Even to Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman's public admission, the biggest task of the team's offseason has already been accomplished.
The changes for the Magic after their playoff exit began immediately with the dismissal of Jamahl Mosley. Weltman said then that nothing changes a team's fortunes more than hiring a new coach, outside of acquiring a star player.
The hiring of Sean Sweeney was a big move to set the foundations for the Magic.
Orlando has been involved in its share of rumors about big players. But the team is expected to stay quiet with its starting five. That does not mean something will not happen.
To be sure, this is the week that things are expected to happen. The Draft is a deadline, and deadlines force movement. Once the Giannis Antetokounmpo domino falls, everything else will begin to fall into place, all happening around that Draft.
The question is: What will the Magic do? And how does it all fit together?
"We're doing all the work that we need to puzzle the roster out," Weltman said during Sweeney's introductory press conference. "There are some basic holes we want to punch where we can improve the roster and augment the players that we have. Obviously, the most important part of this process is bringing in Sean the right way. It's been a busy time organizationally. But we have been at work on the draft and free agency. Hopefully, we are putting ourselves in position to have a good summer."
Weltman will, of course, hold things close to the vest. He is not revealing anything publicly. And the magic rarely leak their intentions before doing them.
But the team knows there are holes they need to plug. And with limited resources available to them, they must be intentional and careful about how they put those pieces together.
More than winning the summer
The Orlando Magic were largely considered winners of the last two summers by the time July ended.
The signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was considered a victory in 2024. Just as trading Caldwell-Pope a year later for Desmond Bane and even signing Tyus Jones seemed to set the Magic up for success in the fall last year.
While the bold move to acquire Bane largely worked out, the Magic went from offseason champions to one of the biggest disappointments in the league.
Injuries had a lot to do with that. But winning the summer alone is not going to get the Magic where they want to go. The Magic need to do more than look good on paper.
The Magic will not likely make some splashy move this offseason. They are committed to their starting lineup financially and will sit above the first apron this season.
That will likely limit the Magic's offseason moves to trades. They will only have the $6.1 million taxpayer mid-level exception available. And that is essentially a minimum contract for any valuable player (it also hard-caps the Magic at the second apron for the season, which should not be an issue).
The Magic will rely mostly on internal improvement and their new coach to shift the mood on the floor. Orlando will likely have a quiet offseason.
But there are still a lot of things to piece together. Because, while the Magic might be confident in their starting five, there are still clear gaps and holes to fill.
Orlando Magic have a lot of pressing needs
The Orlando Magic still won only 45 games and finished as the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference -- winning the second Play-In Game to reach the Playoffs. That is not where Orlando wants to be, especially with the team's massive payroll.
Those limited resources mean the Magic must be precise and careful with how they improve their roster.
Any look at the Magic's depth chart would declare the team needs a veteran point guard, some center depth and more shooting depth on the wings. Those are three needs while only losing two roster players -- most likely Jonathan Isaac and Jett Howard, with Moe Wagner as a free agent the team is expected to sign.
What the Magic are likely figuring out and deciding this week is where the team will direct its free agency, what trade it will pursue, and which draft pick fits one of these needs -- or even what need is best filled by the Draft.
All three of these things must come together in the right way.
It could mean trading Goga Bitadze for someone like Kenrich Williams and then using the second-round pick on a center like Ugonna Onyenso or Trevon Brazille, and then finding a point guard on the free agent market, such as Collin Sexton.
Or it could mean something like trading Goga Bitadze and Tristan da Silva for Sam Hauser, using the second-round pick on Bruce Thornton or Emmanuel Sharp and signing Robert Williams in free agency. Maybe they could even get a first-round pick from Boston out of this deal or fish the minimum market for some gold.
Or trading Goga Bitadze for Dalton Knecht (and probably second-round filler but possibly their first-round pick at No. 25), signing Collin Sexton and drafting someone like Baba Miller, Henri Veesaar or Ugonna Onyenso with the potential to supplement the roster with a minimum signing (possibly even Nikola Vucevic).
This is the kind of offseason the Magic are set to have. There are possibilities. But finding perfect fits and filling every need will be tricky.
But each element must work together to make the whole.
In all likelihood, what the Magic do at each step -- their trade, their draft and their free agency -- will be based on what they feel they can do at either step.
All three are working simultaneously too.
Trades will happen -- and are already happening -- ahead of the Draft. This is just a natural point for teams to discuss and make decisions. Orlando is surely having numerous conversations among numerous players.
Once the Magic know what offers are on the table, they can then marry that to their free agency plans -- and they surely already know what is possible on that front. Then the team can supplement its roster in the draft.
It will take precise and careful planning to make the most of this summer.
The Magic will not steal any headlines this summer. But this can still be an impactful summer for this team.
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