Orlando Magic have to decide their course for the rest of the season

The Orlando Magic’s 2021 season is currently in chaos. As a team, they are on the verge of falling apart. The Magic currently have an 8-13 record and are 12th in the Eastern Conference.

While the team is merely one-half game out of the final spot in the play-in tournament, things seem as if they are only going to get worse from here.

With the 115-102 loss to the Toronto Raptors, the Orlando Magic’s injury list just got longer. Aaron Gordon is likely to miss significant time with what the Magic diagnosed as a high-level ankle sprain. He reportedly could miss the next 4-6 weeks, leaving him likely out for the rest of the first half of the season.

The Magic have been ridiculously unlucky with injuries this season, and the small optimism that was still present after the Markelle Fultz injury is almost gone.

Since the Fultz injury, the Magic have the worst record in the NBA with a 2-11 record with a -12.8 net rating, which is the worst in the league. The Magic have also posted a 103.1 offensive rating (30th), a 114.6 defensive rating (25th) and an abysmal 101.4 points per game, which ranks 29th in the league.

The Magic statistically are playing like the worst team in the league and there is seemingly no end in sight.

There was one little bright spot for the Magic that came Monday. Rookie Chuma Okeke was taken off the injured list and the Magic say he will be available to play Tuesday.

That will be a welcomed return and a breath of fresh air for the team to support their power forward rotation. But it is not likely to drastically change the team’s fortunes.

Things are trending in the wrong direction at a time when the Magic were expected to bank some wins. The Magic are going to need to make a decision on which path they are going to take.

With the injuries and losses piling up for the Orlando Magic, the team has reached a decision point — either put some chips in to save this season or accept the inevitable and develop young players and prepare for the team’s future.

To this point, the Magic have stayed in the middle of either tanking or competing.

The Magic have two disabled player exceptions from the Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz injuries respectively. But with a roster already full and the team bumping up against the luxury tax line, the Magic have not been able to use that tool or supplement the roster.

The Magic have not made a move for another point that could help, especially since it is clear the Cole Anthony is not ready to initiate an offense. He has been playing better since he has been put off the ball. There are options out there who can help a struggling offense, such as Isaiah Thomas, who has been looking for an opportunity.

But the Magic do not have the roster space to make a move. But this has to be the route the Magic take if they want to compete this season.

The Magic front office believes players gain valuable experience from playing in meaningful games. The moves — or lack of moves — the team has made has largely worked to preserve the team’s competitiveness. The Magic have been rewarded with back-to-back playoff appearances.

Considering the injuries, the team would take that as a victory this year. But Orlando needs to make a move soon if they still want to compete, especially in a season that is moving quickly.

This does not seem to be the path the Magic are going to go. It feels like the team is hoping to get through the rest of this season with this roster. And despite the proximity of the playoff race today, that does not seem like it will keep the team competitive for a playoff spot.

That could send the Magic down the other route. A route that sees the team begin to reshape and change the roster.

The deals they passed on in the offseason trying to maintain a competitive roster with Isaac on the injured list for the year might suddenly become more palatable. They could move off of expiring veteran deals and allow the young guys to play through mistakes.

Orlando Magic

This means allowing Cole Anthony, Chuma Okeke and Mohamed Bamba to play big minutes and live with the results for the season and look towards the lottery.

It would mean more aggressively exploring the trade market for players like Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon and even Terrence Ross and Nikola Vucevic to see if they can shape the team to fit their future vision better.

Orlando will not give up completely on its playoff dreams for 2022. The team is not going to go into a firesale of these veteran players. They will certainly want to retain some to help their team compete when Isaac and Fultz return next season.

But Fournier has an expiring contract that could net something at the trade deadline. And, once healthy, Gordon could be a valuable player who could deliver the Magic key role players to improve depth and support the young players the Magic are aiming to grow.

What the Magic cannot do is play through injuries while losing games and not play their young core. That would likely result in a pick in the 9-12 range in the draft and not move the needle much.

If Orlando is going to lose this season, the team needs to find a way to make those losses productive, giving young players experience on the floor and the chance for further instruction from the coaching staff and the veterans who remain on the team.

The Magic have to choose what they want to do for the rest of the season. And while they stay in peripheral contact with the playoffs today, those goals may change and shift quickly as the losses pile up.

In the end, the Magic have found themselves in a tough spot, but they have to make a decision on which route they want to take and how they want to build their team now that the bottom is starting to drop out.

The Magic can not let themselves fall in a spot where they fall in the middle of the road while not playing their young core big minutes.

Instead, the Magic have to either use the pieces to boost their roster to help them compete through their injuries to hold until they get healthy or the Magic have to let their young guys play big minutes and live with the results.