With the trade deadline only a few days away, trade talks and rumors are heating up. The Magic are still struggling offensively, posting the second-worst offensive rating in the league and converting only 30.7 percent of their threes. While injuries are a big reason for their struggles this season, it seems that the Magic need to make some upgrades to the roster to reach their full potential. Nevertheless, they may not be very active at the trade deadline.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks just published trade deadline outlooks for all 30 teams and listed the Magic as a wild-card team to potentially look out for on the trade market.
“If the Magic were to make a deal, it would be to strengthen their perimeter scoring,” Marks wrote.
He also offered a potential trade to send Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson to Orlando. The Magic would receive Cameron Johnson and Keon Johnson in exchange for Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2030 first-round swap.
Since the Brooklyn Nets traded Dorian Finney-Smith and Dennis Schröder, it seems reasonable to expect Johnson to be the next player on the move. The Nets should receive plenty of interest and valuable assets for Johnson, who could help several teams that are looking to make some noise in the playoffs this season.
If the Magic chose to go after Johnson, they would face a lot of competition, but it is at least worth considering.
Adding a 3-point shooter could make a real difference for the Magic
Even though the Magic have seen significant improvements from Franz Wagner and Anthony Black this season, and Tristan da Silva turned out to be a solid rookie, they still lack many of the same things that cost them last season’s playoff series. Mainly, they still struggle to space the floor. Signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did not have the desired effect offensively, and the lack of shooting will hurt them once again.
The Magic still have to battle their way back up the standings to a guaranteed playoff spot—they are currently in seventh place in the Eastern Conference—and even if they accomplish that goal, it will be tough for them to win a series if the offense does not improve significantly.
Getting healthy and rediscovering their chemistry will alleviate some of the offensive issues that have been plaguing the Magic recently. Others, however, will have to be addressed with external help. Since the organization has seen so little of their core playing together this season, it is unlikely that they will make a franchise-altering move, like a recently proposed mock trade to bring Anthony Davis to Orlando, at the trade deadline. Trading for Johnson would not be that.
It would not bring another star to Orlando but a solid role player who can help improve the team’s biggest weakness. Johnson is currently shooting 41.9 percent from three on 7.6 attempts. He is a 39.6 percent 3-point shooter for his career and also shot the ball well when he was still playing a smaller role in Phoenix.
That is exactly the kind of production from three the Magic are currently lacking, and adding Johnson would not require them to really alter the way they play. He would not take the ball out of Paolo Banchero’s or Franz Wagner’s hands too much and can generally hold his own defensively.