The Orlando Magic were always going to trade Tyus Jones at the trade deadline.
With how much he was struggling to produce on the court and the team's tax situation, it was inevitable that he was the pick to sacrifice to the salary cap gods.
Orlando needed $5.6 million to get under the tax and avoid starting the team's repeater clock. Jones' one-year, $7-million contract made him an easy choice to help the team duck the tax and preserve some room to replace him on the roster for the rest fo the season.
It was always going to be the case that the Magic would trade Jones into some team's cap space to accomplish this goal. The question was always whether the Magic would find a way to extract value from that deal or from another deal to add to the roster.
That would always be difficult to do.
Still, the totality of the Magic's trade deadline left a sour taste in everyone's mouth.
The Orlando Magic did not complete any additional deals outside of trading Jones, along with two second-round picks, to the Charlotte Hornets for cash considerations. That is about all the Magic could have hoped for, considering Jones' struggles.
What they probably did not expect was for the Charlotte Hornets to forward Tyus Jones along to the Dallas Mavericks for Malakhi Branham, acquired from the Washington Wizards in the Anthony Davis trade.
The Hronets then turned out with a player and two second-round picks. And the Mavericks got a player they were probably looking for anyway, with Jake Fischer reporting that the Mavericks wanted Jones in the offseason before the Magic swooped in and offered more than they could afford in the offseason.
Orlando was not interested in Branham because the purpose of this trade was to get the team under the tax. But it remained a frustrating look for an Orlando team that has often been quiet at the trade deadline. And a frustrating look for a Magic team that clearly needs more to approach their goals this season.
Why didn't Tyus Jones work out?
It is still perhaps one of the season's biggest mysteries.
The Orlando Magic knew they needed a steady-handed backup point guard to stabilize their lineups. Tyus Jones had long been a player that fans had targeted and had been connected to the team. He seemed to check all the boxes for what the Magic were looking for in the position.
Even president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman understood that Tyus Jones would struggle defensively, but the hope was that Orlando's vaunted defense would be able to absorb those weaknesses.
Not only did the Magic's defense collapse this season amid loads of injuries. But Jones also lost most of his shooting prowess that made him so valuable.
With the Magic, Jones averaged just 3.0 points per game and shot 29.4 percent from three. He averaged only 2.4 assists per game. His minutes dwindled.
It simply did not work out.
"It's sports. It didn't work," Weltman said Thursday after the trade deadline. "I really don't know why. And he is a great guy and I think he is going to land in Dallas, and we wish him the best, and I think he is going to be great there."
For all the struggles on the court, the Magic were truly frustrated by his departure. Players said the mood in the training center on Thursday was different without him in the building. He was truly appreciated in the locker room.
Orlando will be left trying to figure out why things did not work while they watch Jones finish the season in Dallas. Was it the injuries and inconsistency in their lineups? Was it Jones getting older and losing a step?
The Magic had to move on.
In Jones' debut game with Dallas, he scored four points and dished out seven assists without a turnover in 16.5 minutes. Dallas was +18 in his minutes, despite losing by 13 and trailing much of the game in San Antonio.
It did leave a feeling of something left on the board. The Magic could not get the most out of this veteran point guard. It just did not work.
Another quiet deadline
It may have been something very small. But seeing the Charlotte Hornets get multiple draft picks and then acquire a player was certainly a hit for Orlando Magic fans who believe the Magic needed to boost their bench.
Seeing the Magic simply duck under the tax and call it a day despite all the struggles this season only adds to their frustration.
Quite simply, this has been an area the Magic have struggled to take advantage of. The only trades that Jeff Weltman has made in-season have been cap-clearing moves like this one with Tyus Jones, the rebuild-starting move involving Nikola Vucevic, or grabbing second-draft players like Markelle Fultz or Bol Bol.
Orlando has mostly stayed quiet in the trade market and focused on its internal development.
That seemed like a good strategy when the team was on the rise and rebuilding. But now that the team is competing to go deeper in the Playoffs and for a championship, the team should be more proactive hitting the trade market to find players who can help improve the roster immediately.
Many of the Magic's competitors were active to take advantage of a weakened Eastern Conference.
It may be true, as Jeff Weltman explained, he was hesitant to touch the team's core players in any major move. That is likely the right call with the team's struggles to see its roster at full health.
But there are moves to bolster the bench and on the margins that other teams are making. Even the Hornets using their cap room to acquire players and assets feels like something the Magic struggle to do on the trade market.
Jeff Weltman showed last summer when he pushed his chips in for Desmond Bane. Orlando can indeed be active in the market.
But the deadline felt like another missed opportunity. It felt like the Magic could have used their task of getting out of the tax to improve their roster.