As the Orlando Magic prepared for their Play-In Game against the Atlanta Hawks, the teams that missed out on the postseason began assessing their season. And mostly assessing what went wrong.
Monday was a major day of change for several teams that disappointed this season. None more so than the Phoenix Suns, who fired Mike Budenholzer after one year amid their disastrous season.
The overloaded Suns failed to make the playoffs despite having stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in the fold. The move to acquire Bradley Beal proved to be a disaster and greatly limited the Suns' ability to fill out their roster.
In the end, Phoenix finished this season 36-46 and three games out of the Play-In. That is as bad as things get for them and their top-end talent.
The Suns seem ripe for change beyond their coaching staff's dismissal. Rumors have already started suggesting Kevin Durant could be on the table for a move, or even is likely to move.
The Orlando Magic are in a position to take advantage of this uncertainty. Whether that is going all-in to trade for one of the big-money players the Suns are likely sending out, or helping the Suns regain their future by handing them back control over a likely lottery pick and getting some immediate veteran help in the process.
Everyone around the league is wondering what the Suns might do and how deep their rebuild might go—beyond trying to trade Beal and Durant, would they entertain offers for Booker? There are not a lot of options for them.
A complete rebuild?
John Hollinger of The Athletic thinks that a teardown to the studs is the only way out for the Phoenix Suns to get back to title contention or anything near respectability. Especially considering Kevin Durant's age and that Devin Booker is entering his prime.
He suggests the Phoenix Suns follow the path the Brooklyn Nets took this past summer in reacquiring their draft picks from the Houston Rockets. The team swapped the picks they acquired in the Kevin Durant trade from Phoenix to reacquire the picks the team dealt to Houston for James Harden.
That set the Nets up to rebuild and tank this year, knowing they had their own picks again for several years ahead. The Rockets have greatly benefited from the Suns' mediocrity now and control their picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029.
Phoenix could offer a team a chance to cash in assets for the short term to get those picks back and regain control over their future.
The Magic are already being rumored as a potential landing spot for several stars that could hit the trade market this offseason—LaMelo Ball is a popular star match, but all the rumors from the trade deadline involving players like Trae Young, Collin Sexton, and Anfernee Simons are back on the table.
If Orlando wanted to go big this offseason, Devin Booker seems like a perfect match alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner because of his shooting and off-ball ability. But the Magic just might run into the same limitations and restrictions the Suns did this year to fill out the rest of the roster if they did that. It is something to weigh as the Magic decide how far to push their chips in this offseason.
The pick swap
But the Orlando Magic also own a pick swap right with the Phoenix Suns in 2026.
During the 2023 NBA Draft, the Magic traded three future second-round picks to the Suns for the right to swap picks with the Suns in the 2026 draft.
The Phoenix Suns will first have to satisfy a pick swap with the Washington Wizards as part of the Bradley Beal trade. But the Magic would then have the right to swap picks with the Suns. Essentially, Orlando gets the middle pick between Washington, Phoenix and Orlando in next year's draft.
The Wizards likely will be a lottery team once again next year, and the Suns may be on the border of the lottery, too. Orlando stands to climb several spots in next year's draft thanks to this pick swap.
If the Suns are truly looking to reset and recoup assets, they could easily look to make a deal with Orlando to regain this pick. That could mean the Magic trade a role player along with releasing the pick swap for a player they like off the Suns' roster that could contribute more immediately.
That could be someone like sharpshooter Grayson Allen—10.6 points per game and 42.6 percent shooting this season but with three years remaining on his contract starting at $16.9 million next year. It could be someone like rookie Ryan Dunn, who played well but was in and out of the rotation throughout the season.
The issue with the Suns is that they do not have many players that would interest a team like the Magic, who want players who can immediately help them and could add to their depth without increasing their payroll.
It would not be surprising, though, if the Suns reach out to the Magic and try to revoke this pick swap, since it is more likely the Magic will exercise this swap and climb several spots and leave the Suns with a pick in the 20s next year. That would be very bad for a team looking to restock with young and cheap talent.
Phoenix will have to figure out what it wants to do and how it will go about its rebuild. It seems very likely the Magic could get roped into whatever deal the Suns do to reset their franchise and make these major moves to try to get that pick back. The Orlando Magic could end up grabbing a player from the Houston Rockets or wherever Kevin Durant gets moved for this purpose.
Orlando will have to be opportunistic to add to the team. This pick swap is a major tool with a team motivated to make a deal.
There is still plenty to shake out before the offseason begins. Teams will pick and change their path based on the playoffs.
Despite Orlando's inactivity at the trade deadline, the team has tons of assets and the ability to make trades. It is about finding the right one. And there should be a lot of options for the Magic to improve.
This is just the first clear path to begin a negotiation. But everyone will wait to see what happens.