4 Orlando Magic players who might not last the entire 2024-25 season

Hopes for the Orlando Magic's 2024-25 season are high. Last season's playoff appearance left fans longing for more and eager to see what else this young team can do. 

The Magic are set up to be one of the better regular season teams in the Eastern Conference again, but they are not on the same level as the Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, and Milwaukee Bucks yet. 

2024-25 will be a different kind of developmental and experimental season for the Magic. There is pressure to win, but the team also still has plenty of things to figure out. Can they survive without a traditional point guard? Can Anthony Black, Jett Howard, and Tristan da Silva contribute to winning basketball? Can the team score enough? Is Wendell Carter Jr. the right option for the starting center spot? 

Offensive production is by far the biggest concern with this Magic team. Adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the mix gave them a reliable 3-point threat, but he is not a volume scorer and won't put up huge numbers. Neither are any of the young players waiting for minutes—or at least they haven't shown it at the NBA level yet. 

If the Magic struggle so much offensively that it hurts their playoff chances, or if they simply see a deal that will make the team significantly better, Orlando might have to make a trade halfway through the season. That would mean some players might not last the entire 2024-25 season in Orlando. 

4. Caleb Houstan 

The Magic have plenty of young players they need to continue developing. Caleb Houstan is not one of them. The former second-round pick has played two seasons with the Magic so far and got a chance to play, averaging almost 15 minutes in 110 career games. He has not produced much and clearly needs more time to develop. 

Orlando does not have that time for him. He might even benefit from being traded to a team that has more developmental minutes available. At 6'8" Houstan has great size for a wing and he shot 37.3 percent from three on 3.3 attempts per game last season. He has potential but the question is whether the Magic have the time and room to bring it to life. 

This is not to say that the Magic need to trade the 21-year-old just to get rid of him. Teams like to receive young players in return when they move on from someone more impactful. If the Magic are looking to make a trade before the end of the 2024-25 season, Houstan could end up being included in the deal.