The Orlando Magic are on the clock.
Not for Tuesday's first round of the NBA Draft. As things stand, the Magic will not have a first-round pick for the first time since 2011.
But there is another clock ticking above the Magic's head.
The turn of the NBA calendar on July 1 means the expiration of several tools the Magic have to improve their roster. And while this is expected to be a mostly quiet summer for Orlando -- and the team has publicly signaled its desire to see its roster under a new coach -- the team must still be aggressive and active to improve.
The rest of the East is not going to stand still. The Miami Heat already acquired Giannis Antetokounmp (at a steep price). The Atlanta Hawks have made some small moves and set themselves up for bigger moves this summer. The Detroit Pistons and Charlotte Hornets are expected to be aggressive.
The Magic can only nibble at the edges, unless they are willing to put one of their core players into the conversation. That is, unless they move aggressively now.
Orlando has three specific tools that expire when the NBA calendar flips on June 30. And these three tools could help the Magic make a bigger splash.
There are still limits. The Magic want to avoid being above the tax when the clock runs out for the year (and they sit $224,648 beneath that, according to Spotrac). And they are still hard-capped by the first apron if they decide to dip into the tax in 2026 -- again, not a smart decision to begin the repeater clock.
Orlando must explore all three before time runs out.
Goga Bitadze's front-loaded contract
The biggest tool the Orlando Magic must use is Goga Bitadze's front-loaded contract.
It is not that he is an odd man out. But the Magic's list of useful trade assets runs out quickly if Jalen Suggs (especially) or Wendell Carter are not on the table.
The Magic should be able to get some value out of Bitadze. But they must trade him before the new NBA year on June 30.
Bitadze made $8.3 million in the 2026 season. That decreases to $7.6 million in the 2027 season.
If Orlando wants to maximize Bitadze's trade value, the team must trade him now. Certain trades that would be legal today would become illegal on June 30 because of this front-loaded contract and the Magic's payroll status.
The Magic will be over the first apron in the 2027 season. Spotrac has the Magic $9.4 million over the first apron (including Jonathan Isaac's full contract value). Being in the first apron means the team cannot take on more salary than it sends out in any trade. And that limits what the Magic can get for Bitadze with his salary decreasing.
The Magic must act on this trade quickly.
The Magic do not have much wiggle room to avoid the tax. But Orlando could take an $8 million player -- such as Sam Merrill, Naji Marshall, Tre Mann, Tre Jones, Zeke Nnaji, Max Christie or Kevon Looney. These players not be the most exciting, but the Magic cannot acquire any of these players in a Bitadze trade on July 1. They can this week.
So whether the Magic trade Bitadze for a single player or combine him with another, his buying power decreases greatly once the 2027 season takes effect.
Jonathan Isaac's guarantee date
Perhaps the biggest tool the Orlando Magic have at their disposal is Jonathan Isaac's $14.5 million salary for the 2026 season.
The team extended the guarantee trigger to June 28 (reportedly), meaning either the team cuts him by then and saves $6.5 million for the 2027 season or another team could cut him and reap those savings.
Regardless, until that happens, he is a $14.5 million salary for trade purposes. And more importantly, that amount does not impact the Magic's tax status for the 2026 season. Orlando could acquire $14 million worth of salaries and remain under the tax.
That is a valuable trade chip for the team. And if there is another team suddenly needs to create cap space, even with $8 million of dead money, shaving off $6.5 million would be valuable to them -- so would the potential of taking that $8 million and stretching it out over five years for a $1.6 million cap hit.
The Isaac contract with its non-guarantee clause is a powerful trade chip. That is likely what the Magic thought when they signed him to the extension.
The question is whether there is a team out there that would want to net those savings? Is there a team willing to eat that dead money to create a little bit of cap space for a signing in the offseason once the calendar flips? Is there a deal out there for that?
There are not many options to make that work -- I previously pitched Malik Monk to help the Sacramento Kings decrease their bloated payroll, but settled on Oklahoma City Thunder guard Isaiah Joe being a more likely target (Aaron Wiggins was already traded).
But this is a tool the Magic have that expires next week. There will seemingly be some resolution to Isaac's status with the team soon.
Tyus Jones trade exception
The last major piece of the puzzle for the Orlando Magic is a tiny tool that may not be useful to the team.
After all, the whole purpose of trading Tyus Jones at the trade deadline was to slip the Magic below the tax and avoid beginning their repeater clock. Sitting less than $300,000 beneath the tax, the Magic cannot afford to take on too much more money.
That Jones trade not only saved the Magic from the tax, it also created a roughly $7 million trade exception. That is a fairly small amount, but it would give the Magic the ability to acquire a player worth up to that amount without sending anything else out.
Trade exceptions last for one year after they are created. So it will still sit there for the team into next year.
But because the Magic are a first-apron team, they cannot take back more salary than they send out. The first apron also restricts teams from using a trade exception created in the previous season.
Essentially this trade exception expires on June 30 for the Magic.
It would be tough to use it and climb into the tax to start that repeater clock. But this is a tool the Magic have at their disposal if it becomes necessary.
And it is another reason the Magic have a move to make before next week.
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