Orlando Magic: 3 silver linings from Mohamed Bamba’s injury

1. They can address their frontcourt logjam

The elephant in the room for the Magic as long as their roster is constructed the way it is will be that they have too many young players who play in similar positions. There just aren’t enough minutes to go around for everyone.

Bamba may be a center, but power forward Jonathan Isaac is capable of playing some minutes in this spot too. Both players have skill-sets that are interchangeable in a lot of ways. Aaron Gordon is also a forward, and one who works best at the 4. Unfortunately for him, so too does Isaac.

Assuming Vucevic leaves in the summer (and if he doesn’t, then this situation is even trickier to navigate), the Magic will at some point have to choose to build around two of these three young players, flipping the other one to help their poor point guard rotation.

We don’t know who that player could be, although the extension Gordon signed during the offseason is constructed in such a way that the money he is owed decreases each year. This makes it a more appealing deal to trade down the line if the front office decide to take that route.

Also worth considering is that Gordon was drafted by the previous administration. Isaac and Bamba are the two lottery picks selected by president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond so far. But what Bamba’s injury allows the Magic to do is see if Isaac and Gordon can exist and help the team grow together.

If this is the case, it puts Bamba in a tricky spot. Ordinarily it would be unheard of to see an organization give up on a young player on a rookie contract, but only last week Dennis Smith Jr. was sent to the New York Knicks. Kristaps Porzingis, himself a unicorn of a young player, went the other way in that same trade to the Dallas Mavericks.

Markelle Fultz of the Philadelphia 76ers looks unlikely to see his first contract through with his team, so moving young players is more acceptable than in years gone by, as long as there is something decent coming back in return.

If both Isaac and Gordon struggle to play well together, however, it may confirm to the front office that building around Bamba and one of Isaac/Gordon is the way forward. Regardless of what way this goes, it is the most important positive to Bamba’s injury. The Magic will get more clarity on the most pressing matter for their growth, one way or another.