Tristan da Silva was a vital piece to the Orlando Magic's season.
When Paolo Banchero went down with an injury early in the season, Orlando inserted the rookie forward into the roster almost immediately. He was asked to do simple things -- spread the floor as a shooter, be solid on defense and cut when the opportunity presented itself.
Da Silva was largely successful. He had his big moments -- a big shot to ice the win over the Boston Celtics in December and a 25-point effort in the win over the Toronto Raptors in early January. Da Silva was someone the Magic could rely on and someone they felt comfortable inserting into the lineup throughout the season.
But then, he was out of the rotation when the Playoffs began. Da Silva played only five total minutes in the Playoffs. He was an afterthought in the games that actually mattered, and also out of the rotation during the team's late-season run.
It was an uneven rookie season in the end for da Silva.
"A lot of unexpected turns," da Silva said of his rookie season during exit interviews. "You never know what can happen. It happened right off the jump with two injuries. All of a sudden, I was playing a lot. A lot of ups in that, downs in that as well. My role changed over the year. I felt like how I played changed over the year. My relationships changed over the year with coaches and teammates getting more comfortable with everybody around me."
The Magic are a different team now. They committed a lot of draft capital and a lot of their future in the Desmond Bane trade. They guaranteed they would be a second apron team in 2027 and are dancing around the aprons this summer.
Any look at the depth chart comes to the conclusion that the Magic need da Silva right now. Or, if they do not need da Silva, they need whatever pick they are about to make with the 25th pick in the Draft to fill a critical spot in the rotation. Orlando still has a lot of needs to fill on the roster and precious few avenues to fill it out.
As Orlando enters apron territory and sees its payroll increase, drafting is more important ever. It could be he element that flips the team from nice team to contending team. And part of the squeeze the Magic are feeling right now comes from questionable draft picks in recent years that have not firmly established themselves.
The Magic have to win the Draft to keep on their positive track. And that is an area they have struggled in recent years, with the jury on a player like da Silva still deliberating.
Uneven rookie seasons
Tristan da Silva was a rookie last year who was able to get some playing time, but he ultimately fell out of the rotation. It is unclear what the Magic's plans are for him to continue developing.
He showed some hints of being a shooter, but finished the year at 7.2 points per game and 33.5 percent shooting from three. It is not clear where da Silva fits and his work this offseason -- and how he might look at Summer League -- will determine what role the magic can depend on him.
Da Silva continues a line of uncertain picks for the Magic as their last two draft classes continue their rookie contracts.
Even after two seasons with Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the Magic are not entirely sure what they have. And considering those were the last Lottery picks the Magic will have for some time, those could be vital misses to add talent to the roster.
Black is in the rotation after ducking in and out of it his rookie year. He averaged a solid 9.4 points per game. But his position on the team and his place with the team is not settled. It still feels like the Magic need to add another ball-handler and scorer next to him.
Orlando is counting on Black a lot to fill that backcourt rotation in some way. The team can count on his defense, but he still has work to do on other parts of his game.
Then there is Jett Howard, the now much-maligned 11th pick in the 2023 Draft, who has struggled to carve out any playing time for the Magic in his two years. Granted, his first year was a gap year in the G-League. But it is hard to imagine the Magic are willing to enter the season leaning on him to play a big role even if they want to stick with him.
"I can shoot the ball at a pretty high level," Howard said during exit interviews. "Just getting used to doing that and being out there. It's kind of hard because I was in there sometimes and not sometimes. That's more than anything a young guy trying to get into the lead. Trying to navigate with that. There's some comfortability with that."
Howard's inconsistent playing time played a role in his uneven play. He really only had one extended stretch in the rotation. But that quickly dissipated. He finished the season shooting 29.6 percent from three, hardly the percentage anybody wants from a player drafted for his shooting.
Howard has to earn his place on the team. And with how sped-up the Magic's timeline seems now, it sees like Howard could get left completely behind.
The opportunity ahead
Those opportunities to add talent and add rotation players are ones the Orlando Magic cannot get back. But they feel more important than ever now that the Magic are limited in who they can acquire.
Orlando will never draft that high again until the team starts to break its current team apart. it is going to have to take advantage still of the cheap contracts that come from the Draft.
As the Magic prepare to select No. 25 in this year's draft, it is a pick the team needs to get right. Orlando needs to find a player who can contribute a role as this team grows in the next few years.
That could be a forward like Rasheer Fleming, a center like Thomas Sorber or Ryan Kalkbrenner, a wing like Nique Clifford or a point guard like Walter Clayton. Orlando must get a player who can slot into the rotation and contribute quickly.
There are too few roster spaces and too few opportunities to add affordable contracts for the Magic to pass up. The Draft is more important than ever.