Things have changed for the Orlando Magic.
Everyone can feel it, and everyone can see it. The Magic find themselves in the postseason chase and will make the Play-In Tournament at least, barring a massive collapse. Falling out of the 7/8 game would be a pretty massive slide at this point, too.
There is still a chance to climb into the Playoffs proper and pass the Indiana Pacers for sixth (the Orlando Magic are a half-game behind entering Sunday's games).
Paolo Banchero is an All-Star now too. That raises the expectations on its own.
The Magic's winning window is open. Everyone is antsy to see the team take its next steps and grow. This year might be a year for making the Play-In, but the goal is to continue progressing up the Eastern Conference standings.
And just like how everyone is excited about what the future holds for this team, everyone is also curious about what comes next.
Everyone wants this team's future to appear now. Nobody wants to hear the word "building." They want to see this team propel to a championship.
A lot of that starts with the Magic developing themselves internally. It begins with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner continuing to ascend the ranks and establishing themselves as stars. Then, it becomes about filling in the needs around them and doing everything they can to make their stars' lives easier.
The reality might still be that Orlando has no clue what it needs or how its players need to improve until the team gets to the playoffs and sees how teams attack and pick the team apart. That might be why the Magic are waiting for at the trade deadline.
Or it might be why they have to make their move by Thursday's deadline because they know they have needs to fill out and have an incomplete roster.
It is still about growing and developing the right way for the Magic. The real question is the speed at which they want to push that pace.
As everyone looks externally to add to the roster, the Magic must also do some internal housecleaning. They have to look carefully at their roster, what they value and what they feel they can let go.
The Magic have to know what they have as much as they have to know what they want.
So it is time for our annual exercise doing just that. As we have for the past several seasons, we are going to go through and rank all of the Magic's players in our annual trade value column. This is taking a page from Bill Simmons' book.
These rankings ask if you would trade Player B for Player A straight up. These rankings consider not only how players perform but also their contracts and future status.
And with the Magic moving on from a rebuilding mode to more of a win-now mode, these rankings feel even more important and apt for change.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
Category I - Vibe Checks
18. Admiral Schofield (Two-Way Contract) - Last Year: 17th
At this point, Admiral Schofield is on the roster just for the vibes. He has appeared in only 12 games this season and has logged zero minutes in the G-League with the Osceola Magic. That is peculiar for a player on a two-way contract.
Schofield is in his final year of eligibility for that two-way contract. Everyone knows it. And the Magic will not likely spend a roster spot on him next year.
But Schofield is one of the most beloved players in the locker room. There is a reason they want to keep him around.
It is not for the basketball. Schofield is there purely for the vibes. That is fine. Everyone needs a vibes guy. But Schofield, while proving he is versatile, has not established a sure spot in the NBA.
17. Kevon Harris (Two-Way Contract) - Last Year: 16th
Kevon Harris had a strong season last year. He looked like a gritty, change-of-pace guard who could defend and play bigger than his size. He looked like someone who could scratch the back end of a roster. It was going to be hard to replace his energy or ignore it.
It felt like Harris was one of the highest-level two-way players in the league. Harris looked like a real find.
This year has been a struggle, though. He appeared in only three minutes of one game on the main roster and 13 games with the Osceola Magic (averaging 17.4 points per game and shooting 47.8 percent from beyond the arc).
Harris had a knee injury in training camp that kept him out early in the season. That has slowed things down for Harris in his second two-way season.
He is showing he can still make an impact at the G-League level. But his opportunities with the main roster have become few and far between.
16. Chuma Okeke (1-year, $5.3 million) - Last Year: 14th
There were such high hopes for Chuma Okeke.
Even with the Orlando Magic waiting a gap year for him to recover from a torn ACL, Okeke was the kind of versatile defender and wing shooter the Magic felt they would need. He seemed like someone who could support the 2019 core as the team grew and maintained the size Jeff Weltman sought.
Injuries after returning from the ACL slowed him down a ton. The pandemic may have slowed down the end of his recovery from his college injury. So many things seemed to pile on Okeke and keep him from realizing his full potential.
Slowly, much of his defensive value got wilted away. His shot was inconsistent at best. And the Magic almost ran no plays for him in the post and inside of the 3-point line after Jamahl Mosley took over for Steve Clifford.
Okeke got lost in the shuffle and quickly fell out of the rotation as the Magic entered a new era.
The Magic would probably love to find a team that wants to believe in Okeke enough to retain his restricted free-agent rights or give him a second draft chance.
But players are kind of what they are at the end of their rookie contracts. Okeke has a lot of potential that has gone unrealized both for things in and out of his control.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
Category II - Coming and Going
15. Trevelin Queen (Two-Way Contract)
A few Orlando Magic fans were upset when Trevelin Queen got the final two-way spot ahead of Mac McClung. But anybody who had watched or seen Queen understood why.
Queen was an accomplished G-League player in his own right. But his size and versatility made him the ideal fit for the Magic over the smaller McClung.
His run with the Osceola Magic has been incredible. He is averaging 21.5 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game and 7.5 assists per game in his pair of appearances with the Osceola Magic. He was still named to the G-League's All-Star team.
He has had to spend a lot of time with the parent club because of the Magic's injuries. And he has performed well in his 12 appearances with the parent club, especially with his defense.
Queen is one of the highest-level two-way players in the league. The Magic are probably hoping to keep him for another two-way year next year, at least. He is knocking on the door for a roster spot.
14. Gary Harris (1-year, $13 million) - Last Year: 4th
The whiplash of dropping from fourth on this list last year down to 14th should be instructive of two things: A player's best ability is availability, and having an extra year of contract control is valuable.
This has not been the same year Harris had last year when he averaged 8.3 points per game and shot 43.3 percent from deep. This year, he has struggled to stay on the floor, playing in only 28 games entering Sunday's game with the Detroit Pistons. He is hitting only 33.3 percent from three.
Last year, his shooting was vital for the Magic, and they had to hope they could somehow increase his volume to get some shooting into the lineup. That has not happened, and the Magic appear set to move on from him.
The question is whether he still has any value on the trade market. How much will teams value his veteran presence and leadership? Surely, some title-contending teams are hoping to see Harris hit the market for cheap or see if the Magic or some other team might buy him out.
But that is how far Harris has fallen with how much he has struggled with injuries this year. Having an expiring contract makes it more difficult to move him.
But Harris is the most likely player the Magic would move at the deadline. And if Orlando can extract some player of value to help in the playoff push -- using him in a Tyus Jones trade or swapping veterans for someone like Doug McDermott or Luke Kennard -- that would be a huge boost for the Magic.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
Category III - Brighter Futures
13. Caleb Houstan (3-years, $6.2 million, non-guaranteed in 2025, team option in 2026) - Last Year: 13th)
The Orlando Magic promised patience with Caleb Houstan after he played sparingly in his rookie year. He was one of the youngest players in his draft class, and the Magic were willing to give him a year in the G-League to let him take his bumps.
He started to pay off this year when the Magic desperately needed him with all the injuries. Houstan showed glimpses of the kind of volume shooter the Magic will need and the chance of him being an impact shooter. Orlando gave him a very green light, and he took it.
Houstan had some big games, but he also showed he clearly still has some room to grow. In 21 games from Dec. 15 through Jan. 22, Houstan averaged 6.5 points per game, shooting 33.3 percent from three and 5.3 3-point attempts per game, in 20.4 minutes per game.
In many ways, his run playing regular minutes for the Magic was an audition for him, with Jett Howard waiting in the wings for minutes on the wings.
Houstan proved he can play and that he can contribute. What he lacked was consistency.
12. Goga Bitadze (1-year, $2.1 million)
Goga Bitadze was one of the nicest stories of the NBA's early season, with the former first-round pick stepping in with Wendell Carter out with a hand injury early in the season. Bitadze fit smoothly as an athletic defender and rim protector.
He gave the Magic exactly what they needed at that time.
The questions now are all about how his role expands and what opportunities he can get moving forward. He should be on an NBA roster and should at least get a look as a reserve center. Bitadze was effective.
There are still shortcomings. And as far as the trade market goes, his lone remaining year and his contract not having full Bird Rights might make it less enticing for teams to chase after him. There is not much an over-the-cap team can do with a player on a minimum contract.
The Magic might still end up being the team that retains him.
But Bitadze has proven himself an NBA player. He has come a long way in two years.
11. Joe Ingles (2-years, $22 million, Team Option for 2025)
There was a lot of skepticism about adding Joe Ingles to the lineup. Everyone questioned the price tag and what a 36-year-old a few years removed from ACL surgery could bring to a young, up-and-coming Orlando Magic team.
Ingles proved to be a pretty crucial piece. Someone who could move Cole Anthony off the ball to let him be a more natural scorer attacking closeouts and a veteran voice and hand to keep the team calm. He meshed well with his personality, too.
The Magic have a +3.0 net rating, including a 115.8 offensive rating with Ingles on the floor, the best on-court offensive rating of any rotation player for the Magic.
Ingles makes all the wheels work on this team in many ways. He has been the perfect veteran for this group and one of the few reliable shooters on the team -- 38.8 percent from deep but not at a volume that will make a difference.
That might be the problem. Everyone knows Father Time is undefeated. And Ingles has given a good jolt to this team in the exact ways it needs it. His contract is not onerous, but the clock is ticking.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
Category IV -- Comings and Goings
10. Jett Howard (4-years, $23.2 million, Team Options for 2026 and 2027)
The Orlando Magic have not seen their 11th overall pick in the NBA very much. Howard has played only 42 minutes across 11 games this season.
It is a bit weird -- although not as unusual as it might have been five years ago. The Magic used a Lottery pick, quite controversially, on the sharpshooting wing from Michigan. Everyone wants to see him play, especially considering the draft capital the team used on him.
Howard has given everyone many reasons to believe he should get on the floor sooner rather than later. Howard is averaging 21.5 points per game and shooting 40.2 percent from three in 13 games for the Osceola Magic. That includes a fair share of 30-point outings.
The Magic keep preaching patience, and everyone watching the Magic is in a win-now mode.
If there is proof the Magic are not yet ready to do everything they can to win immediately, it is how they have handled Howard. It feels like they planned to get Howard up to speed in the G-League this season. This feels like part of a development plan.
That means three things moving forward:
First, the Magic are not likely shopping Howard or looking to move on from him. Second, they probably need to find a way to create space and opportunity on the main roster for him next year. And third, if they struggle to find minutes for a Lottery pick on this year's roster, where will they find room for another next year?
This spot is also where I should say that I think the Magic's first-round pick is very much in play for a deal either at the deadline or heading to the Draft.
9. Markelle Fultz (1-year, $17 million) -- Last Year: 6th
We are at a decision point with Markelle Fultz.
Fultz will become a free agent this summer, and the Orlando Magic are starting to feel the pressure his lack of shooting puts on the team.
The Magic are not a development outfit anymore. They are not looking to grab players who may need time to get themselves right or need an opportunity. They need players who make their key players better and contribute to winning.
Fultz still can. The Magic still have a +1.9 net rating, with Fultz on the floor this season. He gives them stability at point guard and can organize and lead the team in times of chaos. They need a player like Fultz.
But his shooting has become a significant issue. For whatever reason -- the return of his TOS? the left knee tendinitis? -- Fultz's shot has reverted, and he is not hitting shots with the explosion or confidence he did last year. He is no longer taking threes- three total 3-pointers so far this season.
Every deal the Magic seem to be connected to, and every player Magic fans want most at this deadline appears to fill that point guard spot. It looks like the Magic will seek out a long-term point guard option in this next transaction cycle.
It does not seem like the Magic will bring back Fultz this offseason unless he takes a pay cut or agrees to a one-year deal, so that we can do this all over again. With all the questions about Fultz's health and abilities, it is hard to find him getting much of a trade market.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
Category V -- Core Bench Players
8. Moe Wagner (2-years, $16 million) -- Last Year: 11th
Moe Wagner has proven a lot of people wrong. He continues to prove people wrong. And now he is a solid backup center and one of the most critical players on this Orlando Magic team.
Wagner has continued to be an excellent offensive player, leaning on his ability to finish around the basket and his great ability to roll to the basket to build his offense -- the Magic score 1.29 points per possession when Wagner is the roll man on pick and rolls.
He has greatly improved his defense, too. Opponents still shoot 61.8 percent at the rim against Wagner, which is better than the 75.5 percent he gave up last year. Wagner is also 10th in the league with 17 charges.
Wagner probably should not be a starter, but he is a solid reserve. The Magic are not likely to let go of him easily, even with their depth at center. And Wagner has accepted and embraced his role.
7. Cole Anthony (4-years, $44.6 million, Team Option for 2027) -- Last Year: 8th
At one point, Cole Anthony looked like one of the best sixth men in the league. He was a dynamic scorer and attacker, and teams could not seem to slow him down.
Those games from December feel like a long time ago.
Anthony has dealt with a quad injury that has slowed him down. And his numbers have taken a significant drop off -- he is averaging 8.1 points per game and shooting 23.8 percent from three since Jan. 1.
It goes back to the questions that have followed Anthony throughout his career. Does he have the ability to make it through an entire season and maintain his consistency and efficiency? Anthony has not entirely broken through.
So quietly, one of the questions the Magic have is whether Anthony can be that leading scoring option off the bench. They need him to be a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. He has fallen far off that pace as the season has gone on.
The important thing to note with him is that Anthony is starting an extension next year. So he goes out to the acquiring team as the average of his extension, but the Magic can only take back a salary equivalent to his rookie contract for salary-matching purposes.
6. Anthony Black (4-years, $32.9 million, Team Options for 2026 and 2027)
The Orlando Magic have a rookie problem getting Jett Howard on the floor more regularly. They also have a problem making sure Anthony Black gets his playing time.
These are good problems to have in the end.
Black has had an excellent rookie year, even with the Magic narrowly defining his role and limiting him on offense. He has proven himself a capable defender -- even as a rookie -- and someone the team can trust even on starter-level players.
Offensively, Black's shot has come a long way, even from the start of the season. He is hitting 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers, which felt unimaginable when the Magic drafted him.
Black is almost untouchable because there is so much for the Magic to like in the 6-foot-7 guard. He has had a tremendous rookie season, even if there are not the eye-popping numbers that catch everyone's attention.
Orlando still has to figure out what the team wants him to be.
He has not played point guard yet. Maybe that is a development for his future. And this question honestly probably affects everything else the Magic do at the deadline or in the offseason. Perhaps they only need a stopgap point guard rather than a long-term solution because of Black.
That is the promise he brings and why he still has so much value for the Magic.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
5. Wendell Carter (3-year, $35.9 million) -- Last Year: 3rd
There is still a lot of value in Wendell Carter.
As he struggled with injuries this season and seemed to regress in his confidence, the NBA trade market was spinning trying to get the Orlando Magic to deal Carter. A lot of teams certainly love his front-loaded contract and his potential.
More than that, because the Magic seemed to hold the boat steady with Goga Bitadze and Moe Wagner, it felt like the Magic could survive and make a major upgrade using Wendell Carter as a means to improve.
Orlando appears to have held the line. The team seemed confident in Carter that he would regain his footing. The Magic seem to know Carter is still its best center option, and they would not just part with him because the market was shouting for it.
The Magic were not selling low.
At this point, it seems Orlando will hold onto Carter after he averaged 14.9 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting 40.0 percent on 3.2 3-point attempts per game since returning from right knee tendinitis on Jan. 15.
Carter is still a solid defender and a versatile offensive player. The Magic would be foolish just to let him go. They need some serious value in return because Carter is still an outstanding player.
But the questions are still present. And there are some reasons to believe the Magic will need an upgrade at center.
Carter's lack of size and explosion to play above the rim does not hurt him defensively, but he can still get overpowered in the paint. He still needs some finesse.
Orlando is missing this above-the-rim element. It is not a problem to solve immediately. But the Magic should be thinking about how to improve every position on the floor. That includes Carter.
But that is not a concern for now. Carter is valuable to the Magic and to the rest of the league. Orlando will likely hold the line and see how he handles the Playoffs.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
4. Jonathan Isaac (2-years, $34.8 million, Non-Guaranteed in 2025) -- Last Year: 7th
For several years, I came into this space every year and explained the Orlando Magic had to stick with Jonathan Isaac because he was the one player on the team that did anything at an elite level. Players like that are not guys you give up on.
The Magic now have Paolo Banchero (an All-Star, if you have not heard) and another budding star in Franz Wagner. Still, Isaac is a player with an elite skill set.
The clock was ticking with his contract, even with its various non-guarantees, but Isaac was someone worth waiting on at this point in the team's rebuild. After sitting out two years recovering from a torn ACL and a hamstring injury, it was not like he had much of a trade market. His triumphant return last year was even cut shot.
The Magic have remained careful with him this year. But he is healthy. And now the team seems ready to unleash him.
Isaac is still an elite defender, even with the Magic playing him only for short spurts.
They have a 97.6 defensive rating when Isaac is on the floor, the best mark by far of any regular rotation player. You do not need the numbers to confirm how good he is. He guards wings as well as bigs.
The Magic feel comfortable finishing games with him and unleashing a fresher Isaac on whoever the top scorer is on the other side of the ball.
The Magic will spend their time figuring out how to get him on the floor more. They are hoping that having his first healthy offseason since 2019 will enable Isaac to start building on his game rather than focusing on recovering from some injury.
Does Isaac have value around the league? Maybe not yet, but it should be growing. Isaac is not someone teams are looking to steal anymore. The cat is kind of out of the bag on that one. Isaac is still an impact player in this league.
And the Magic will not look to move a $17 million contract unless they get a significant player in return. Isaac makes that big of an impact in the role the Magic have carved out for him.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
3. Jalen Suggs (2-years, $16.4 million) -- Last Year: 5th
Jalen Suggs' first two years with the Orlando Magic were a roller coaster.
There was the incredible high of drafting him and believing the Magic had drafted a scoring guard that the franchise had not seen in nearly a decade. It was easy to say he was the best guard prospect the Magic had drafted since Anfernee Hardaway.
Then came the litany of injuries that slowed him down in his rookie year. Then, the shooting and decision-making struggles made him a liability on offense.
Suggs was looking for his place. And while the talent was undeniable, he was starting to struggle to find his place. Other needs and considerations were surpassing him.
Suggs found himself this year. He has spoken openly about how he looked inward to break through some doubts and shed expectations to be the player that he and his team needed him to be.
This year has been a revelation that has made Suggs one of the most important players on the team. He brings a ton of energy to the team, amping them up with big plays and setting the tone physically with his defense.
He has embraced being one of the top defenders on one of the best defensive teams in the league. That is his leadership role for the team.
And his offense has started to come around, too. Suggs is shooting 38.5 percent from three in a huge step forward. He has become a reliable three-point shooter and can even take tough threes.
That has opened the doors for everything for him. He has reclaimed that potential, even if he has embraced being more of a defensive difference-maker.
At this point, three players feel untouchable on this Magic roster -- the two players coming up next and Suggs. It is a credit to how much Suggs has worked to become this important to this team.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
2. Franz Wagner (2-years, $12.5 million) -- Last Year: 2nd
It is good that this article is coming after Sunday's game against the Detroit Pistons. It sometimes feels like we forget how good Franz Wagner is and can be. We sometimes forget how dynamic and aggressive he can be and how quickly he can pile up points.
Everything feels so simple for Wagner. His ability to knife through the lane and score at the basket is so easy. It is easy to take for granted. His consistency at such a young age is still downright impressive.
It sometimes does not seem like it because Wagner has not shot the ball as well as he did in his first two seasons, but Wagner is averaging 20 points per game. The Magic are set to have their first duo averaging 20.0 points per game since Shaquille O'Neal and Anfernee Hardaway in 1996.
We should be talking a whole lot more about Wagner and what he can become. His first call to the All-Star Game is surely coming once the Magic climb into competing for homecourt advantage in the Playoffs. Wagner is game enough to get there.
Wagner is untouchable. The Magic view him as a future star on this team. And a max extension is undoubtedly coming this offseason.
That point is probably why the Magic should feel some urgency to make a big move sooner rather than later -- whether that is Dejounte Murray, Anfernee Simons or something bigger for the offseason. The Magic's time of having unlimited cap room is running out.
Wagner has earned that max contract. The Magic should give him as much as they can without thinking twice. And that is a testament to how good Wagner is for this team.
2024 Orlando Magic Trade Value Column
1. Paolo Banchero (3-Years, $39.1 million, Team Option for 2026) -- Last Year: 1st
Undoubtedly though, the most important player and the guy around whom everything revolves on this roster is Paolo Banchero.
Even during his rookie year, when Franz Wagner was an objectively better player, it was clear that this would become Paolo's team soon. Living through his inefficiency and mistakes was OK. He was the kind of primary scorer that you take with the No. 1 pick and build your team around.
Banchero has improved in every way this year, it seems. He is averaging 23.0 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game and 5.1 assists per game. He has had big scoring games regularly now, too. And there are so many ways he can continue to get better.
Banchero has impacted winning. The advanced stats may not show it yet -- partly because of the burden he is learning to carry. But Banchero is a significant driver for this young team and its success.
It is not merely his clutch finishes either. But, again, that is what stars do.
That should be the ultimate conclusion of all of this.
The Magic have a star. In his second year, Banchero has established himself among the best young players in the NBA (whether the national media recognizes it or not), and the Magic have a driving force to push their team forward.
That is all the Magic have ever wanted for this past decade. A player who could guide their rebuild.
They have that in Banchero. And as the deadline approaches, the goal is to make his life as easy as possible.
That is part of the problem, too. Orlando does not know what it needs because Banchero is a dynamic and versatile player. The team is still figuring out what the contours of his game are. The team does not want to box him in.
The most important thing for the Magic this year is to get Banchero in a playoff series and see how he responds to the pressure and what he learns about how defenses play him.
That is the exciting thing about the Magic right now. Anything seems possible, but the future is also more clearly in focus.