Orlando Magic’s 2021 offseason: 3 bold predictions

Orlando Magic: What to do with the veterans

Orlando Magic continue jettisoning veteran players for younger replacements in free agency

The Orlando Magic roster is in a state of flux in the best way possible. Each position has at least one player under the age of 25 that could have a significant role on the team as soon as next season. The team is currently the fourth youngest in the league. And it figures to get younger.

Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Mohammed Bamba and Wendell Carter make up a complete rotation that could play in the NCAA Tournament as well as in the NBA.

Add in the incoming three (!) players the Magic could select in the draft and this roster could conceivably have 10 players all under the age of 25.

In this bizarro world, the Magic double down on youth.

The Magic have approximately $7-8 million in cap space after accounting for their rookies. While they may not be positioned to take the biggest names in free agency, they can still strike deals with younger role players that could accentuate the core pieces with NBA experience.

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In this scenario, players like Terrence Ross and Gary Harris will be shipped off and replaced by players who could fill similar roles yet fit within the same organizational timeline as the rest of the roster.

Ross still has two years left on his contract, yet his ability to shoot and score from a reserve role should be attractive to several contending teams who need assistance in a second unit offense.

It is harder to visualize Harris being traded due to his high standing on the team. But should the Magic look to offload him, there should be suitors for the defensive ace that is on an expiring deal going into the 2022 season.

Trading these players would symbolize a complete culture change within the Orlando Magic and would cement this upcoming team as one of (if not the) youngest teams in the NBA.

To offset these losses, a player like Bruce Brown would be the perfect addition for the Magic roster as presently constructed. Brown would be a young (25 years old), playoff experienced and gritty player who would not only fill a variety of roles with tenacity, but would also serve as a mentor for younger players as a success story.

He was a player who went from the fringes of the NBA that augmented his role to his skill set and worked onto significant playing time on the current NBA title favorites.

Beyond Brown, taking flyers on young players such as Harry Giles and Dennis Smith would serve as valuable mentors for the incoming rookies as players who have transitioned recently from blue-chip prospects to NBA players.

The goal of free agency must be clear: Accentuate the young core but do not go big-name fishing and handcuff the team with potentially unwise contracts as younger players begin becoming eligible for extensions.