quite certain yet. But that does not decrease the stakes of a big offseason for the Orlando Magic.
The 2020 NBA season is coming to a close (at long last).
The Eastern and Western Conference Finals have provided tons of entertainment and some high-level basketball to get us through these dark times. It has been refreshing to see basketball played at its highest level. It has been pretty close to normal.
I mean, who does not love to see buzzer-beating shots with the stakes at their highest and teammates getting into fights after crushing defeats? That is the pressure that becomes natural in the course of a playoffs.
It feels normal. Even if it is late September and we should be preparing for the next season and training camp at this point.
The NBA calendar is still in the process of getting reset, however.
The league has set the NBA Draft for Nov. 18. They have started to schedule and plan out how teams will conduct the virtual combine, pre-draft workouts and interviews.
The non-bubble teams have started to gather in their own makeshift bubbles for their mini-camps since they missed out on all the fun at Disney.
And Adam Silver told CNN he does not anticipate the season beginning until January. At least we might still get a full 82-game season again — with an Olympic break perhaps.
The contours of the 2021 season are starting to form. But still, so much of it is uncertain. Nobody really knows when the year will begin. There is no finish line in sight. No telling when we might see Orlando Magic basketball again.
So enjoy the conference finals and the NBA Finals while they last.
Orlando Magic
The offseason has already generated a ton of discussion about what the Magic will do. There are a lot of different paths the team can go down. Each one will carry with it risk and change the shape of the franchise.
There are admittedly a lot of questions facing this team. A lot of questions about how they build and advance the franchise. How they deal with Jonathan Isaac’s injury and who will lead this franchise moving forward. What we make of Jeff Weltman’s decisionmaking and what comes next for him and the front office.
These are the conversations that are being had online and among Magic fans. Everyone has their own idea of how to move forward.
There is a lot of opportunity but also a lot of risk. And nobody seems to know anything about what comes next — for the league for the team.
Neither do I. But I have at least a few good guesses. And we can always at least set the table for a busy offseason.
So it is time to open up the Orlando Magic Daily Mailbag once again and answer all of your burning questions before the offseason really kicks into high gear.
Submit your questions to me on Twitter @omagicdaily, in the comments below or by e-mail at omagicdaily@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!