Jeff Weltman and John Hammond have earned their extensions

The Orlando Magic have extended Jeff Weltman and John Hammond. They have the opportunity to put their back on this rebuild.

While most of the reception was positive, there were still concerns and question marks on whether or not the Magic’s current front office will be able to return the Magic to contention.

The team, after all, has the worst record in the NBA right now by four games. The team is trying to paint a positive picture of the current situation and the future they have.

It is true Weltman and Hammond have work to do. But they have done a great job so far and have given no reason for doubt. They earned ownership’s trust to start this rebuild and see this thing through.

The Orlando Magic have the worst record in the league right now. It seems like an odd time to renew the contracts of their management team. In their tenure, they earned the trust to see this rebuild through.

Weltman and Hammond began with giving a taste of success, and it is important to list out what they have done to understand why they deserve the trust to shape their roster.

The current front office started its tenure in May 2017. The first job that was given was to clean the mess the previous regime created and make the playoffs.

The job started during the draft of 2017 in drafting most notable Jonathan Isaac and Wes Iwundu. While Iwundu is no longer on the team, Jonathan Isaac (when healthy) has proven he can be elite defensively with an improving offensive game.

Then in the summer of 2017, the Magic signed Khem Birch and Jonathon Simmons to supplement the roster.

Khem Birch would eventually be a big part of the Magic finally making the playoffs in 2019. At the time, it was an impressive move to attract Simmons away from the San Antonio Spurs after coming off a strong season. During the 2017 trade deadline, Weltman started to clean house to mold the team in his image by trading away Elfrid Payton.

Weltman continued his reformation of the Magic program. After a disappointing, injury-filled 2018 season, the team fired Frank Vogel and hired Steve Clifford. The hope with Clifford was to give the team some needed discipline and structure. With a group of young veterans, it proved to be exactly what the team needed.

The roster changed next with the 2018 NBA Draft.

The Magic drafted Mo Bamba with the sixth overall pick. While Bamba has not been great due to various reasons that have plagued his early career. After his first healthy offseason, Bamba has improved. The jury is still out on Bamba.

The 2018 offseason began with signing Aaron Gordon to a team-friendly deal and trading away Bismack Biyombo to clear his contract.

Then during the 2019 trade deadline, Weltman proved he would not be taking bad deals as the previous regime did. Weltman traded away Jonathon Simmons and a protected first-rounder from the Oklahoma City Thunder that would eventually turn into a couple of second-round picks to the Philadelphia 76ers for Markelle Fultz.

Fultz remains on the team and is considered to be an important piece to the rebuild.

The Magic began their playoff run. Once Isiah Briscoe suffered a season-ending injury, Jeff Weltman signed Michael Carter-Williams. Carter-Williams gave Orlando toughness and gave them the final roster for the season.

The Magic would continue and make the playoffs finishing the season with a 22-9 run that earned them the seventh seed, ending a seven-year drought.

Coming off the playoff run, the Magic drafted Chuma Okeke in the first round and Talen Horton-Tucker in the second round. This would begin one of the few criticisms the current front office deserves. The Magic traded Horton-Tucker on draft night. Mishandling that second-round pick proved costly as Horton-Tucker has carved himself a big role on the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Magic continued to build in the right direction trying to build their bench by signing Al-Farouq Aminu to deal. This was an important signing as the Magic were trying to take the next step by signing Aminu away from the Portland Trail Blazers. Aminu started for the Western Conference finalist the year before and left a championship contender for a bench role with Orlando.

Then the injuries began crippling the Magic roster.

The Magic would try to put a bandage over the injuries by trading for James Ennis during the 2020 trade deadline. The Magic would once again make the playoffs, but as an undermanned team, Orlando stood little to no chance against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Worse still, Jonathan Isaac suffered a major knee injury midway through the season. He recovered in time to play when the season resumed in the bubble. But the team’s future took a big hit when Isaac tore his ACL in the second seeding round game. Isaac has yet to return.

The 2020 offseason began with signing Chuma Okeke to his rookie deal and drafting Cole Anthony with the 15th pick. Anthony was considered a top guy but fell because of an injury-filled season at North Carolina.

The Magic would get off to a strong start to the next season with a 4-0 start. Unfortunately, the injury bug would once again bite the Magic. Fultz’s injury took away another of the team’s starters and left the team relying on a rookie point guard in the midst of a difficult pandemic season.

Orlando began to fall to the bottom of the standings. Weltman would conclude the current team hit their ceiling and clear house at the 2021 deadline.

The Magic began by trading Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls for Wendell Carter, Otto Porter Jr. and two future first-round picks. The second trade would send Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics for Jeff Teague and a trade exception.

Finally, the third trade would send Aaron Gordon and Gary Clark to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for Garry Harris, R.J. Hampton and a future first-rounder.

Weltman was able to re-sign players to team-friendly deals and complete deals the majority of people either came out even or straight up won the trade.

The Magic would then go into the 2021 NBA draft and draft Jalen Suggs at pick number five and Franz Wagner at pick number eight with the pick acquired from the Bulls.

At the time, the fan base was ecstatic with the drafting of Suggs but was stunned by the Wagner pick. Since then Wagner has proven himself and is winning over the same fanbase that was stunned by the pick.

The Magic enter this offseason with a virtual clean cap sheet. The team could easily get to max cap room and will have plenty of cap room to play with for trades and free agents moving forward. Not to mention they own all of their own picks moving forward.

In hindsight, Weltman and Hammond were able to clean the mess previous management created, make the playoffs and build toward a future that fans can be excited about.

The Magic have a strong young core with financial flexibility and future capital moving forward. It only made sense to extend Weltman and Hammond to finish their vision.

Weltman has proven he will not make a trade he feels Orlando does not come out as a better team. Weltman has also demonstrated the ability to re-sign players to team-friendly deals.

The only criticisms of him are his misuse of late-first and second-round picks during his tenure and the extent of how secretive the Magic are with injuries. These are fair criticisms and the Magic need to continue building trust with a fan base still scarred from a decade of rebuilding.

While the Magic’s front office still has work to do, they have done enough to earn their trust for now.