There is little doubt that the Orlando Magic are moving in the right direction. In Rookie of the Month Paolo Banchero and sophomore standout Franz Wagner, they have their two guys.
Center Wendell Carter, intelligent guard Markelle Fultz and the intriguing Bol Bol round out a core of young players that any team would be lucky to have.
It has been generally accepted the Magic are about a year away from having to make serious roster moves and get into the business of trading for stars. After all, big-time free agents do not typically sign to play in Orlando.
Still, everyone is eager to see the team shed its rebuilding label and return to a winning team. And in many ways, players make the culture rather than the other way around. it is hard to turn down star-quality talent.
That is where the Magic found themselves this offseason as they judged whether to chase after Donovan Mitchell and expedite their rebuild. They opted to remain patient. But the idea still lingers.
But could it be that Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell actually was the right guy to chase, who just happened to become available at the wrong time for the Orlando Magic?
Let’s start with what the Cleveland Cavaliers gave the Utah Jazz in order to acquire the All-Star. An individual who recently put up no less than 71 points in a game.
- Collin Sexton
- Lauri Markkanen
- Ochai Agbaji
- 2025 first-round pick
- 2026 pick swap
- 2027 first-round pick
- 2028 pick swap
- 2029 first-round pick
On the surface that looks like a lot, but it is certainly the going rate for a player like Mitchell. Somebody who has averaged 29 points per game this season while shooting a scorching 40.7 percent from deep, on a near 10 attempts per game. Ludicrous stuff.
Here is where the Magic should have gotten involved.
Mitchell is still only 26 years old, so right in line with the age of the young core already in place to be their leader. He has been an All-Star in the last three seasons. Not only that, but Mitchell would have two more seasons after this one with a player option in 2026 for the Magic to build a team around him.
The Magic are in possession of all of their own picks, as well as a potentially valuable top-four protected pick coming from the Chicago Bulls this offseason as part of the increasingly woeful for them Nikola Vucevic deal.
Yes giving up three first-rounders, as well as two pick swaps, hurts on paper. But the Magic with Mitchell would be entering win-now mode. And, in theory, would have a core of Wagner, Banchero and Mitchell that would have been competitive for at least five years.
Collin Sexton was more valuable than Cole Anthony when the deal was made. Is the same true now? It is a lot closer than it once was. Lauri Markkanen may be an All-Star himself this season. He has had an excellent reclamation year.
But both he and Ochai Ahbaji would have been, at the time of the deal, similar in value to Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and even Chuma Okeke. Jalen Suggs could have been used in a possible trade (although that could have been a mistake). And R.J. Hampton was sitting there too as another young prospect.
The point here is: At some stage, the Magic are going to have to cut ties with some of the younger players they like, in order to give their rotation more order. As great as it sounds to have Fultz, Suggs, Anthony and Hampton on the roster, they all cannot get big minutes.
Who better than a legitimate star who has already had big playoff moments like Mitchell to get back? Already we have discussed if fans would be happy trading assets for Fred VanVleet and even Trae Young.
Most were met with ridicule for being the wrong players to go all in for.
If not those guards, who is the next disgruntled star who is going to become available? James Harden? His timeline and interests do not match up, and he seems to like living in Houston anyway.
Damian Lillard? An amazing player, but again now on the wrong side of 30 and showing little interest in leaving Portland.
Joel Embiid? Would he want to come to Orlando, and is he not a touch too injury-prone to be relied upon in the big moments?
Nikola Jokic will win his third straight MVP and Joel Embiid will demand a trade in July. @michaelvpina offers up 14 bold NBA predictions for 2023: https://t.co/lr2kFxzf11
— The Ringer (@ringer) January 2, 2023
Karl-Anthony Towns? Right now he looks like the most likely of all stars to ask out of his current situation. But if he could not get it even close to done with the Minnesota Timberwolves after they added D’Angelo Russell, Anthony Edwards and Rudy Gobert, does he move the needle enough?
Mitchell was the guy to get. And it does seem like a missed oppoBut we cannot be too harsh on the Magic front office because they didn’t truly know what they had in Wagner and Banchero. Their talent alone has pushed the progress of the organization ahead of schedule.
Mitchell is showing us all that he was the right player to get, who came along at the wrong time.
So what do they do now? They may yet get two lottery picks this summer, even if they continue to try to win. They should not rush trying to get a star, time is on their side thanks to the youth of Wagner and Banchero.
But with a solid center in Carter and some combination of Bol and Isaac in that frontcourt as well, the Magic are set there. Wagner and Banchero are their wing types, who can play on both ends. Fultz is their floor general. They need an elite scoring guard, and Mitchell is among the best.