Orlando Magic used the offseason to set up their future trade capital

The Orlando Magic entered their offseason with a lot of anticipation.

The team was expected to have at minimum $30 million to spend. Fans immediately went to their wildest dreams, pitching the opportunity to sign All-Star players like Paul George or Klay Thompson or getting involved in potential trades for major players.

Those expecting the team to splurge in free agency were perhaps a bit disappointed. The team's spending spree amounted to a three-year, $66-million deal for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and then re-signing a lot of the team's available free agents.

Caldwell-Pope is a major move. The Magic added a starter and a high-level shooter and defender to the roster. His presence will change the dynamics on the team—as will the departure of Markelle Fultz and other locker room guys.

But this is not what most fans think of when they hear a team has a ton of cap room to spend. It was a fairly conservative offseason and one that still left some needs unfilled.

Most NBA observers view the Magic's summer as a successful one. They have praised the team's measured response to their playoff berth. They love how the team maintained a clear path for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to develop and grow.

There is one other way the Magic set themselves up this offseason. Their books are set up a lot better for trades than they were last year.

This summer, it turned out, was spent setting the table for the next phase of the Magic's rebuild. They are in a better position to make the kinds of trades that could meaningfully improve the team moving forward.

While they are not going to happen before this season, the team could be bigger players at the trade deadline or when they hit their first roadblock as they aim to climb the standings.

There is still a lot to play out on the court first, but the Magic are in a better position to make that move now.

How the Magic constructed their offseason

The Orlando Magic spent their offseason spending money, but not spending wildly. The team actually did some interesting cap math in the end. They still have their room mid-level exception worth about $8 million that they could spend or use in trades (they do not appear likely to do that).

Orlando entered the offseason with $49.6 million in cap room to spend, including Tristan da Silva's rookie contract and a few lingering cap holds.

They quickly spent nearly half of that with Caldwell-Pope's $20.9 million first-year salary. They got themselves to the salary cap line and are set to be above the cap line for the foreseeable future.

But the Magic spent the rest of their offseason assembling manageable contracts and salaries that put them in a better position for their next steps on the trade market.

Orlando will pay Goga Bitadze a reasonable $9.1 million in the first of a three-year, $25-million deal. Gary Harris will get $7.5 million in the first of his two-year, $15-million deal (waiving his implicit no-trade clause in the process). And Moe Wagner will make $11 million in the first of a two-year, $22-million deal (also waiving his implicit no-trade clause).

Add that to the Jonathan Isaac extension, which ups his salary to $25 million this year but then drops to $15 million in 2026, and the Magic created some major flexibility in their future.

Most of those contracts are very movable if it comes to it. And Orlando has depth with their young players in Jett Howard, Tristan da Silva and Anthony Black fighting for playing time. This is something the team did not have last year.

The Magic may be over the salary cap now but they are certainly not done.

The Magic's cap sheet sets them up better for trades

It is hard to call the Orlando Magic the darling of the league quite yet. But they are definitely one of the curiosities around the league.

There is still some debate about exactly what Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner's ceiling is. But everyone expects the Magic to remain competitive and remain in the playoff picture.

There are many around the league who see the Magic as a sleeping giant— perhaps just one move away from contention. Again, the praise of their offseason has been centered on their restraint and how they set themselves up for their future.

But that still leaves the fact everyone recognizes this Magic team is not complete. They need Banchero and Wagner to get better and continue their star ascent. At the end of the day, any hope for the Magic's success rests on their two young stars. That is all that matters.

Most analysts see those two players continuing to take steps forward. How far Banchero and Wagner grow is still a mystery. Concerns over Wagner's shooting persist and there has been plenty of debate over just how good Banchero can be. His style of play seemingly requires that he be among the very best for the Magic to be successful.

But the Magic will need to find help soon. Everyone recognizes it—even Paolo Banchero’s agent Mike Miller said so on a recent episode of The O.G.'s. It is still about who that right person to chase would be.

That might be the more important thing to consider. And while there are some intriguing options on the early trade market, that player has not developed yet.

Orlando struggled to marshall its resources to make a major trade last year, if that was something the team was even interested in.

Jeff Weltman is betting on continuity. But even he would say continuity only works when you are successful. There will be setbacks on the Magic's journey to contention. They will need to add new players to the roster.

And the Magic are better positioned now to do it.

Take this case for instance: The Magic could combine Cole Anthony ($12.9 million) and Gary Harris ($7.5 million) into $20.4 million they could acquire. That would be enough to make a salary pitch for Collin Sexton ($18.4 million), one of the favored targets on the trade market.

There are other combinations they could make to reach that number too. That is the point. Orlando can combine players a lot easier and combine different players a lot more easily to make these kinds of impactful trades.

The team could easily combine salaries, maintain depth and get up to salaries for any of the guards Magic fans have eyed (such as Anfernee Simons, Malcolm Brogdon or others). The trade market obviously has not developed fully but the Magic are in a position to make a significant move.

The Magic are probably not at the stage where they want to make that all-in trade. But everyone sees it on the horizon. Those players may not be the ones the team wants to chase quite yet.

With the contracts the Magic have at their disposal now and their full cache of draft picks, the Magic are closer to that "all-in" move. They just need to see how they play on the court first and what kind of player they need to target.

For the Magic, they are in a position to be patient and wait for the right player to come along. They are still in a position where they are gathering information on their team and what they need for their ultimate success.

But that trade is coming. That is the next path for Orlando. That is how the team will get better.

This phase of the Magic's rebuild is now over. They have spent their cash to set their books. Now they are set up for what comes next—Once they figure out the right path forward.