Even though the Orlando Magic had a 14.0-percent chance of getting the number one pick in the draft, they fell short. While college phenom Cade Cunningham will not be joining the Magic, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman finds himself in a great position for next season.
Having access to some of the best young players in the league, two top-10 draft picks and several tradeable contracts give the Magic much-needed flexibility.
What they choose to do with the two picks remains to be seen. There are opportunities to trade up to grab a top-three pick but that would most likely require the Magic to give up any combination of their young players plus the draft picks.
Outside of the draft, the Magic will need to take time to evaluate and also nurture talent. Chuma Okeke, Cole Anthony and Wendell Carter will all get time to spread their wings and show improvement from last year. They will also get time to play alongside Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac once they return to the lineup.
The Orlando Magic are embarking on a rebuild. How they start things off in the 2022 season will go a long way to determining its success.
It will be interesting to see how the Magic progress in the next two to three years. For some teams, going into a rebuild resulted in a prolonged period of subpar seasons. For others, once they signed good role players and their young prospects got better, they were able to see tangible results.
The Orlando Magic should at all costs avoid the paths that the Sacramento Kings and the Minnesota Timberwolves are on and look to grow like the Atlanta Hawks. But that might require finding their star first, something everyone seems skeptical about getting at No. 5 in this year’s draft.
Perhaps that star is already on the Magic’s roster.
It will be a precarious process that will require patience and perhaps a little luck. That being said, here are three goals for the Magic this coming season.