The big day has arrived.
All the questions and anticipation for the upcoming season are finally getting put to the court. The Orlando Magic will be working and preparing to show their fans and the world what this team is about and what this team is capable of.
The expectations for this team are pretty palpable. A lot of Magic fans believe this team has the beginnings of something that could end up with the team in title contention in the very near future.
That is still several steps away. This season is about the young roster continuing to get better and learning how to win day in and day out.
The Magic are not competing for championships this year. This year is about making the postseason and giving the team a chance to grow and learn. It is about figuring out what the team needs in the long run.
The first step of that is training camp.
Training camp is the first big step for the Orlando Magic in this much-anticipated season. But the next week and preseason will go a long way to answering some key immediate questions.
As coach Jamahl Mosley told Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com, the Magic are expected to be fully healthy when training camp begins Tuesday. They will also bring back virtually every player from last year, losing only back-end rotation players in Bol Bol, Admiral Schofield (moved to a two-way contract so still with the team) and Michael Carter-Williams.
That is not a guarantee that everything will just roll back into what was successful last year. Orlando still has to rebuild roles and find out which combinations and players work best together. But it does give the team a solid baseline to grow.
The Magic were essentially a .500 team after Dec. 7 last year. That means the team has some things that work and plenty of areas it can still improve.
Training camp and the preseason will be a good time for this team to experiment some with the team’s lineups and find the right rotation and playing groups that will ultimately help Orlando accomplish its goals at the end of the season.
The place to start then is the immediate questions the team faces entering training camp. There are still plenty of things to sort out. And finalizing some things heading into the start of the regular season will be key for this team to get off to the good start it needs.
5 training camp questions for the Orlando Magic
Can Jalen Suggs take a starting spot?
The Orlando Magic enter training camp with four of their five starting spots already locked up.
Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are obvious centerpiece options at the forward spots. Wendell Carter is clearly the center. And Markelle Fultz is clearly the point guard.
At shooting guard last year, the Magic went with Gary Harris whenever he was healthy. And the Magic’s starting group was still pretty good. Orlando’s starting group had a +1.4 net rating (113.0/111.6 split). That is all the Magic would need to be .500, especially with the added depth the team expects to have.
That was the Magic’s most-used lineup at 570 minutes. But it appeared in only 36 games. That shows how much injuries were part of last year’s story.
Despite the ways it makes sense to keep Harris with the starting group because of his shooting. There does feel like something of an expiration date. Harris is a free agent this offseason and there are a ton of guards and wings on the roster now.
Besides that, fans at least are eager to see Jalen Suggs take another crucial step forward in his career. It is easy to fall in love with the potential of youth. And Suggs is a player who it is easy to fall in love with because of his tenacious defense.
The offensive potential just has not come around. Suggs came through another injury-filled season to average 9.9 points per game with a 49.3 percent effective field goal percentage. That was at least an improvement over his rookie season.
Still, everyone anticipates Suggs can grow and improve enough to take a starting spot. And that is really the truth. It feels like Suggs can grab that starting spot and lock down the Magic’s lineup for years to come with a strong season.
There is at least some evidence Suggs could work with the starting group. The Magic’s core four starters with Suggs had a +11.3 net rating (113.7/102.4) in 58 minutes across 15 games. That is not a big enough sample to draw conclusions. But the potential is promising.
But that spot is not his yet. And Suggs may have to prove his longevity in the regular season before he gets the promotion into the starting lineup. But Suggs feels like he has every opportunity to take the spot.
If the Magic are sticking with the four players everyone anticipates they will stick with for the time being, shooting guard is the open spot the Magic have to figure out what to do with. There will be a lot of focus on this spot throughout the season.
It starts in training camp and seeing how much better Suggs has gotten.
5 training camp questions for the Orlando Magic
How much will the Orlando Magic experiment with lineups?
The Orlando Magic had to get creative by necessity last season. Injuries gutted the guard room and forced the Magic to get creative with the roster they had.
So there was Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero bringing the ball up the court as the point guards. There was Bol Bol playing small forward in a jumbo lineup of ball-handling big men.
The idea of skill versatility was born. It was not just about having players who could play and defend multiple positions, it was about having players who did unusual things for their size. It was about using bigs as ball handlers and playmakers. A true all-five kind of offense.
That is very much still in the works. But this versatility has been the guiding principle for the team in its building. The Magic want to be able to place players in any role within the offense and still be able to run it effectively.
There is still work to achieve this ultimate dream. Namely, the Magic need more shooting to give space to their forwards to attack. But this versatility will also give the team some opportunity to be creative.
Everyone turned their heads early in training camp last year when it came out the Magic were trying lineups with Bol, Banchero and Wagner. What will they say when the Magic try lineups with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac? Will they try those lineups with a center like Wendell Carter or line up Paolo Banchero or Jonathan Isaac at center?
What about all the guards? The Magic have a big guard in Anthony Black who could see minutes at any of the perimeter positions and is an excellent rebounder for a player his size. Could they use him along with Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs or Markelle Fultz with Paolo Banchero at center?
Team USA putting Banchero as the backup center during the FIBA World Cup seemed to open all kinds of doors for what the Magic can do. Banchero held his own on both the glass and as a defender, making it very possible Banchero sees more minutes at center.
Before even getting there, Orlando played small throughout Summer League, using D.J. Wilson at center with Caleb Houstan and Jett Howard as the two forwards. It was an experiment to say the least.
All this versatility means Orlando can get closer to the ideal of playing its five best players on the court. That is the ultimate dream.
How adventurous will the Magic be? That is a fair question to ask. And some of the Magic’s training camp and the preseason will be spent seeing what the limits are to this kind of versatility.
5 training camp questions for the Orlando Magic
What role will the rookies play?
The Orlando Magic had a lot riding on Draft night. Having two Lottery picks in any draft is always an opportunity to add some real talent to the roster.
There were definitely people a bit puzzled with what the Magic were doing when they drafted Anthony Black with the sixth pick in the draft and Jett Howard with the 11th pick in the draft.
More importantly, with the logjam the Magic seemed to have in their guard room, it was a bit puzzling to ask how would either of these players find their place within the Magic’s rotation.
And that is a fair question to ask. The Magic did not make a consolidation trade. They brought back the same roster from last year and did not even lose any players from the rotation. Where are Black and Howard going to fit in?
While the Magic might have more health entering training camp, that is not going to last. Every player on the roster is going to have their moment. And the Magic should at least have some confidence that everyone can contribute something.
Black and Howard are likely to find their minutes somewhere within the Magic’s rotation. Whether they keep that spot or whether their contributions are limited or a by-committee approach is certainly a question. Especially as the season gets tighter later in the season.
The Magic have said repeatedly that there will be plenty of internal competition and no one’s minutes will be handed out. Black and Howard both have to show they have skills that can contribute to the team winning. And that proof is going to come in training camp.
Still, the team is invested in their development. They are not going to bury them on the bench unless there is nothing redeeming about them. That feels very unlikely.
But expect both Black and Howard to have very simple roles. Orlando does not need them to start or carry the team. The Magic need them to fill a role and contribute where they can. And that will be part of the discovery for this season.
5 training camp questions for the Orlando Magic
Who will win the backup center spot?
The Orlando Magic’s rotation was largely set last year. Once the team was fully healthy, everyone settled into their roles and there was very little doubt about who would go where. The team had its set playing groups.
By the end of the year, Goga Bitadze and Moe Wagner were in a real position battle. The duo would essentially exchange the role for much of the final 15 games of the season, with Bitadze getting a very good look at the spot.
Perhaps this exchange was because the Magic signed Bitadze late in the season and they wanted to get a good look at him. Then again, Bitadze earned a second year with the Magic — they picked up the second-year team option on the contract he signed with the team in February.
Bitadze earned his opportunity thanks to some stellar defense. The Magic had a 104.8 defensive rating with Goga Bitadze on the floor, the best mark for any player on the team last year (including Jonathan Isaac).
Wagner is a good player too though. He is an excellent offensive player and screener, as he showed coming off the bench in Germany’s World Cup championship run. Wagner can spread the floor and hit threes. But he is excellent at scrapping for points.
He had a career season last year, averaging 10.5 points per game. He has some struggles defending at the rim. But Wagner more than holds his own overall.
Not to mention, he gives the team a needed edge.
Both will have their moments this season. And Jamahl Mosley should feel like he can turn to either one dependably based on what his team or a specific lineup needs.
Wagner probably has the edge for the primary backup center role. It is not just about his salary, but his shooting and versatility will give the Magic’s bench a needed offensive weapon.
But this is a spot that will see the Magic go back and forth. And both players will be able to contribute to the team this season.
5 training camp questions for the Orlando Magic
Who will get the final two-way spot?
The Orlando Magic’s roster is set, except for one open spot. And it is honestly not even a spot the Magic are sure they will fill. The new CBA brought the advent of a third two-way spot. So Orlando still can add one more player to its roster.
The first two two-way spots are filled by familiar faces. Kevon Harris and Admiral Schofield were both solid additions to the team last year. Harris proved a tenacious defender and scorer. He is a bit undersized for what the Magic typically look for, but he plays so much bigger.
Schofield is more in line with what the Magic look for. He can play either forward position, although he is a bit undersized for power forward. He is an improving shooter which could help him stick around. But his versatility and willingness to defend endear him to coaches.
What are the Magic looking for in a third two-way contract?
There is not much size on the Magic’s training camp roster invite list. So it seems unlikely the team will look to the two-way contract for help to add some frontcourt depth. D.J. Wilson is joining training camp, but he is ineligible for a two-way contract.
Who else should the Magic watch out for?
Former G-League MVP Trevelin Queen is a good bet. He is versatile for a win and is not afraid to mix things up on the interior in addition to showing good athleticism with the ball in his hands. He is a high-level G-League player who still has to prove his chops as a shooter.
The other training camp invitee who could get the nod is Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung. He is a bit undersized for a shooting guard. But he is not just an athlete. He can score and create off the dribble, racking up assists at the G-League level.
But this is going to be an open competition. One that is probably happening behind closed doors — there are only four preseason games, so that is not going to give fans a chance to evaluate who they might look.
The Orlando Magic have some quality though among its Exhibit 10 contracts — the Osceola Magic will be thankful. We will see if anyone stands out and secure that last roster spot.