The Orlando Magic are the worst team in the NBA.
Orlando certainly expected this to be a rough season. The team was clearly lining itself up for a top pick in the upcoming draft to add one more core young player to its roster to begin moving forward.
But still, nobody really wants to own the worst record. It is not the goal at the outset of the season. Even if the team is focusing explicitly on growth and development as the measure of its success this season.
But this is where the Magic are at this point. Orlando sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference with an overall record of 13-47 at the All-Star Break. The team still has not carved out its identity, is still seeking a clear-cut star to build the team around and is still waiting on the return of injured players in Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac.
This year could very well be the worst season in Orlando’s franchise history as the team is just off the 18-win pace the expansion 1990 team set for the worst record in franchise history.
The Magic have chosen to attempt to develop players they select in the draft. They selected a few gems in the first round with Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner. But both are still a ways away from helping the team get over the hump and back into playoff contention.
This may be the way the franchise increases its value in the near future. And if they plan on selecting players in the draft to potentially create a competitive team then they need to be a little bit more strategic when selecting their draft picks.
The Orlando Magic are still building their team and their identity. LeBron James spent his All-Star Weekend offering every team a shortcut to success as he plans the final years of his career.
All-Star Weekend brought its own buzz of a potential shortcut to rebuild. Every team is seemingly on notice to what happens next.
LeBron James seems poised to make another free agent move. At least one more to end his career.
James has established himself as at least one of the five best players of all-time and probably still at 37 years old one of the five best players in the league.
He spent his All-Star Weekend continuing to assert his dominance on the court — 24 points, six rebounds and eight assists in Team LeBron’s All-Star Game win — and plotting his next moves. Beyond the subtweets and passive-aggressive signals he sent to the struggling Los Angeles Lakers, James sent another explicit message.
James made headlines this weekend after saying in a press conference that his last year will be played with Bronny no matter what team drafted him.
This was a huge statement James made. And it could be music to almost every team’s ears as LeBron James continues to play at such a high level as his career seemingly nears its twilight years.
LeBron James is the kind of player that provides an easy shortcut to competitiveness and relevance. That is how good James is.
The quote was so big that sports networks and journalists around the country are trying to dissect what his future may be, and if he will play for the Lakers after the duration of his current contract.
James is still as good as he ever was, averaging 29.1 points per game (the most he has averaged since 2010), 7.9 rebounds per game and 6.5 assists per game. He is shooting an incredible 58.8-percent effective field goal percentage and 61.5-percent true shooting percentage.
Again, this is his age 37 season. The drop-off for James just does not seem to be coming, even if he cannot carry a team alone to title contention anymore.
If LeBron and Bronny are a package deal, then Bronny suddenly becomes on every team’s radar.
Bronny James is not considered a talent like his father but he is still very young and we already know about his pedigree.
Bronny is currently a junior at Sierra Canyon High School. Under the NBA’s draft rules, he will not be eligible until the 2024 NBA Draft.
He is projected to be a second-round draft pick after his one-and-done year. He is ranked as the No. 34 high school prospect in the country for the recruiting class of 2023 by 247Sports.com.
Bronny is still getting offers from all the college blue bloods like Duke and Kansas. But there is still a long way to go before his recruiting cycle is complete.
More importantly for teams thinking about that package deal, LeBron James will be in his 22nd season and 39 years old after that one-and-done season for his son.
Bronny is not the player that his dad was clearly. And his draft status at this stage is spotty for the 6-foot-3 guard.
But who could live up to his father if it were LeBron James? There has never been a player to grace an NBA floor like with LeBron’s overall attributes.
LeBron James is one of, if not the best player ever to play basketball and does things individually on the court that even the great Michael Jordan did not do.
This is why it could be enticing for Orlando to pay attention. Especially if it seems like the team’s rebuild is stalling out or if the team needs that extra piece to get to real contention.
One thing is for sure if his son can play on the NBA level and if there is a possibility of LeBron suiting up with him, why not look into it?
It would bring a different level of fandom and put all eyes on Central Florida like never before. Its like giving LeBron his own farewell tour from Orlando with his son right beside him.
After all, the Magic are currently the worst team in the association and fans in Central Florida are tired of watching a product that is more likely going to lose way more than they win. It is easy to dream of something a whole lot better.
The allure of this possibility will certainly be tempting.