This is the most fun Orlando Magic team in a decade

You could argue Aug. 10, 2012, was the last time the Orlando Magic were truly relevant. On that day, more than 10 years ago now, they traded superstar center Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers.

In doing so they failed to get a single star player in return in that blockbuster, four-team trade, and yet less than a year after making the deal, they looked like winners from the move.

What came next were missed draft picks such as Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja, the fleeting Arron Afflalo experience, underwhelming lottery high picks in Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon, and finally the semi-successful Nikola Vucevic era.

It has been a lot of frustration and false starts in the last decade. The Magic are so far removed from the league spotlight.

Which brings us to the present, and when better than Christmas Day to come to the realization that this is the most fun Orlando Magic roster in a decade.

Make no mistake, this team is going to be really good as well. Winners of eight of their last nine games, the organization appears to have turned a corner. Head coach Jamahl Mosley deserves a lot of credit for this, as he has stuck with his principles and is beginning to see the rewards.

In the last 10 games, the Magic rank a fantastic fourth in offensive rating (115.5), seventh in defensive rating (109.0) and 10th in 3-point shooting percentage (36.8 percent). After years of seeing the group appear on the wrong end of graphs, sights like the below are a welcome one.

With the combination of wins, young talent and their own draft picks, comes the increased noise for the franchise to make a trade in order to take the next step. But for now, they should steer clear of the Trae Youngs and Fred VanVleets of the league and continue to focus on themselves.

One look at the Magic’s roster, and it is easy to see why fans should be so excited, even if national media outlets continue to sleep on them.

Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are one of the hottest young tandems in the league today.

They alone make the Magic more fun than at any point in the last 10 years. After watching Oladipo stutter as a second-overall pick and Gordon not be that guy, many wondered if the team would ever get a chance to draft a generational talent.

It always seemed like they selected one pick after the top players on the board were gone, with current players Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac personifying this. Neither are bad in their own right, but Trae Young went the pick before Mo Bamba, and De’Aaron Fox the pick before Jonathan Isaac. Both will be All-Stars this year.

So to finally get the top pick after years of struggling last year, and then to see Banchero appear, has been an amazing change of fortune for the organization.

But the real pivotal moment was the trade that netted the Magic Franz Wagner.

They moved Vucevic in the process, a beloved player in Orlando and two-time All-Star, but one who had taken the team as far as they could go. Moving on from him, and watching the Chicago Bulls now contemplate having to blow it up themselves so soon after getting him, has been sweet.

Even sweeter is the knowledge the Magic got big man Wendell Carter and a top-four protected draft pick in next year’s draft as well. Those three players alone make up the bulk of the core for this team’s future.

Unlike the Magic’s star-changing trade with Howard, the return the team received directly in the trade better set up the team’s immediate future.

Just behind that is Markelle Fultz, the former first-overall pick who has rebuilt himself down in Orlando. Injuries have curtailed his development some. But there is no doubt that when he is on the court, the Magic are the better for it. Still only 24, he can be a top-10 point guard in this league.

Cole Anthony is sliding into the sixth-man role that many felt was made for him extremely well, allowing Terrence Ross to be the veteran leader off the bench they need him to be. Sophomore Jalen Suggs has not popped just yet. But he has been a lot better this year.

Perhaps what makes this team the most exciting can be best described by Bol Bol’s introduction. It was always believed this could be an excellent defensive group, and they are currently moving up the standings in that area.

Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter, Chuma Okeke, Jalen Suggs, Moe Wagner and Franz Wagner are all above-average defenders. Yet offensively the play has been excellent, spearheaded by the play of Banchero and younger Wagner brother on that end.

Bol is like their x-factor, and offensively he is doing things that nobody ever saw coming. He can handle the ball and dribble. And he is shooting 40.3 percent from deep this season. About the only problem with this offensive play is that the Magic only assist on 21.9 percent of their makes.

That puts them at 27th in the league and yet ironically, this may be a good thing. Since 2012 the Magic have not had a player they can go to consistently to get them a bucket late in the shot clock. We all lived through Evan Fournier trying to be that guy for years.

Yet now both Banchero and Wagner seem capable of doing this, while Fultz and even Bol have shown a willingness to also bail out possessions if needed.

All of this has come together at the right time to confirm to us what we already knew. This is the most exciting Orlando Magic team in a decade. A League Pass must, and they are only going to get better. What more could you ask for this Christmas? Well, maybe this.