Orlando Magic’s front office has finally committed to a path

The future

After two years of towing the middle ground, the Orlando Magic had to choose a path. Go for it more with the current team or reset the team to some extent. This season and the injuries that came with it essentially made up Jeff Weltman’s mind.

The reset was bigger than most expected, given Vucevic’s departure. Weltman went all-in on the new path, tearing down the existing team to attempt to build another one more capable of challenging for a title. This is now his project.

It has given the franchise far more financial flexibility going forward. Weltman was heavily restricted by the high wage bill of the previous team, but that is now completely gone.

Emphasis has been firmly placed on the future and the draft.

Getting rid of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Al-Farouq Aminu has weakened the team enough in the short-term to land a good draft pick this year, and a playoff spot also looks unlikely next season unless there are huge internal developments and whoever the team lands in the draft makes a massive impact straight away.

Still, the Magic team that is left on the floor has enough talent and fight to show promise. They have looked impressive in their first few games together even if there are clear weaknesses.

There are flaws with the deals made and the risks are clear moving forward. But this was a bold move to toe a completely new path geared toward the franchise eventually making a run at the title. As always though, it will likely rely on some luck in the lottery.

The Magic have finally opted for a path. It might be bumpy, with twists and turns along the way, but it is clear where the team wants it to take them.

Whether they get there or not will be determined by the other future moves and decisions Weltman and the front office make to follow this up.