5 Orlando Magic storylines to watch in the 2023 NBA Finals

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Bruce Brown, Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic

Bruce Brown has bounced around the league some but has been a solid 3-and-D option everywhere he has gone. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports /

5 Orlando Magic storylines to watch in the 2023 NBA Finals

Free Agents to Target

Of course, not everything is about the Finals as it stands now. The Orlando Magic are already deep into draft prep and are surely also thinking about what they will try to accomplish in free agency.

The Magic are once again one of the few teams with cap space to spend this offseason — coming in at somewhere around $23-25 million in room. Orlando certainly has to add to the roster to continue improving on their 34-2in season from last year. Depth should be a primary concern.

But Orlando is still not expected to be major players. Despite the persistent rumors about the team chasing Fred VanVleet, it is not likely the Magic work to clear the cap room to get to the $30 million per year he will surely command.

And Orlando is expected to follow the track that both finalists took and focus on building their core with consistency and stability while adding role players around them.

That seems to be the direction the team wants to go as it entrusts Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner more and more to control the team. Adding on top of this, the Magic likely want to see how their own young players like Markelle Fultz, Wendell Carter, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs do in expanded roles.

Still, there are more than a few free agents on these championship-contending teams that the Magic and the rest of the league are eyeing carefully. Nobody ever stays completely together after a championship season. There will be a lot of vying for that title experience and shine.

The first to talk about is Denver Nuggets guard Bruce Brown.

Brown has a player option for next year worth $6.8 million. He is likely to decline that and put the Nuggets in a very tricky situation.

They are expected to be a tax team next season. And because Brown has been with the team for only one year, the Nuggets will be limited in offering him a contract worth around $8.4 million. That makes him ripe to move teams. The Nuggets simply will not be able to match under the rules.

Brown has been a critical piece to the Nuggets’ postseason run. He averaged a career-high 11.5 points per game and 3.4 assists per game with shooting splits of 48.3/35.8/75.8. In the playoffs, he has upped his averages to 12.2 points per game and 2.2 assists per game with shooting splits of 53.1/28.9/89.5.

Brown is a capable defender and slasher to the basket who can hit from the outside. He is maybe not the shooter the Magic are looking for — and while he had productive seasons in previous stops, nobody can deny there is a bit of a Nikola Jokic bump happening. But Brown fits in well with a team that have some players who create some gravity.

The other free agents to watch are Miami Heat forward Max Strus and guard Gabe Vincent.

Strus is coming off graduating from a two-way contract to a minimum deal. The Heat though do retain his Bird Rights. So it is not clear what it would take to pry him free.

Strus averaged 11.5 points per game while shooting 35.0 percent on 7.0 3-point attempts per game. He is averaging 10.3 points per game and shooting 35.9 percent on 5.9 3-point attempts per game.

Vincent is under a similar minimum deal and the Heat will also have his Bird Rights. Like Strus, he is a bit undersized but plays hard on defense and hits from the outside.

Vincent averaged 9.4 points per game and shot 33.4 percent from beyond the arc this season.

None of these players may be perfect fits for what the Magic need or are looking for. But it would not be surprising to see the Magic try to get in on any of these players to supplement their roster.