The Orlando Magic made itself clear that the team is entering a new phase of its development. Before even getting to the rumor mill and the gristle of the offseason, they signaled their desire to make moves as they departed for their offseason.
Since then, the rumor mill has only spun things further. The Magic are expected to hunt for a guard to improve the roster and fill a critical need this offseason.
After a 41-41 season, it is an offseason for a bold move.
But it should also be clear that there is no perfect move either. While the Magic must add a skill set to their roster, they risk losing something in their identity, too. There is no ideal player that gives the Magic the boost they seem to be looking for.
The question as they examine which player to try to acquire is whether they can teach that player the "Magic way." This is the central question this offseason.
The Magic are not lining up for just any guard that hits the market. Orlando needs someone who will help the team in the long-term as it grows into a title contender while also satisfying those playmaking and shooting needs the team is so desperately after.
Orlando will have to take some compromise and take a risk to add to the roster. Controlling that risk will be the key for the Magic and their hopes for improving the roster.
A good example of a player who seemingly checks all the boxes but would not be a good fit is guard CJ McCollum.
On paper, McCollum appears to have all the skills the team is looking for. He is a solid ball-handler, can organize the team and is an excellent and near-elite 3-point shooter. He would seemingly be the player the Magic should chase.
The perfect shooting fit?
There was a time when the Orlando Magic were seemingly the favorite team to land CJ McCollum.
That came mostly when pundits were trying to figure out how to create a winning team for Damian Lillard and saw the pairing of two diminutive guards as ineffective in that quest. That was back in the Aaron Gordon days for Orlando. It says something that the Magic could still use him.
Since then McCollum got sent off to the New Orleans Pelicans. He has continued to pour in points and be a solid and steady scorer and shooter -- averaging 21.1 points per game and 4.1 assists per game with a career-low 37.3 percent 3-point field goal percentage last year. He made 40.1 percent of his 4.1 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game last year, according to data from Second Spectrum.
That would seemingly suggest McCollum is someone the Magic should have on their radar.
But McCollum is definitely on the backside of his career at 33 years old and entering his age-34 season in 2026. He has never been known as a great defender and it is hard to imagine him being able to give much more. Not to mention, McCollum played in only 56 games last year (although he has been fairly reliable for much of his career, averaging 65.6 gams per year in his 12 seasons.
His shooting and scoring would obviously be a benefit to the team. McCollum has not been a player directly connected to the Magic through trade rumors. But it is easy to see how those dots could be connected, something the Game Theory podcast did in their preview of the Pelicans' offseason.
But that is because Orlando is always the team that comes up when a shooter hits the market these days, Bryce Simons noted on the podcast. But even they were skeptical that this is something they would do.
McCollum would seem like the perfect kind of player for the Magic to target. He can handle the ball without dominating the ball. Basketball-Reference estimates he played point guard for more than 80 percent of his minutes the last two years.
Can they teach defense?
But CJ McCollum is not the direction the Orlando Magic should go.
He is a smaller guard at 6-foot-3 and has never been a strong defender. His defensive metrics have all gotten worse too.
He had a career-worst -2.6 defensive box plus-minus and 0.2 defensive win shares. And that was on a Pelicans team that finished 29th in defensive rating last year.
Granted, New Orleans had a lot of injuries. There are reasons for their poor defense.
But in 1,186 minutes with noted defender Trey Murphy III, the Pelicans had a 118.1 defensive rating. It was 120.2 in 1,166 minutes with rookie shot-blocker Yves Missi and a mere 116.1 in 515 minutes with all-defensive team candidate Herb Jones.
Orlando is looking at other similar players with poor defensive reputations like Anfernee Simons and Jordan Poole. But their size and youth give them an advantage. The Magic might feel like they can get them bot buy in defensively and they have the youth and athleticism to make up for mistakes.
This is at the center of the Magic's debates this offseason.
Looking to the future?
CJ McCollum might come the cheapest of all those options the team has explored. Even at a $30.7 million salary.
Unlike other expiring contracts the Magic are likely looking at, they might be able to bring McCollum back for cheaper than his current contract. With Bird Rights that would greatly alleviate the team's potential tax and first apron bill.
But the Orlando Magic also has to consider that this move will not immediatley make them a title contender. The Magic still need a player who will grow with this team and be a part of the next 3-4 year window when the team could rise to contender status.
Orlando is not looking for a rental at this point.
But the Magic should be sure about what they do not want.
They do not want players who are not a fit around their key players or will push them down the pecking order. They want to build around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. So they are looking for players who complement their key players.
McCollum would accomplish that.
But they also want players they believe they can groom into solid defenders. The Magic are not going to chase players who are a negative on defense and not going to make a boost on that end.
Orlando is still going to seek its kind of player and look for some long-term help as they try to compete for a championship for years to come.
McCollum does not appear to be a viable option for Orlando.