Orlando Magic Question: Would you trade for Trae Young if he was available?

The Orlando Magic are absolutely rolling right now. Winners of eight of their last nine games, they have turned a corner and are boasting one of the most fun and talented young rosters in the league.

We all know Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner have been at the forefront of this revival, but equally important has been Markelle Fultz’s return from injury. Wendell Carter was also back in the win over the San Antonio Spurs, and wasted no time looking like the commanding interior presence we have seen him be all season.

Trade talk for the Orlando Magic is heating up in recent times. With rumors already swirling about the potential next star on the market, would adding Trae Young be the move to make to take this group to the next level?

Your answer to this question will likely hinge on the health of another player. When Fultz is on the court, the Magic look composed, look in control of games and look harder to break down on the defensive end.

The organization is 53-58 all-time when Fultz has played, and a disastrous 103-211 when he has been unavailable. It is clear he is the future of the franchise as their floor general. At 24, he matches up perfectly with their timeline, and at this stage is somehow one of their veterans.

Teammates like Banchero have gushed about the positive impact he has had on the group, and he has all the tools to be a massive success for the Magic. Except for the most important one and that is health.

Fultz has played only 111 regular season games for the Magic in four seasons there so far. Every time he gets rolling, an injury takes him out of the lineup for what is usually an extended period of time.

He is still only a career 27.6-percent shooter from deep, and yet this season has shot up to an unheard of 43.8 percent.

But as great as all of this sounds, would having Young not be just plain better?

Although he is getting a hard time of it this season as part of an underwhelming Atlanta Hawks team, Young is a two-time All-Star who is only 24 himself and who has averaged 29.6 points over the course of a season before.

And it starts to sound like the sharks are circling for Young as the Hawks struggle to reach the Eastern Conference Final heights from the 2021 season. Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported the star guard is largely expected to be the next superstar to ask out if things do not course-correct.

We recently examined if the Magic trading for Fred VanVleet makes sense. But going for Young is taking the idea and pushing it up several levels. He’s a bonafide star, and a player the Magic brought in for pre-draft workouts in the past, so we know the front office like him.

The experiment playing alongside Dejounte Murray may not be working out, but much like VanVleet the undersized nature of Young wouldn’t be a problem in Orlando. He is one of the worst defenders in the league, and the Magic have the roster to hide that better than most.

Wendell Carter, Markelle Fultz, Bol Bol, Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba, Moe Wagner, the underrated younger Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are all above-average defenders for their positions. Some of these players would have to go out in any Young deal, as well as a whole host of first-round picks.

But no matter who stayed, and Carter would certainly be one of them, the Magic could hide Young extremely well on the defensive end.

The issue then is not the size of Young or whether or not he is an upgrade over Fultz, but instead what his arrival would mean for Banchero.

There is no doubt at this stage that Banchero is the guy. He is having a rookie season of historic proportions, and alongside Franz Wagner they have figured out how to play and complement each other on the offensive end so well after less than half a season together.

To add Young to those two would be dangerous because he has the sixth-highest usage rate in the entire NBA at 32.6 percent. Banchero sits 32nd at 27.6 percent, and doing anything to throw him off as he grows into the leader he will be for the Magic sounds like a mistake.

There is also nothing that says the Magic need to jump at acquiring the next disgruntled star. On the other hand though, a star guard would seem to be the missing piece to elevate the organization to the next level.

Banchero and Wagner are quality wings who can score at a high level and will continue to get better defensively. Carter is a young big who is getting better and better, and right now the Magic have a logjam for minutes with their bigs anyway.

Which leaves the guard rotation. And as great as Fultz is, he is yet to show the health necessary to help lead a team into the playoffs. Cole Anthony is looking like the perfect sixth man right now, while Suggs is having a better sophomore season but is currently out injured.

You are not going to add a Bradley Beal type to this roster. And the Ja Morants of the world are too expensive and too happy elsewhere to consider Orlando home. So if Trae Young is serious about getting out of Atlanta, would you want him to join a “Kingdom on the Rise” in the Magic?