5 questions for the Orlando Magic entering free agency

The Orlando Magic were riding high at the end of the season.

They felt confident they had successfully leveled up, going from 22 wins to 34 wins in the 2023 season. They had the Rookie of the Year in tow and plenty of youth to believe that they are on an upward trajectory.

Fans are clearly excited about what the team will become. Everyone is eager to see what happens this offseason.

The first stage of the offseason ended with Thursday’s NBA Draft. Orlando came away with two Lottery prospects in Anthony Black and Jett Howard.

The draft though still raised a lot of questions. Fans were a bit surprised with both picks — whether it was because the players seemed to duplicate players already on the roster and muddied up the depth chart or because the team seemed to reach on a player with a skill set it clearly needed.

As the Magic get ready for free agency, they still have work to do to complete their roster. They still have a lot of work to do.

The Orlando Magic have moved past the NBA Draft and done their work to add key players to the roster. Now comes free agency and the big questions to help complete the roster.

But the picture is a bit clearer now.

That is what the draft domino falling does for this team. Now those remaining needs are a bit clearer even if some of the roster is a bit muddier.

Then there are the extension questions that will color the end of the offseason. The Magic are planning their future as much as anything this offseason no matter who the team ends up adding to complete this roster.

The Magic will be weighing a lot of different things now that the offseason has moved on to free agency. Orlando will have to be active and engaged to improve the roster and get it over the finish line to be a playoff team next year.

Orlando currently has 13 players under contract (and one two-way player in Kevon Harris) and somewhere between $20-$25 million in cap room depending on what they do with some non-guaranteed contracts this summer. So there are not many roster spots left to use even with the resources to do something big this offseason.

That is the ultimate goal. It is seemingly the way for this team to “level up.” They were the last team eliminated from postseason contention in the regular season last year.

With the draft in the rearview mirror, we look ahead to free agency and the questions remaining for this offseason.