Orlando Magic spent their summer vacation together in Charleston

The Orlando Magic have a little less than a month before training camp begins and the season really gets underway. It is a shortened offseason as the NBA gets back to its normal calendar following last year’s pandemic delayed and shortened season. So there was very little time to lose.

Summer League has bled quickly into final season preparations. There have been plenty of workout videos to fill the summer, but not much time to make those improvements fully sink in.

And, as Summer League revealed, players are at different phases of their preparations for the season. Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner all noted they had not played since their respective seasons ended. Among those three, only Suggs hit the ground running.

There is limited access to gyms and, more importantly, 5-on-5 runs during this offseason. Any chance players can get together and get some run in, they have to take it.

Orlando Magic players took a group retreat this week to Charleston, S.C., enjoying time together and group workouts ahead of training camp next month.

The Magic took that one step further this week though. Virtually the whole team traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, for a week of group workouts, presumably basketball and relaxation.

Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton, the youngsters they are, were the primary chroniclers of the team’s fun this week on social media.

Although nobody showed anything from the serious work the team conducted behind closed doors with what appears to be some of the Magic’s support staff in tow to help out with workouts.

On one hand, getting away is a good thing. They are going to spend a lot of time in Orlando over the next few months so a mini-retreat is never a bad thing.

On the other, this is also key team bonding time.

Judging by social media posts from the end of last season, the team was already pretty close and enjoyed each other’s company. Or, at the very least, there was enough youthful and playful energy to get over the struggles of development.

That has of course carried on. But the team also has to know what a challenge lies before them.

Even if fans and the outside world are keeping expectations fairly low, the team is not going to buy them. They have to believe they have the talent and ability to make the playoffs. And nobody should hide from lofty expectations.

Staying tied together as a team will be a key part of the team’s development. And putting that work in with a mini-retreat cannot hurt. Especially since everyone enjoys each other.

Orlando Magic

The getaway was reminiscent of Jameer Nelson’s yearly team retreats to Philadelphia where he planned and paid for team workouts and team bonding exercises — like paintball excursions or batting practice at a Philadelphia Phillies game.

A lot of people credit the Magic’s sudden emergence from 2008-10 on the work they were able to put in early to grow together as a team off the court. Those teams were incredibly close — at least until things started to rupture in the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals.

This year’s Magic are not quite playing at that level. But they could still use the team bonding and coming together to get a jump start on the year. Especially with a new coach. Every bit they can get ahead before camp will help.

There will still be pre-camp workouts that usually begin around Labor Day where the team will get some real work on what the team is going to execute.

This was more about getting away and working out and hanging out together. There probably was not a lot of drill work aimed at what the Magic are going to execute and play next season. It was probably some live basketball and more about playing and getting in work together.

The coaching staff was likely not involved in this getaway.

This was about the players getting some run in and workouts together. This was about growing closer together as a group.

And if they happen to sing “Party in the U.S.A.” or give Chuma Okeke grief over his sunglasses, so be it.

It is really impressive how many players attended this get-together.

Among all the social media posts, it was confirmed that Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz, Chuma Okeke, Cole Anthony, Mohamed Bamba, Wendell Carter, R.J. Hampton, Franz Wagner, Ignas Brazdeikis and Gary Harris were present. The only players unaccounted for were Terrence Ross, Robin Lopez, Moritz Wagner and Michael Carter-Williams. And Carter-Williams had surgery Monday.

Obviously, attendance was not mandatory and everyone has different responsibilities in their lives beyond basketball. Nobody should be faulted for not attending a group outing like this.

But it is good to see so many players on the team spent their free time choosing to hang out and work out together. That bodes well for the team coming together and getting their work done in training camp and mini-camp in a few weeks.

That is where the real foundation on the court will get laid. The team will begin implementing and drilling Jamahl Mosley’s defensive and offensive philosophies.

The one thing that seems clear at this point, the team will be doing everything together and they enjoy hanging out. That should help them get a jump start for the season.