The 2024-25 season is coming closer with every day. After last season's playoff appearance, Magic fans are rightfully excited to see what is next. This Magic roster is still incredibly young, and next season will still be about development and figuring things out. Seven playoff games and the addition of one 3-and-D champion do not make a contender yet.
And yet, at the same time, the Magic want to win. Returning to the playoffs and playing in big games is the best way to develop the young core and see what they really have in their players. So, Coach Mosley will have to walk a fine line between allowing young players to develop and work through mistakes and getting the best out of his team.
That will have important implications for the Magic's rotation. So, let's look at three players, who have no room for error if they want to be impactful rotational players for the Magic in 2024-25.
3. Cole Anthony
Cole Anthony has played all four seasons of his career with the Orlando Magic and is beloved amongst teammates and fans. That did not keep his minutes from decreasing consistently over the last two seasons.
In the 2021-22 season, Anthony was a full-time starter, averaging over 30 minutes a game. One season later, he found himself coming off the bench. His minutes per game decreased by around five, and the same trend continued into the 2023-24 season.
Anthony always offers a scoring punch off the bench, but he has been struggling with efficiency and has not developed a three-point shot yet. Especially the latter is a problem for the Magic. Paolo Banchero needs to be surrounded by capable shooters.
If Anthony cannot bring enough scoring and secondary playmaking to make up for his lack of shooting, Mosley might very well choose to play someone else over him. The Magic have plenty of depth available. Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Anthony Black, Jett Howard, Tristan da Silva, Caleb Houstan, and Cory Joseph would all like to get minutes at the guard and wing spots off the bench.
Some of them offer more shooting than Anthony and could take minutes from him if he does not impress in other aspects of the game. While he was the Magic's sixth man last season, that role is not a guarantee. Anthony played the sixth-most minutes per game during the regular season but dropped all the way to ninth in the playoffs.