The Orlando Magic are building something special. You could even say “something magical” if you were prepared for all of the groans from your friends.
After years of peddling in mediocrity since Dwight Howard’s departure, this year just in the playoffs and that year just out, the Magic are putting together a foundation that could lead to true contention in just a couple of years.
The key pieces of that foundation are clear. Paolo Banchero was the best rookie in the league last season, Franz Wagner is better than anyone could have expected, and Wendell Carter is the perfect modern center. Add in plenty of talented role players, from Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs to Cole Anthony and Bol Bol, the young core is wildly exciting.
The Orlando Magic have a truly special group of players and a lot of resources to make a real leap. But that ultimately means some longtime players are going to get squeezed out. It is time to move on from a few of them.
The Magic are not done, either.
They head into this summer with gobs of cap space and two likely lottery picks. They could realistically come out of this offseason with something like Gabe Vincent in free agency and two lottery wings in Taylor Hendricks and Brice Sensabaugh.
The sky is the limit for the Magic.
Adding players, however, means some players on this year’s roster will need to move on. Part of the painful choices of NBA team-building are saying goodbye to players, especially those on rebuilding teams who earned minutes they were not talented enough for, but who played hard anyways.
Here are four players on the Magic who they should move on from this offseason in order to better equip this team to take the next step forward.
4 Orlando Magic players who shouldn’t be back next year
Admiral Schofield
Equipped with one of the best names in the NBA, Admiral Schofield has been a fan favorite on the Orlando Magic the past two seasons. The former college teammate of Grant Williams at Tennessee, Schofield is a 6-foot-5 power forward who has bullied his way onto NBA courts by sheer force of will.
It was an impressive feat. And he did everything the Magic could have asked of him.
Converted from a two-way contract into a full deal back in February, Schofield has a team option for $2 million next season. But that blessing into a full roster spot was probably also his death sentence with the team.
With 14 players under contract for next season already, not counting whether they want to bring back Moe Wagner, adding new players means getting rid of some on the current roster. Schofield should and likely will be one of those cut candidates.
No one doubts his motor, but he does not have a ton to offer NBA teams.
He is a career 32.2-percent 3-point shooter, which makes it very difficult to play alongside other bigs, or this team’s shaky shooting from its guards. He has taken notable strides in that area. But it is clearly not enough.
At 6-foot-5, he is very undersized at the 4. While he is a surprisingly good finisher, he struggles to rebound and protect the rim.
The Magic have a team option for his contract, making it an easy decision to let him walk.
Perhaps, Schofield can latch on with another NBA team. But more likely he will find himself a nice career overseas bullying players under the rim and then softly laying it off the glass above their outstretched arms.
4 Orlando Magic players who shouldn’t be back next year
Michael Carter-Williams
After not playing in the NBA for the 2022 season, the Orlando Magic signed their old guard Michael Carter-Williams to a minimum contract this past February. He appeared in just four games, scoring 17 points in 44 minutes. His on-court impact is well below replacement value at this point in his career.
Carter-Williams was brought on to reward his work away from the team to get healthy and to give the team some veteran presenceafter cutting bait from Terrence Ross late in the season. The Magic certainly appreciated the veteran voice — he acted as the team’s veteran even away from the team, staying in contact with old teammates from last year via text.
The one-time poster child for “The Process”, Michael Carter-Williams reinvented himself as a role player for the Magic a few seasons back.
He played in 88 games across three seasons, mentoring the young guards on the team and serving as a steady veteran on the court before injuries sapped away what was left of his NBA career.
There is certainly value to having a trusted veteran on a team, mentoring the younger players and helping set team culture. The Houston Rockets, as one example, have lacked that leadership and seem to have a crisis of team culture right now. The Magic want to avoid that as they grow.
However, they do have other veterans on the roster, including Gary Harris and whoever they may sign this summer.
Carter-Williams is never going to play as a non-shooting guard on a roster stuffed with them. The Magic need to use this roster slot on someone else and add veteran pieces who have a chance to help the team too.
4 Orlando Magic players who shouldn’t be back next year
Chuma Okeke
The Orlando Magic have drafted a lot of young players over the past few years and used the trade market to add quite a few more. They have seen a lot of success from both sectors and have built out a promising rotation of players.
The most prominent weakness is on the wing.
Franz Wagner will start there as part of a jumbo starting lineup, and Gary Harris is currently at the 2. The depth behind them is inconsistent at best.
Small-ball lineups with Paolo Banchero sliding to the 5 and Wagner to the 4 could be lethal, but the Magic will need wings to put on the court to unlock that possibility.
Unfortunately, Chuma Okeke could not be that player.
The former No. 16 overall pick has played just 142 games across three seasons, with nagging injuries and inconsistent play holding the 6-foot-6 wing back. The key to his game was always an outside shot, and 32.3 percent is not going to cut it, especially with his accuracy trending down each season, not up.
Okeke remained a solid and disruptive defender. But the lack of consistency offensively kept him from realizing his full potential. As did the injuries that kept following him throughout his young career.
He fell out of the rotation even when he returned from injury this year and it seems he has been lost in the shuffle.
A year out from his restricted free agency, it is time to move on and see if another team is interested in Okeke as a reclamation project. He has quick hands and some scoring tricks in his bag, so another team might take a swing.
In Orlando, however, they need to free up a spot and minutes for other options.
4 Orlando Magic players who shouldn’t be back next year
Jonathan Isaac
I still think “if Jonathan Isaac can just stay healthy, he could be an All-Defense Player.” That is the reality of how talented Isaac is.
After not playing basketball for nearly three years, he returned this season and played 11 games. In only 124 minutes he had 14 steals — that is 4.1 steals per 36 minutes, a crazy number. He averaged 16.0 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.1 steals and 1.2 blocks per-36 minutes, numbers for a defensive superstar.
The problem is, as always, health.
Some NBA players just cannot stay healthy, and Isaac has only played more than 34 games in a season once since entering the league six seasons ago.
Stephen Curry and Joel Embiid are the outliers, not the rule. Most players who miss this much time don’t get their careers back on the tracks.
The false start of Isaac’s return was disappointing this season. He was truly astounding in his 11 games this season. But the injury that required surgery that ended his season just felt like more of the same. The good news is that he is expected to be fully ready for training camp.
Perhaps Isaac will, and it is that sliver of possibility that has kept him on the team this long. But it is hard to imagine Isaac does not return with some restrictions still.
Even so, at some point, the Magic have to move on.
Isaac is on track to make the most money of anyone on the team next season. His $17.4 million is non-guaranteed, and it is time for the Magic to waive him and move on.
The Magic do not have a lot of easy calls on their roster. Their team is mostly young players with upside or a couple of low-cost veterans.
Isaac is the one expensive player, but even he offers such tantalizing potential. Trimming this roster down to make room for new additions will be painful, but it will help the Magic take that next step forward.