There is little time to rest this time of year.
Seemingly as soon as Jeff Weltman completed his draft class, he had to turn his attention to free agency. Rather, free agency and the planning for what his team will do when they can begin negotiating with free agents Monday at 6 p.m. is ongoing and happening alongside the Draft.
Now the Orlando Magic have to complete their summer after all the moving and shaking and aggressive moves to deliver a championship-level team.
The Draft is just another weigh station. It is another opportunity to circle the league and see what is available. They are still trying to figure out what is available.
And that does not get into the spending limitations as the team approaches the first apron and tries to navigate their increased payroll.
The Magic have done a lot of their work for the offseason already. They boosted their starting lineup with the acquisition of Desmond Bane, kicking off the offseason wave of moves. It was an aggressive move that set the expectations high.
It also left the Magic still needing to add to their bench and find shooting.
Orlando may have addressed some of its shooting needs by drafting Jase Richardson with the 25th pick. But any quick look at the depth chart would see the Magic do not have a proven player on the wings who can hit from the outside or even create.
Indeed, as free agency approaches, the Magic are seemingly looking for shooting once again.
But time is going to run out quickly. Many teams with key shooters are already moving as they sign their own free agents. If the Magic are going to add a rotation-level shooter to boost this team, they are going to have to act quickly.
The Magic will likely decline team options for Moe Wagner and Caleb Houstan to give them access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception. It will be a narrow path to use that and retain both players and fill out their roster.
But the Magic may have no choice but to target and sign the players they want. If the Magic are truly about to be title contenders, they cannot sit tight in free agency. They must be aggressive once again to complete a stellar summer.
The Nickeil Alexander-Walker rumors continue
Throughout the offseason, the Orlando Magic have been connected to Minnesota Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
It is easy to see why. Alexander-Waker shot 38.1 percent from three last year and is considered a solid 3-point shooter with good defense for a bench wing. He is one of the best spot-up shooters available in this free agency market.
Jake Fischer reported on The Stein Line Substack (subscription required) reported the Orlando Magic, Atlanta Hawks and LA Clippers are expected to pursue Alexander-Walker. There is also some reporting suggesting the Detroit Pistons could make a run for him, too.
With that much competition, it seems certain Alexander-Walker will get a good chunk of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
The Orlando Magic face severe free agency restrictions
But the competition for the Orlando Magic have a lot more avenues to sign Nickeil Alexander-Walker than the Magic do. Their restrictions could prevent them from making a competitive offer. Orlando has work to do, at the least, to be a serious threat.
The Atlanta Hawks have been aggressive all offseason to improve their roster and have a little less than $1 million in cap room before dealing with their own free agents -- most notably Caris LeVert and Larry Nance Jr. They have full access to the mid-level exception without much concern of hitting the first apron hard cap.
They also have a large trade exception they could use to acquire Alexander-Walker in a sign-and-trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The LA Clippers are over the cap but a little less than $20 million below the luxury tax line, assuming James Harden picks up his player option. That would also give them full access to the mid-level exception.
The Magic do not have that same access.
Orlando would be about $7.7 million beneath the luxury tax line after declining team options for Moe Wagner and Caleb Houstan. That would give them access to the mid-level exception. But it would leave the Magic with just $15.7 million before the first apron to sign second-round pick Noah Penda, Moe Wagner and Caleb Houstan along with Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
Very clearly, the Magic have the least spending power as their roster stands now of the teams reportedly chasing him. It also means it will be very difficult for the Magic to use the full $14.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception, at least on a free agent.
Using any part of the NTMLE, hard caps a team at the first apron. And Orlando is obviously bumping up against that level.
Considering the Timberwolves opted to spend a lot of their money to retain Naz Reid and dip further into the second apron to do so, it seems like they know they will not be able to keep Nickeil Alexander-Walker.
To be clear, there are ways to try to acquire him, but they would take trades to clear some payroll and it does not seem likely the Magic would make any straight salary dumps. Orlando will have to be creative to sign and acquire players this offseason.
But it likely means Orlando will not use the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception or use the smaller taxpayer mid-level exception (a contract of about $5 million). That severely limits the kinds of players the Magic can find.
A player like Cleveland Cavaliers sharpshooter Sam Merrill might have been right in their wheelhouse. But he signed a four-year, $38 million (annual average value of $9.5 million), taking him off the board and cementing the Cavs roster for now.
But shooting is at a premium, quite clearly. And teams are lining up to ensure they get the best shooters on the market.
Orlando's work is clearly not done this offseason. The team still needs to add some shooting and scoring to bolster the bench. But the team is very limited in what it can do to get there.