The Orlando Magic have 11 players younger than 26 years old and are building one of the best young cores in the NBA.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero looks to blossom into a star in year two, and Franz Wagner just keeps getting better. The Magic added two lottery picks this summer, including Anthony Black.
The question everyone is asking is: Can Orlando get back into contention in 2024?
The Magic cannot develop everyone. They need to choose who to focus on and what players they should look to move on from. The rookie lottery selections need playing time if they are going to reach their ceilings, but Orlando was light on minutes last season.
Choosing the right talent is key if the Magic want to return to contention in short order.
Who should the franchise give up on? Throwing out the rookies, what should the Magic do with the other nine young talents on their roster? Here is a look at each, and how they should be viewed moving forward.
The Orlando Magic are a team stocked full of young players. They cannot develop everyone and this season will be about figuring out who stays and who goes as much as anything.
Develop: Paolo Banchero
The number one overall pick in 2022 averaged 20.0 points per game on his way to winning Rookie of the Year. Banchero has the look of a star, and the best is still yet to come from the 20-year-old.
His offensive game is impressive, especially for a 20-year-old who just finished his rookie year. Fans saw growth in year one, including in his shooting. Expect more in year two and beyond.
He is one of the franchise’s cornerstones, and the Magic are hoping he can become the best player on a contending team. Banchero has a long way to go before reaching superstar status, but early signs have been positive.
With Paolo Banchero locked in, who else should the Orlando Magic look to develop?
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Don’t Develop: Chuma Okeke
Chuma Okeke has produced flashes but his minutes and production have decreased in each of his first three NBA seasons. He battled knee issues last year, which limited him to just 27 games. The 6-foot-6 forward still has potential, but there are plenty of reasons to move on.
Okeke was the 16th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he missed the entire first season recovering from a torn ACL. Since he has been on the court, he has shot 38.6 percent from the field and 32.3 percent on his threes.
Okeke averages 7.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 23.9 minutes per game for his career. His rebounding and steals numbers are strong, but his defense is lacking, and there is not much for Orlando to get excited about.
The 24-year-old is entering the final season of his rookie contract, and he becomes a restricted free agent next summer.
Okeke is unlikely to crack the Magic’s rotation this year, and the team should let him walk on the open market. Perhaps, he can reach his potential on another team. But Okeke is not going to do it playing behind Orlando’s two best players.
It is time to cut bait on Chuma Okeke, so the Magic can focus on developing their two budding star forwards.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Develop: Franz Wagner
Franz Wagner is quietly becoming one of the best young players in the NBA.
The 21-year-old just averaged 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.0 steal in 32.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 forward can do a bit of everything on the court, and he is still years away from his prime.
Last season, there were noticeable improvements in his shooting, playmaking, scoring and defense. His value over replacement player (VORP) was 1.3, which tied for 90th in the NBA with seven other players, including Tyrese Maxey.
Wagner is blossoming into a threat on both ends of the floor. He has a high basketball IQ and the versatility on defense to guard multiple positions.
He will be looking to take another step forward in year three with the hopes of getting the Orlando Magic to the playoffs for just the third time since 2011. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are a formidable forward duo that could quickly blossom into one of the best in the league. Wagner’s versatility would fit on any team, and he keeps improving.
The Magic are all-in on building the team around their young forward duo. They added shooting and playmaking in the draft to make things easier on Banchero and Wagner. Expect Orlando to keep the pair together as they look to jump into contention.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Don’t Develop: Caleb Houstan
Caleb Houstan was the 32nd pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and he struggled mightily during his only extended stretch in the rotation as a rookie. The 6-foot-8 wing has promise, but he failed to dominate in Summer League heading into year two.
The crunch for minutes is real.
With Anthony Black and Jett Howard joining the roster, there is just no room to play Caleb Houstan. Not unless he moves up to power forward, as he did and struggled with in Las Vegas last week.
He even struggled with his shooting efficiency and playmaking during his stint in the G-League last season. Caleb Houstan is behind Franz Wagner, Joe Ingles, Gary Harris and Jett Howard in the wing pecking order. That makes him strictly a G-League option next season.
The 20-year-old has potential, and he should be better in year two. But the Orlando Magic must focus on developing more NBA-ready talent. It does not hurt to keep Houstan at the end of their bench, but he will never fully blossom without playing time.
Expect to see him getting run with the Osceola Magic this season. And the 6-foot-8 wing needs to dominate if he wants to get any shot at minutes in Orlando.
There have been flashes, but the overall production has not been there. It would not be surprising to see the Magic move on if Houstan does not take a significant step forward this year.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Develop: Wendell Carter
Wendell Carter was the seventh overall draft pick in 2018 that came to Orlando in the Nikola Vucevic trade. The deal was a massive win for the Orlando Magic as they selected Franz Wagner and Jett Horward with the two draft choices they acquired, and Wendell Carter took a significant step forward as the Magic’s starting center.
In his two-plus seasons in Orlando, Carter averages 14.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 0.7 blocks per game in 29.3 minutes per game. He has improved his jumper and rated as one of the top-70 players in the NBA by win shares per 48 minutes.
The 6-foot-10 big man has proven he is worth building around as the team’s starting center entering his sixth NBA season.
Carter is a better defender than Vucevic, and he has a versatile offensive game that continues to improve. That makes no mention of the three years and $35.8 million left on his declining contract.
Carter will be one of the biggest bargain contracts in the league in the 2026 season and should just be entering his prime.
The Magic must continue building around him. Some minor tweaks to his shooting, defense, and playmaking could take his game to another level and make that Vucevic trade look even better for the Magic.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Don’t Develop: Goga Bitadze
Goga Bitadze spent three and a half years with the Indiana Pacers before being waived in February and signing with the Orlando Magic.
The 6-foot-11 big man was the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, but he has struggled to get significant playing time. Goga Bitadze was behind Myles Turner in Indiana, and Orlando has Wendell Carter and Paolo Banchero in the frontcourt.
He will compete with Moe Wagner for the backup center minutes. That is where he got most of his opportunity late last season. But there is still a lot to go over and consider with him.
The 24-year-old averaged 5.8 points, 5.2 assists, and 0.9 blocks per game in 15.0 minutes per game in 17 contests after joining the Magic. His advanced metrics all stand out. But there are reasons why the Pacers moved on.
The 6-foot-11 big man is a traditional center who has never played more than 14.6 minutes per game in the NBA. His defense and rebounding were strong in a small sample size with the Magic, but he was unable to produce those numbers in Indiana.
Orlando picked up his $2.0 million option for next season, but Bitadze becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2024.
The Orlando Magic should not be focused on his development long term. They merely punted their center questions another year.
Let him start the season as the backup center, and if he continues to produce outstanding numbers, try to sign him long-term. The Magic cannot sacrifice the development of others to get him playing time.
Getting steady production out of the 24-year-old should be considered a bonus after picking him up off waivers.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Develop: Cole Anthony
The Orlando Magic have a logjam in the backcourt. They had three recent top-15 draft choices to split minutes between last season. And the team just drafted Anthony Black with the sixth overall pick in 2023.
Black is 6-foot-7 wing and gives the Magic some flexibility. But they need minutes for Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Wendell Carter and their other young talent too. The Magic have a difficult choice to make.
Anthony’s efficiency took a massive step forward in year three.
The 23-year-old shot 45.4 percent from the field, 36.4 percent on his threes and 89.4 percent from the foul line, which were all career highs. He cut his turnovers to 1.5 per game and became a strong sixth man.
The 6-foot-2 guard remains behind Markelle Fultz on Orlando’s depth chart, and it will be interesting to see how the team uses Anthony Black in the mix with the other guards — Jalen Suggs also still exists and could soak up some guard minutes.
Anthony could transform into more of a scoring option as the rookie runs the second unit. Expect the 23-year-old to take another step forward. But how will it shine through as his role evolves?
Anthony must prove his shooting gains were no fluke and his offensive contributions have to outweigh his defensive deficiencies. It is a massive fourth NBA season ahead. Anthony becomes a restricted free agent in 2024, and he must prove that he is worthy of a significant contract.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Don’t Develop: Jalen Suggs
Jalen Suggs feels like he could be the odd man out of this lineup despite being the fifth overall pick in 2021. Or he could finally turn that corner and be the team’s starter after finally being healthy and building off a strong finish to the season.
Either way, Suggs is facing a critical season in his young career that could determine his future with the Magic. And Orlando probably cannot give him another year to figure it all out.
The 6-foot-4 guard struggled mightily as a rookie and played significantly less in year two, despite some improvements. He is clearly behind Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony on the depth chart, and the addition of Anthony Black puts him on the fringes of the rotation.
Suggs is no longer really competing in the point guard group. If he were to break into the starting lineup it would be for Gary Harris at shooting guard. Orlando is still figuring out what to do with him.
Suggs had some big games down the stretch last season, but there was no consistency. His shooting, playmaking, defense and overall shot selection must improve if he wants to live up to his draft status.
The 22-year-old is set to make $7.2 million next year, and the Magic have a $9.1 million team option for the 2025 season.
Jalen Suggs has immense potential. He could become a starter and key contributor, but the Orlando Magic do not have the playing time to give him to find out. They should look to move on via trade before seriously considering his option for next season.
Suggs is not a draft bust yet, but he must significantly improve to avoid that status. It is unlikely to happen in Orlando, and a trade is just what the 22-year-old needs if he hopes to reach his ceiling.
5 Players the Orlando Magic should develop, 4 they shouldn’t
Develop: Markelle Fultz
The number one overall pick in 2017 has his flaws, but he just keeps improving.
The Orlando Magic acquired Markelle Fultz in 2019 after two subpar, injury-filled seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers for a role player in Jonathon Simmons, one first-round pick and one second-rounder.
It was certainly a discount. Fultz has struggled to stay healthy, but he is coming off the best season of his young career.
The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 14.0 points, 5.7 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game in 29.6 minutes per game as he shot 51.4 percent from the field and 78.3 percent from the free throw line.
Fultz may never be a superstar, but the 25-year-old is a solid starting point guard with upside. He must stay healthy and keep improving, but there is plenty for the Magic to work with moving forward.
Fultz shot 31.0 percent from 3-point range last season, which was a career-high. He continues to work on his jumper. It may never even be league-average, but getting the opposition to respect him out there would be massive.
The Orlando Magic should continue to develop Markelle Fultz and the rest of their young core. Something special could be brewing if they can keep improving. Head coach Jamahl Mosley is known for developing talent. He has done well thus far, so stay tuned to see how they fare moving forward.