The Orlando Magic might be the most disappointing team in the NBA this season.
A team that seemingly had a built-in defensive identity has seen that collapse, falling from second in the league last year to 14th entering Saturday's game against the Phoenix Suns. The team has only seen moderate offensive gains, climbing to 17th in the league, only a small solace for a franchise that has not had an offense outside of the bottom 10 since 2012.
The pieces have not come together, even if the Magic are dealing with injuries and still in the Playoff chase.
As president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman addressed the media after the trade deadline, he expressed the frustration everyone has felt about this season. The team has failed to reach expectations.
But he did not want to dive into the big questions that surround the team's core. He still postured the team as dealing with injuries and its biggest potential left hidden.
It is these big questions that had Weltman and the Magic landing at No. 21 in Sam Quinn of CBS Sports' front office rankings after the trade deadline. That is what the national media questions and wants to know.
No one is or should be satisfied with the potential of bowing out of the Playoffs in the first round for the third straight year or scrambling after the All-Star Break to avoid the Play-In. But this is also missing the bigger, immediate reason why the Magic are struggling.
It is not the big moves that Weltman has made that have left the Magic in this position. It is overextending on the smaller moves. It is missing chances to improve on the margins and sticking to continuity, and overpaying for it.
The Magic still have a core, even in its injured arrested state, that can compete for a Playoff spot. If this is a bad season, the team's ceiling is still pretty high.
But the Magic have stood still too long on key needs and have been hesitant to make even small moves to address short-term issues. They have over-invested on players who have struggled to reach their peaks.
And that has put the team in a tricky position moving forward. That is why the front office has faced renewed questions, particularly with Weltman reportedly no longer under contract after this season.
It is one of the reasons the Magic have fallen short.
Winning the offseason, losing the season
What is crazy about all of this is that the Orlando Magic have generally won their offseasons on paper since making their rebuild trade in 2021.
It was considered a coup when the Magic took Jalen Suggs with the fifth pick in the 2021 Draft. Selecting Franz Wagner with the eighth pick only added to the strong foundation the Magic were building.
Getting the first pick in the 2022 Draft left the Magic with a tough decision. For whatever people think of Paolo Banchero or any second-guessing that might come from that pick in hindsight, Banchero is still an All-Star-level player who has transformed the team into a perennial playoff team.
After the Magic made their first Playoff appearance in 2024, the team went big in its last crack at cap room, spending for one of the best 3-and-D players in the league in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. When they fell short in the 2025 season, the Magic pushed all their chips in for Desmond Bane.
Both moves addressed shooting needs and seemingly proved a seriousness about competing. Both moves were widely praised, as was the signing of Tyus Jones, which flopped this season.
Where Orlando finds itself now is perhaps stuck because of the team's hesitancy to address critical needs and trust its own internal development to surround their two budding stars.
Contracts that seemed ambitious but reasonable at the time are proving to be burdensome now.
Suggs' continued injury issues make his $35 million salary this year (and $32.4 million next year) feel bloated and like the Magic are not getting enough from him.
Wendell Carter begins a three-year extension that starts at $18.1 million next season, which feels both a bargain for a solid starting center but too much for an inconsistent offensive contributor.
And then there is the albatross of Jonathan Isaac's extension -- $15 million this year and thee years remaining (the next two at $14.5 million). Isaac has struggled to regain his defensive acumen despite finally resolving his health issues.
In the process, Orlando never fully addressed its need for a point guard and table setter that Banchero publicly identified after the playoff loss in 2024. Shooting has remained an intractable problem.
The team never seemed able to make any deals to address minor issues or shore the team up. The Magic have been too precious in maintaining roster continuity and have rarely been ruthless to improve the team.
That has left the Magic in a position to believe their big picture is fine. Their core works if only it was healthy.
But the pieces have rarely come together.
Big questions ahead
Failure rightfully breeds a lot of questions. And a second straight season of the team failing to meet expectations leaves a lot of big questions ahead for the Orlando Magic.
Everyone is already anticipating the big one: Whether the team will conclude that coaching is the easiest thing to change and make a decision on Jamahl Mosley's future.
Jeff Weltman said he does not believe in making trades for the sake of making trades. He likely would bring the same approach to this decision.
National media are already agitating to push the Magic to make a decision to split up Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. And at least some of the current criticism comes from whether the Magic should do this.
Weltman does not seem eager to entertain that notion. There is enough evidence to suggest the duo can work together no breakup should be imminent with the two players still so early in their careers.
But the Magic cannot sit still either. They will need to be honest with themselves and remain aggressive heading into the offseason.
As all young teams do, Orlando's bill has gotten expensive. The Magic will be a first apron team next year. And that comes with the expectation to win.
There is a lot the Magic have not seen and have not learned this year that they would want to. Injuries are at least part of the reason. But this team still needs more to compete for a title. And the Magic must decide accurately what they can build internally and what they must import.
That is where Weltman has not found balance and that is where criticism of him should lie.
Orlando has gotten a lot of big things right and played its hand well. But there is still something missing to elevate this team to where it wants to be.