3 Orlando Magic takeaways from the trade deadline
1. The front office refused to take even small risks
We should not be surprised by this, but the Orlando Magic’s front office once again stood and watched as some very doable moves went on around them.
Bones Hyland is a player who should have interested them in the run up to the deadline. He was dealt to the L.A. Clippers by the Denver Nuggets, and it only cost them a pair of second round picks.
Even if Hyland was not to their liking, is that not the kind of low-risk move you make to see if it works out with this young group? This same front office once did something similar with Markelle Fultz, giving up very little to get him. That was unquestionably a success.
Luke Kennard was another player on the move as he left the LA Clippers for the Memphis Grizzlies, and even though that trade was a more complicated three-team deal, it was not too rich for the Magic to get involved in.
We know the front office is not afraid to make splashes, they did so at the deadline before in trading Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon. But other than that correct wholesale change, this is a conservative group, and it showed at this deadline.
The Magic have a chance to make the play-in this season, and are still playing with house money as they defy modest expectations. In Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, they have their guys.
But the league is in flux, and with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving leaving the Brooklyn Nets and heading West, the chance to move up some is there.
The top brass for the Magic decided not to take it, even if they could have made moves with no serious long-term implications. They may look back on this as an opportunity missed at the deadline.