The NBA trade deadline is officially less than month away.
For the Orlando Magic, they are projecting to be buyers for the first time in a good while. With the young core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs trending upwards more than many believed before the start of the season, the front office has the ability for a few moves this deadline to kick up the success a notch.
Before the fans and Reddit threads go wild with superstar trades and packages full of future draft capital, the team is not likely to make those kinds of major moves or splashes.
The team will likely look first at the long-term development of their squad rather than try to add a quick fix to this team. Orlando currently has the fourth-youngest roster in the league. Two of those on their way to their first All-Star nods all the while.
With just one game currently separating the fourth seed (New York Knicks, 22-15) and the eighth spot (Orlando Magic, 21-16), each week needs to come out positive for the Magic as they jockey for a playoff spot for the first time since the 2020 bubble.
Injuries have hit the team hard recently. And the team has had to keep itself afloat in the meantime.
Jonathan Issac has only appeared in 21 games this year. Markelle Fultz has similar issues with only seven games played this year. Those injuries, coupled with lengthy time missed from Wendell Carter and a recent Franz Wagner ankle sprain, have made the roster fairly thin as the regular season progresses.
Even if the Magic are expected to be fairly quiet at the deadline, they still have to look at it as an opportunity to shore up the roster. It may not be something specifically focused on this year and the tight playoff race the Magic are currently engaged in. But the team clearly still needs some help.
This is still an opportunity to explore and grow the team.
There are a few players Orlando should target to fix a key issue on offense and bolster the squad as the postseason nears.