With the NBA trade deadline fast approaching and the Orlando Magic currently struggling, the front office will be pondering whether to make any moves. Two teams are clear partners with interest.
The Orlando Magic have opted for familiarity these past few seasons. The team’s core of Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Nikola Vucevic ensured a return to the postseason after six years out of the playoffs and the additions of Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac have added hope for the future.
But injuries have decimated the roster this year, dramatically decreasing the chances of making a third straight postseason.
The Magic retain hopes of at least making the play-in tournament come the end of the regular season but with the injuries showing no signs of easing up, the draft lottery has become a real possibility.
Orlando has a choice to make this year. Stick with the current core and hope the returns of Fultz and Isaac next season along with the development of the young players allows them to mount more of a challenge, or instead start moving on from the existing core to create a different team via the trade market.
Familiarity has been the key to the Magic’s limited success but the team cannot escape the inevitable change that is coming. The decision the front office must make is whether to let change happen naturally or actively pursue opportunities in the trade market to bring it about sooner.
If they opt for the latter, two trade partners that make sense for the Orlando Magic are the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets. Both have superstar talents in Nikola Jokic at Denver and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown at Boston but could also use some extra firepower to boost their chances of contending for the title.
Here is how trading with the two might work: