After their successful regular season and gritty playoff run, the Orlando Magic are now set up for one of the most important offseasons in recent years. The young core around Paolo Banchero seems ready to take the next step, and this summer is the perfect time to build a better supporting cast. After all, the Magic are one of the few playoff teams with plenty of cap space available.
The front office has some serious work to do to improve the Magic’s roster. This season, the East was not incredibly strong. Joel Embiid was injured for a huge part of the season, the Cavaliers and Knicks struggled with injuries, and the Bucks went through an adjustment period with Damian Lillard and Doc Rivers.
Next season, that might look much different. Players will hopefully be healthier, and teams like the Bucks and Hawks might figure out whatever was preventing them from playing up to their potential. In that case, the Magic need to be better than they were in 2023-24.
So, let’s look at three reasonable expectations for the Orlando Magic’s offseason.
3. The Magic bring in some much-needed shooting
The Magic finished the season as one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league and it hurt them in the playoffs. It is hard to keep up with most teams’ scoring ability nowadays without a handful of capable three-point shooters. The offense would just run much smoother if Paolo Banchero was surrounded by more players who can stretch the floor and allow him the room necessary to go to work.
So, bringing in some three-point shooting should be a priority this summer. The Magic have plenty of cap space available and should be able to solve this issue on the free agency market. There are plenty of capable shooters out there, like Klay Thompson, Paul George, Buddy Hield, and maybe Luke Kennard, for example.
The Magic’s interest in anyone with a good outside shot should be no surprise to anyone, as the only player who averaged more than three attempts from long range per game in the regular season and came close to shooting 40 percent was Jalen Suggs. Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero both took over four attempts per game but only shot 28.1 and 33.9 percent respectively.
The two most-renowned shooters on the team—Joe Ingles and Gary Harris—both took few attempts per game. Having one solid volume shooter is simply not enough, so we should all expect the Magic to change that in the summer.
2. The Magic look to bring in some point guard help
Playmaking was a weakness for the Magic in the 2023-24 season. The Magic have three players classified as point guards on the roster: Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, and Anthony Black. Fultz only played 43 games, Black was a rookie, and neither of them has a reliable three-point shot. Black shot well in the regular season but on very few attempts and needs to prove himself as a volume three-point shooter first.
As a result, Jalen Suggs and Gary Harris eventually filled the Magic’s starting backcourt. Suggs is not a true point guard and only averaged 2.7 assists per game in the regular season. That left Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to carry the brunt of the playmaking responsibilities as well as the majority of the scoring load.
In the playoffs, that lack of a point guard was exposed as a real weakness. The Magic need someone who can get the offense going, get Banchero and Wagner some easy shots, stretch the floor, and allow Suggs to move to a more comfortable position as the starting shooting guard.
Players like Tyus Jones, Dejounte Murray, and Malik Monk have been floated around as possible solutions to that issue. The Magic could either address this need in free agency or on the trade market. Either way, we should not be surprised to see them look at some point guard help over the summer.
1. The Magic explore the trade market
If they wanted to, the Magic could be one of the teams making a big splash this summer. If someone they believe can help elevate this team to true contender status in the East becomes available, they would have the assets to get them. They have been linked to Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Anfernee Simons, and Brandon Ingram, for example.
While there is no rush to build a contender right now—the core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs is still incredibly young—we should expect the Magic to at least explore the trade market and see which big name they could potentially get. Their young players still have plenty to learn, and they might as well do that on one of the better teams in the East.
We should not expect the Magic to make a trade just to make a trade, however. Once they extend Suggs, Wagner, and Banchero, they will have to deal with the salary cap. So, if they want to add another expensive player to that mix, they have to be very sure that it will be worth it. Otherwise, the team’s financial cost might not fit the production on the court.
The trade market could also be a backup plan just in case all of the Magic’s free-agent targets sign somewhere else.