The Orlando Magic welcomed a special guest to their pick-up runs this week.
On Wednesday, the team posted video of rapper J. Cole getting some run in with the Magic as the team prepares for training camp.
p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k pic.twitter.com/PGGpdXzntu
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) September 22, 2021
Cole will be playing the Amway Center on Saturday and was apparently invited to get some hoops in by fellow New Yorker Cole Anthony.
These pre-training camp pick-up games are more about building some chemistry and getting run in before the team starts getting organized more formally with a full practice next week. It is still the time for fun and games.
Quickly though, the team will have to get serious and get on the same page. The team looked a bit disorganized — and perhaps a bit tired having gone through what probably felt like a full training camp in the practices leading up to the Summer League games.
There is a lot to learn with a new coach stepping in. And a first-time coach at that.
How the team comes together and how coach Jamahl Mosley tries to build them up will be one of the big initial questions for the Magic. Especially considering the team starts off with such a difficult schedule.
The Magic themselves are still going through something of a transition. They are beginning what many believe will be an extended rebuild with an extremely young roster. It does not feel very much is settled with the roster and the direction the team will head.
On top of that, two key players in Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz will be coming back from torn ACLs that cost them the majority of last season. It is not yet clear when they will return from those injuries or just how available they will be as they finish their recoveries and step back on the court.
There is a lot to sort on the roster. There are plenty of players who are more than capable of playing and not enough space for all of them to play. Training camp is going to help the coaching staff define roles more clearly.
The Magic’s depth chart is still pretty hard to define at this point. A rough sketch may look something like this:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markelle Fultz | Jalen Suggs | Gary Harris | Jonathan Isaac | Wendell Carter |
| Cole Anthony | R.J. Hampton | Terrence Ross | Chuma Okeke | Mohamed Bamba |
| Michael Carter-Williams | E’Twaun Moore | Franz Wagner | Moritz Wagner | Robin Lopez |
| Hassani Gravett | Ignas Brazdeikis | Admiral Schofield | Jon Teske | |
| Jeff Dowtin |
It is hard to define a lot of these players within one position. One of the strengths of this roster is that it has a lot of positional versatility. A lot of players can play multiple positions. But there are also a lot of players who might demand playing time.
And one of the bigger questions remains how the Magic handle their veterans and how much of that time eats into the playing time for younger players.
As things stand when the team is fully health, the team has 12 players who should be competing for playing time. It would be hard to play all 12 meaningful minutes.
Jamahl Mosley will have some questions to answer pretty immediately and playing time decisions that will point the team in one direction or another. Training camp is going to be vital to sort through these decisions.
There will be plenty of position battles to sort out as the Magic begin to develop their rotation and their depth chart.