When the Orlando Magic walked off the floor at the Wells Fargo Arena after their Play-In Tournament game, there was little panic among the frustration.
The Magic could never quite catch up to the Philadelphia 76ers without Joel Embiid in this critical game for a chance to avoid an elimination game. The team had every reason to feel a bit panicked, especially with the emotion the Charlotte Hornets showed in their overtime win over the Miami Heat.
The message from the Magic that April evening was that they knew they were close. They just lost the game.
Indeed, the Magic and Sixers tied in the standings. Philadelphia won the tiebreaker with two regular-season wins. The Magic ran them off their floor in the NBA Cup win in November.
The Magic felt like there was not much separation between the two teams.
The Magic and Sixers were two relatively young teams still finding themselves and eager to climb in a crowded East.
That last part of the sentence probably animated Philadelphia's summer far more than Orlando. Maybe it was because the Sixers felt more certain about their stars after an All-NBA season from Tyrese Maxey and the veteran dependability -- when healthy -- of Paul George and Joel Embiid.
In any case, the two teams from last year's 7/8 Play-In Game could not have approached their summers any differently. The Sixers took their Play-In as a stepping stone to push their chips all in on the core they believed in. The Magic took it as a pause to see what they still have.
They are trending in different directions ahead of the 2027 season.
Philadelphia officially entrenched itself as an Eastern Conference contender this summer, swapping Paul George for All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown and signing one of the bigger fish on the free agent market Friday.
LeBron James appears set to finish his career with the 76ers, signing a two-year deal.
The Magic spent their summer believing in their starting lineup. They made no major changes and rolled back the same roster, swapping backup big Moe Wagner for free agent Nikola Vucevic.
Orlando still believes it can compete at the top of the Eastern Conference with its two young players trying to piece together health and a full season. But the rest of the conference was aggressive. The Magic run the risk of being left behind.
Levels of aggression
It is a bit unfair to say the Orlando Magic did not respond to a Play-In showing with some level of aggression.
After all, the response to the Magic's first Play-In appearance in 2025 was the Desmond Bane trade, a wildly aggressive move that had the Magic as the talk of the entire league entering last season. That is held up as proof that president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman is willing to be aggressive.
But even that was still just a singular move. It was a necessary move and helped fill a critical need. But it was also one of two moves the Magic made that offseason -- the other was the failed signing of Tyus Jones.
Orlando's approach has mostly been about maintaining the team's core and making peripheral changes. Weltman tends to take little bites each offseason.
This is even while many would acknowledge that the Magic have some glaring needs.
Point guard play and shooting continue to dog the team. Those are needs the Magic have not addressed externally beyond the Bane acquisition.
Orlando was handcuffed a bit by their financial situation with all the money the team spent on its own players and the Bane acquisition. The Magic were not going to be able to attack free agency.
But they also seemingly refused to explore the trade market fully.
While the team wanted to give its starting five a chance to play together after last year's injury-filled season, it was also clear after the Playoffs that the team could use an upgrade at point guard or even at center. There were virtually no rumors about moving Jalen Suggs or Wendell Carter.
That is a vastly different approach from what the Sixers did.
They aggressively pounced on the Jaylen Brown market, using a big but expendable salary in Paul George to get that deal done. They had enough star power to absorb some shifts to role players. They signed a really good role player in Dean Wade, who would be a fine starter without LeBron James.
Those aggressive moves put them in position to entice James on a below-market contract. They grabbed an older player who is still among the best playmakers and scorers in the league. They were aggressive and were rewarded for it.
Different directions?
Are the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers really moving in different directions?
Their approaches were certainly different.
The Sixers looked at their roster and understood they had a lot, but still looked for ways to improve it and climb the standings in an Eastern Conference everyone knew was getting tougher.
They pounced at the opportunity -- certainly helped by having another strong role player in V.J. Edgecombe on a rookie contract.
The Magic were more reticent to do the same. They believed their season received an incomplete grade because of injuries. A healthy season with their core trio of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane could put them in that elite group.
But that is also where the approaches differed.
The Sixers made big trades without touching their core trio of Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and V.J. Edgecombe. They found ways to make clear upgrades and position themselves to sign the best minimum free agents.
Orlando left clear weaknesses uncovered as it sought to give this roster its chance. Other teams eager to improve did not.
The team the Magic were closest to in last year's standings certainly did not. The Sixers vaulted into relevance and into a serious title contender in one summer with their two big moves.
Time will tell whose approach comes out on top.
Maybe the Magic are that good and just need health to prove it. Maybe they will be the team to beat in the East while the Sixers struggle to find their chemistry.
As things stand, the Magic stood still and the Sixers hit the gas after their Play-In match. The gap that did not feel very wide in April, now feels much wider.
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