The Orlando Magic’s offseason now enters the quiet part — even if some fans are still pining for a major trade involving Donovan Mitchell.
The team went through the rush of making its draft pick, taking Paolo Banchero with the top pick in the 2022 Draft; the run through free agency, returning both of the team’s major free agents in Mo Bamba and Gary Harris; and the fun of Summer League, going 2-3 in Las Vegas this past week.
Now everyone waits for players to start making their way back permanently to Orlando in early September — although many of the Magic’s players remain in Orlando for individual and daily offseason workouts — and then finally training camp in late September.
The mad dash of the offseason is ending and everyone can finally (maybe) take a breath.
The Orlando Magic’s Summer League run is over as the team sits back and evaluates what they learned from their week in Las Vegas as they get set for training camp.
There will be a lot to think about and plan as the Magic prepare for their second training camp with Jamahl Mosley.
Mosley will be a year wiser and no longer a rookie head coach. He will have a team that experienced the many lows of a rebuilding season but the optimism that comes from their work and future.
And now comes the integration of a top pick into the mix. Perhaps now the Magic have a clearer idea of exactly who they want to be.
Summer League helps fans fall in love with players at the end of the roster. But no one should look at it for more than what it is. It is Summer League and really just a chance to get some exposure for players on the roster and test them out in different ways.
It is also a place for the team to experiment a bit with what it hopes to run and figure out what the limits of the team’s basic strategy can be. Orlando was certainly experimenting a bit with how it will play even without the best personnel.
Any time someone with the words “Magic” across their chest goes out on the floor in any official capacity, it reveals something about the way this young team will operate. They are, after all, still establishing their identity. And they put a lot of what they will try to do this season on display.
The Magic may have just gone 2-3 in Summer League, with both wins coming in the two games Banchero played, but they hinted at a lot of things the team will try to do when the season begins. There is always something to learn.
And the Magic learned a lot about their future team and their 2023 season on the courts in Las Vegas.