At the end of last season, the Orlando Magic were in an all too familiar spot. They won only 22 games and were looking to strike gold in the draft lottery.
For many franchises, that is a disappointing finish. For the Magic, it certainly was.
But Orlando fans knew exactly how last year was going to pan out.
After trading away Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier in 2021, Orlando moved into another rebuilding phase and fans were not expecting much from the 2022 season other than development for their young players.
A first-year head coach and multiple players injured made even the most optimistic fans realize the season was solely for developing the future.
A 22-60 record confirmed that. But next season should be different and expectations will be higher.
The Orlando Magic have added some talent to their roster and expect growth from their young players. External expectations still seem low although internal expectations seem to be high. Here are some reasonable expectations for an exciting 2023 season.
The turning point for the franchise this offseason was winning the lottery and selecting Paolo Banchero with the number one overall pick.
It gave the Magic and their fans a different outlook on the rebuild and even got the national media talking a bit.
It has been easy to think about all the team’s potential along with Banchero after his stellar run at Summer League and think the team is destined for greatness quickly. They certainly should be on a positive trajectory.
Indeed, there are national media at least entertaining the idea of the Magic fighting for a Play-In Tournament spot immediately. Meanwhile, some early win totals from Vegas have the Magic improving marginally to 27.5 wins (WynnBet has the Magic listed at +50,000 to win the title, the worst odds available).
Fans should keep their expectations tempered but an improvement definitely looks to be in the cards for the Magic.
The things they can expect: Banchero to be inserted in the starting lineup, more wins, and a new attitude regarding health.
3 reasonable expectations for the Orlando Magic
1. Play-in Contention
Competing for the Play-In Tournament seems like the logical next step for teams that are rebuilding.
It is not an insurmountable leap in the win column that getting the 6th seed might be. Instead, teams need to hover around the .500 mark and win right around 43 games to get the 10th seed.
Last year, the Cleveland Cavaliers were in a very similar position the Orlando Magic are in right now. In 2021, they won 22 games and ended up doubling their win total in 2022 to make the eighth seed. They drafted a Rookie of the Year candidate in Evan Mobley who transformed their defense and the young Darius Garland turned himself into an All-Star.
It is not hard to envision the Magic getting a similar impact rookie and finding another star on their roster to take the team to that next level.
If the Magic doubled their win total they would finish with the same amount of wins as the Cavaliers which would easily put them into play-in contention.
That is certainly easier said than done but the Magic have plenty going for them to make that kind of jump in the upcoming season.
Next season, Franz Wagner will look to take the next step.
Last year, Wagner was a pleasant surprise averaging 15.2 points and 4.5 boards per game while shooting 35.4-percent from three. He also played 79 games. For Magic fans, that was a welcomed surprise considering how many injuries the team has faced the last two seasons.
Health has been the decisive story for the Magic the last two years, killing any potential playoff runs in the cradle. To be sure, the Magic’s potential for success and the Play-In Tournament will depend on staying healthy.
There was just so much talent sitting on the bench recovering from injury at any one time. Orlando rarely played at anything resembling full strength.
Jalen Suggs had a disappointing rookie season last year. A lot of those frustrations were his struggles but he also missed 34 games with a thumb injury and then an ankle injury. He is recovering now from offseason ankle surgery — and appears to be back on the court.
But if he can stay healthy, a full season of adjusting to the NBA game will give him an opportunity to show what everybody once thought he could do.
That is two second-year lottery players who have the potential to make a difference. Both could also be in the starting lineup during the season opener.
Markelle Fultz only played 18 games last year as he returned from a torn ACL after the All-Star Break. His impact was clear.
Fultz running the show allows the offense to run much smoother. With him out there, Orlando has a veteran ball handler and natural distributor of the ball.
Jonathan Isaac missed the entire season last year recovering from his own torn ACL. He should be back for the start of the season and that should offer a jolt of energy. Especially on defense.
The Magic re-signed Mo Bamba in the offseason too. He had his best season as a pro last year and coach Jamahl Mosley has found a way to get him more minutes on the court.
Even with Isaac coming back Mosley should be able to keep Bamba on the floor.
The 2023 Magic are comprised of young depth. And Wendell Carter, the Magic’s best player from last season has not even been mentioned yet.
Carter is coming off of a career season, where he averaged a double-double and was versatile enough to play with different big men in the front court.
And last but not least, Paolo Banchero enters the fold. As the number one overall pick and most pro-ready prospect, he should make an immediate impact.
With all of these pieces coming together, it is not unreasonable to expect a big leap this season. And with the goal to be just above 40 wins, it is possible the Magic could make the Play-In Tournament.
3 reasonable expectations for the Orlando Magic
2. A healthy season for the young guys
It would be unreasonable for any fan to expect their team to stay healthy for the entire season.
But for Magic fans, it is time to make an exception. Or it’s at least time to bend the rules a bit for this list.
In franchise-curse-type fashion, almost every young player for the Magic has gotten injured and missed significant playing time.
For a team to truly develop, either those players will have to stay healthy, or they need to be moved to make space for players that play consistently.
With that being said, Magic fans should want to see everybody healthy because it feels like they are due for some better injury luck after the last two seasons. But more importantly, they should expect that the organization, even if players get hurt again, can figure out who are the guys because they cannot keep waiting around during this rebuild.
Markelle Fultz has played 26 games in the last two seasons after getting hurt six games into the 2021 season and sitting out until the All-Star Break in 2022. He has played just one full season in his career. There is still a lot unproven.
But he will probably begin the year in the starting lineup. He makes that big of an impact. And this will be his first healthy offseason to make some real growth in his game. But he still has to make it through the 82-game gauntlet.
If he misses any more games due to a major injury, then Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs should get more of the ball-handling duties. If Fultz cannot stay on the court in his sixth year, then that move has failed. Or at least the Magic have to start considering their options at point guard as they look to move to their next phase.
There have been players throughout the roster with chronic nagging injuries. Jonathan Isaac has missed the last two seasons recovering from a torn ACL. Mo Bamba finally missed fewer than 20 games this past year for the first time in his career. Wendell Carter played a career-best 62 games. There is still at least a feeling the Magic will have to cover 15-20 games where Carer is out.
Both Bamba and Isaac are sort of the wild cards on the team. We have seen flashes from both but each of them has struggled with staying healthy and having consistent progression.
Because of this, they are on short leashes. Orlando has ways to get out of both contracts if it is clear they cannot stay on the floor or prouce. The Magic though can give them or other chronically injured players the chance to recover. But that time is running out.
Similarly, Suggs only played 48 games himself in his rookie season, last year.
It is by no means time to move on. But a decision might have to be made about who is valued more between him or Cole Anthony. And that could come down to health.
The Magic are going to have to make decisions about their roster very soon. That increases some pressure on this season.
The list of injured guys with questions could go on forever so to save some time it stops here.
But Magic fans know, they have waited long enough to figure out how good some of these guys can be.
At a certain point, you have to cut your losses and realize a player might never reach the potential they were thought to have.
So this year, it is reasonable to expect for some of those guys to stay healthy. And it is reasonable to expect that if they do not, then it is time to reevaluate who is a part of the future.
3 reasonable expectations for the Orlando Magic
3. The Paolo & Franz show
In 2021, Franz Wagner was brought along slowly and used sparingly.
And it made sense. While he was the eight overall pick, he was the team’s second choice in the draft and there were questions about how he would translate to the NBA.
Ironically he averaged 15.2 points per game which was more than his senior season at Michigan where he averaged 12.5 points per game. So bringing him along slowly was not all that necessary.
But not to worry, that should not, and will not, be the case this upcoming season.
Especially after he made the All-Rookie First Team. Wagner is now one of the most promising young players on this roster and will get more usage this upcoming season.
The same goes for Paolo Banchero.
As the number one overall pick, he should be in the starting lineup from day one and should be one of the go-to guys immediately. If you need to bring a top pick in slowly, then maybe you made the wrong decision.
Luckily Banchero is NBA-ready at 6-foot-10, 250 pounds so that should not even be considered.
And with a stellar performance at the summer league where he averaged 20.0 points, 6.0 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game, the Magic and coach Jamahl Mosley do not need to give it a second thought.
To keep things blunt, fans should expect the Magic to roll out their young players with little restriction. It is time to see them grow and develop the way everybody (including the organization) knows they can.
If not having enough minutes to go around turns into a problem, then so be it, that’s a good problem to have.
And not one that should cause you to bring guys along slowly, especially not Wagner or Banchero.