Not a lot is expected of the Orlando Magic at this year's trade deadline.
The Magic are hovering close to the NBA's luxury tax line, and with massive salaries piling up and coming onto the books beginning next year, they are viewed as a team mostly trying to tidy up their cap sheet and avoid beginning the repeater tax.
There is the other side of this coin, though.
The Magic are sitting at 25-22, 1.5 games out of sixth and 2.5 games out of fourth, and homecourt advantage in the first round of the Playoffs entering Sunday's games. They have had a lot of inconsistency on both offense and defense and have struggled to put wins together.
The Magic's talent has been apparent enough to keep them in the race despite loads of injuries to their key players. But it is clear that the Magic need more on their roster to take the leap they hoped to make this season.
Orlando must consider making some moves, while also keeping the team's future in focus too.
The question is how, when they must also consider their future finances and the restrictions that come with being hard-capped at the first apron and trying to avoid the tax.
They do not need to look far to see how a team can do this. And they do not need to look far to understand that there is no standing still in the NBA. If the Magic do not look to improve their roster, they could be quickly left behind.
The Cleveland Cavaliers made the first big move of NBA trade deadline week, dealing De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings in a three-team deal that netted them Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis.
The rest of the league does not stand still. And in a tight Eastern Conference race, every move is going to tip the balance one way or the other.
The Cavs understood that. They needed some point guard help to keep up their momentum, and they acted. With Schroder and Kellis' reputation, the Cavs scored one of the biggest deals at the deadline.
The Magic need to internalize that message and act in the next four days.
What the Cavs got
Both Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis were potential targets for the Orlando Magic to boost their guard play, especially if the plan is to trade Tyus Jones to get under the tax.
Schroder has long been a Magic fan favorite because of his work with the German national team alongside Franz and Moe Wagner over the years. He would have given the Magic a veteran point guard who knows how to manage a team and can create and score on his own.
Schroder has had an up-and-down season, averaging 12.8 points and 5.3 assists per game. He has two more years under contract, starting at $14.1 million this season. Acquiring Schroder and getting under the tax would have proven tough but doable.
Ellis has been shuffled out of the Kings' rotation despite his reputation as a hounding defender, something the Kings seemingly would need as one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
Ellis is averaging 5.6 points per game in 17.6 minutes per game. He is a free agent in the offseason and owed $2.3 million this season. Re-signing him would have proven the challenge as he was viewed pretty favorably entering the deadline.
The Magic are not the only team disappointed that Ellis went for such a seemingly low price. But it shows how achievable even small goals and improvements can be at the deadline.
Their fit or the missed opportunity in acquiring those specific players is not material to this argument. What matters is the Cavs were a second-apron team, and they created a deal that enabled them to add two key rotation players while also cutting payroll.
While the Cavs made mistakes in how they approached this offseason, and some moves did not work out, they were still creative enough to improve their roster. And they have Lonzo Ball as another potential trade chip to spend before the deadline.
Magic need this creativity
Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has long been known for his patience.
He very rarely makes trades. And he has not made an in-season trade of significance since the deck-clearing deal that sent Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls, Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets and Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics.
The trade to acquire Desmond Bane was the first trade he made to acquire a rotation player since a forgettable trade to get Bol Bol that was really about some bookkeeping for the Celtics at the time.
The Magic have sat out a lot of trade deadlines or only worked on the margins.
That is one of the mindset changes the team needs to make now that it is trying to contend. Every transaction window needs to be viewed as a chance to improve. And the Magic have some clear flaws that they need to resolve.
This is not an opportunity the Magic can pass by, even if they are more concerned with clearing their books. Orlando should be taking an honest assessment of its roster and thinking of ways to improve.
With some movable contracts in Goga Bitadze, Jett Howard and even Jonathan Isaac, the Magic still have plenty of room to add key players, assuming they can offload Tyus Jones to get under the tax.
That would give them access to key veteran shooters like Royce O'Neale ($10.1 million with two more years remaining), Ayo Dosunmu ($7.5 million expiring contract) or Naji Marshall ($9 million with one more year remaining).
There are good moves on the margins that the Magic can still make that will improve their team and better position them for the Playoffs. That is what the Cleveland Cavaliers proved.
Not everyone can take advantage of the Sacramento Kings' lack of logic and asset management. But a rival team has already made a big move despite their restrictions financially. The Magic cannot throw their hands up and say they cannot improve because of them.
Orlando needs to be active at the deadline. This is an opportunity to improve beyond the promise of getting healthy again. And the team's rivals already know it.