Orlando Magic roster nears completion, still has one hole

The Orlando Magic waited their turn in free agency, but appear to have completed their roster ahead of the 2022 season — at least, barring trades.

The team signed Robin Lopez to a one-year, $5-million contract Monday. They then followed that up by signing Moritz Wagner to a two-year contract Tuesday.

That brings the Magic roster up to 15 players with Dwayne Bacon’s contract status still up in the air with a guaranteed date Friday. Orlando is seemingly done with free agency for the time being.

It is only likely now that Orlando fills out its two-way contracts in Summer League or fill that final roster spot — although it is more likely the team tries to keep that open in case they make a trade using the team’s $17-million trade exception.

It is also very possible the Magic look to move a player like Terrence Ross once the dust settles on the first waves of free agency end. The Magic may not be completely done yet. But for now, the team can take a big-picture stock of its roster.

Orlando Magic

Re-signing Wagner was a bit of a surprise, especially after the Magic added a third center in Lopez. That filled a huge need on the roster with the injury-prone Wendell Carter and Mohamed Bamba manning the two spots. But it definitely was a necessity to shore up this spot.

Wagner clearly earned his place on the team with the great way he finished the season and played for Germany during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament and during the Olympics.

In 11 games (including 10 starts) last year, Wagner averaged 11.0 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting a 49.5-percent effective field goal percentage. Wagner was impressive showing a good understanding of how to position himself defensively and the ability to space the floor. Wagner was able to play both center and power forward and that proved to be valuable.

Surely too, the Magic used some intel from Moritz Wagner in deciding to draft his brother Franz Wagner with the eighth overall pick in the Draft.

Wagner though has earned this in his own right. He had a strong run with Germany at the Olympics too, averaging 14.2 points per game and a 53.7-percent effective field goal percentage as Germany reached the quarterfinals (they lost to Slovenia in that round).

So with free agency pretty much done for the Magic, their depth chart now looks like this:

It is a full roster now. And it is feeling likely Bacon will be cut before Friday’s contract deadline, trimming the roster down to 14 once again.

The biggest weakness remaining then is probably a true small forward or another veteran power forward to support the recovering-from-injury Jonathan Isaac and the rookie in Franz Wagner (it is not clear whether Wagner’s better fit is at 3 or 4, and that will be a key question in piecing together rotations).

There are still some apparent weaknesses on the roster.

The key to what the Magic might be trying to do and their next move for the offseason could depend both on their confidence in Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac’s return and whether they believe R.J. Hampton can slide up to play small forward with his reported growth.

Versatility is still one of the biggest things the Magic are looking for in players. And so positions even in the depth chart shared on this site are a bit fudgy. Orlando is going to be able to deploy a lot of funky lineups to keep their best players on the floor. And the Magic have to hope Jamahl Mosley is willing to experiment a bit more with his players more than Steven Clifford was.

Orlando though still has a major hole to fill. The team could use either another versatile 3/4 or a straight small forward to complete this roster. A lot of the roster is still just so unproven and uncertain.

It is here where the Moritz Wagner signing feels a bit odd. The team seemed locked in at center with Carter, Bamba and Lopez. Orlando also has three big forwards who can play either the 3 or the 4 — Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke and Franz Wagner.

Another traditional wing player who can play both guard and forward positions would seemingly complete the roster, giving the Magic some cover for injuries and help players stick to more natural positions.

The big thing Orlando needs more than anything is to see the development of young players so they can really see where their ceiling is. Orlando is so young, it is hard to say what skills the team needs to add.

On top of that, the Magic are playing for a new coach and nobody knows what system he will try to run to put players in positions to succeed.

Orlando has a versatile roster and should be able to put together a lot of different lineups.

The team though still needs to add one more wing or one more bigger forward to lock in their lineup. The Wagner signing does not quite do that. His fit at power forward last year was always a bit awkward, even though he played well with those minutes.

The Magic’s roster though is near completion. The team probably has one more trade it could possibly pull through this offseason — especially as the league gathers in Las Vegas next week, ideas will get thrown around.

This is the group we can assume Orlando is going with for now.