The Magic had one of the most successful offseasons in the NBA, adding a ton of talent and depth to their roster, but second-year forward Tristan da Silva will be the key to Orlando's roster flexibility.
After trading for Desmond Bane and extending Paolo Banchero, the Magic committed themselves to their core four for the foreseeable future. At minimum, Orlando will have the contracts of Banchero, Bane, Suggs, and Franz Wagner locked up until the 2028-29 season.
The Magic committed more to their depth with the signing of Tyus Jones, as well as bringing in both Jase Richardson and Noah Penda through the draft. If the Magic want to make more moves to their roster, it will bank on the play and development of Tristan da Silva.
Tristan da Silva's track record
Last season was an injury-riddled year for the Magic, which was a blessing in disguise for first-round pick Tristan da Silva. In the first five games of the 2024-25 season, da Silva only played a combined five minutes and was pushed towards the end of the bench. Fast-forward to Paolo Banchero suffering a torn oblique on October 30th, and now da Silva was thrust into a significantly larger role.
For the next three months, da Silva was playing more minutes and getting invaluable reps that he wouldn't have gotten otherwise. Month by month, da Silva's minutes slowly increased, going from 25.5 minutes a night in November to 26.5 in December, and all the way up to 28.1 minutes each game in January.
Tristan da Silva flashed potential as a two-way wing with the ability to step outside, be a capable defender, play within the offense, and be a Swiss Army Knife for this Magic squad.
Fitting into the roster
It's no secret that the Magic were willing to go all-in with their roster this offseason, and it's still very likely that they will be looking to make more moves to bolster this roster.
Looking at the second unit, the most obvious guys playing consistent minutes will be Anthony Black, Tristan da Silva, Moe Wagner, and Tyus Jones. There's no guarantee that players like Goga Bitadze, Jett Howard, the Magic's draft picks, or even Jonathan Isaac, who regressed last season, will be playing a lot of minutes.
With Isaac entering the first year of a four-year $59 million contract, he would be the most likely trade candidate, trying to leverage and create more cap space. Goga Bitadze, who played terrifically throughout Eurobasket this summer, may not have a solidified role going forward.
Former 2023 lottery pick Jett Howard has had an underwhelming start to his career, and this will likely be his last year in Orlando.
If Tristan da Silva can build on a solid and productive rookie season, that makes other players, especially Jonathan Isaac, expendable. Tristan showed enough last season that could warrant the Magic making more trades to free up more cap space and minutes for da Silva.