The Orlando Magic's season started with so much optimism.
Wendell Carter has talked about even in this difficult month and a half for the team he knows what this team is capable of. He saw it in the second half of their opening game against the Miami Heat.
That evening, it felt like the Magic coalesced and understood exactly what it would take to the next leap into contention. Their defense hounded the Heat into turnovers. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both had strong scoring games and the ball whipped to the perimeter for high-value three-point shots.
Sitting back and remembering that game and the next month and a half shows what this team is capable of being.
It still feels like a distant memory at this point. Not after the team sunk to the bottom, winning only six times in the last 22 games since the hallmark comeback wins over the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics in late December. The Magic have hardly looked like that team since—posting a -9.7 net rating in that time, the second-worst in the league.
Even with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner back in the lineup, things have not looked right. The offense continued to sink and it seemed like the timing was ripe for the Magic to make a trade and work to improve the roster.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman opted not to make that deal on Thursday. The lack of activity and action had fans incredulous and frustrated as the Magic dropped to eighth in the standings—and thengot blown out 112-90 to the Denver Nuggets to close a 1-5 road trip.
The pressure is on to see the Magic reach their potential.
Weltman though was not looking for a Band-Aid or quick fix to the problems. As he told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic pursued several deals but could not get any over the finish line. Nothing matched the Magic's short-term needs and long-term vision for the team.
Ultimately, Weltman still has faith in this team.
"We want to see what we have,” Weltman told the Orlando Sentinel. “But mostly, we really didn’t want to make seismic changes to the team while we’re going through basically a rash of injuries that really isn’t allowing us to get a look at who we are. We didn’t feel it was the right thing to do to part ways with significant assets just to plug holes and put a Band-Aid on something."
Focused on the big picture
Even for a team with playoff aspirations, Jeff Weltman is trying to keep his focus on the big picture. He was not looking to sacrifice future assets merely to make a quick fix for this season. He was going to hold the line and have faith in what this team can do when healthy.
Weltman also intimated that teams, recognizing the Orlando Magic's desperation for shooting and to stay in the playoff chase, upped their price and demands to trade for the kind of impact shooters the team would be looking for. Weltman told both the Orlando Sentinel and Mike Bianchi of Open Mike that when you struggle at the deadline, you are "going to get squeezed."
In the end, the always-patient Weltman decided he would not make a panicked move or trade. He was not looking for a short-term fix to the Magic's problems or to commit potential long-term assets to a player that may not be worth it.
The Magic did not want to give up first-round picks for players that might shuffle off the roster within a year. They likely were not ready to part with young players like Anthony Black, who might have been the sticking point in negotiations.
Orlando was always looking for a long-term solution to these key issues. They are building for the next several years and not looking for something that works this year.
Acknowledged shortcomings
Still, everyone can acknowledge the team's shortcomings.
After trying to push away concerns over the team's shooting at the end of last season—his argument was the team was 19th in the league in 3-point field goal percentage after the All-Star Break last year and he pointed out to the Orlando Sentinel that several players have had career-worst years, believing this team is better at shooting than they have shown and saying he had never seen anything like this in his years in the league—Weltman openly acknowledged shooting is a critical need the team must address.
The Magic need shooting and everyone can admit that. But finding shooting is not so easy. Not with the team balancing all of these competing interests.
The conditions, the desire or the urgency to make a deal did not appear to align in the end.
"I want to let our fans know: We know we need shooting," Weltman said on Open Mike. "We haven't shot the ball well this year. We need to do better. But we've played 58 games this year and our three best players have played six games together. While we did engage in some discussions with some highly significant players and a whole spectrum of lesser players, we didn't feel the right deal shaped up."
In the end, Weltman wanted to see his team healthy. He and the Magic wanted to see this team together. Weltman said he wants to see who the team is before they make seismic changes. Weltman said the little nibbles to help the team either would not help the team enough or would cost too much.
Weltman said the Magic want all of the arrows in the quiver for potentially bigger moves on the horizon. They want all of their young players and picks available to strike when the timing is right. That might be in the offseason. It did not appear to be at the trade deadline.
But he also said continuity is earned. The team had earned continuity and some trust with the way the team played last year. But this season's difficulties will force the team to examine how it moves forward.
The Magic have not gotten a complete picture of this group because of the injuries. And Weltman said he was not comfortable chasing it and "throwing away" what the team has built the last three years.
Now, the Magic have put the trust in this group to get the job done and right the ship this season.
"It instills a confidence in the guys knowing they are wanted here and the chemistry and continuity that we have had is big," coach Jamahl Mosley said before Thursday's game against the Denver Nuggets. "That goes a long way in this league to understand exactly what you're building and how you are going about doing it. Each guy is now understanding their role, their responsibility to this team and as we move forward know exactly what they are going to be called to do on any given night."
Those explanations may or may not satisfy a frustrated fan base. It may or may not affect a frustrated team. It does not change what even Weltman seems to acknowledge, the team needs a deal and an injection of something outside the roster to fix some of these issues.
Weltman told Bianchi he was disappointed they did not get a deal done. It only increases the pressure on him to make some significant change this offseason to improve this team's offense.
Despite that disappointment, Weltman is still at least projecting the confidence that with a cleaner slate of health, the Magic will not only be able to evaluate its roster fully but also will right the ship to climb back into the Playoff picture.