Orlando Magic: 3 takeaways from 2019 NBA offseason

1. They trust their core

In keeping with the previous point, the Orlando Magic rewarded the hard work of last season by bringing back unrestricted free agents Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross. This may yet prove a mistake but there is no doubt the team are a fringe playoff outfit as currently constructed.

Bringing back Ross was a no-brainer, one of the best sixth men in the league last year who set a record for most 3-pointers made in a season (217) without starting a single game.

The Magic’s offensive woes have been well documented, and he is affectionately given the nickname “The Human Torch” for a reason.

The deal to do so (four years, $54 million) made sense as well, looking in a player in his prime who is already familiar with the system that the organization plays in and comfortable in his role.

Vucevic is a different matter, the first time All-Star last season re-signed to a four year, $100 million deal.

It is not quite stupid money, although it is also unclear who exactly the team were bidding against in trying to bring “Vooch” back. The general consensus being that he has peaked as a player and was found out during their small playoff run.

Vucevic will return as their best player once more, for now, and at this point has to be considered one of the franchise’s 15 best players of all time as a result of numbers put up, longevity in the pinstriped blue and what he has achieved in Orlando, modest as it all may seem.

This was the summer when the Magic could have broken from their plan as a result of being a surprising and fun team to watch last year, but instead they decided to stay the course to see where this rebuild can take them.

After so many years of uncertainly and false dawns through previous rebuilding efforts, this kind of stability is exactly what they needed.

Only now that it has arrived it is hard not to look around the league and wish the organization had been more open to different approaches. The front office played it safe this summer, and yet it might not be enough to continue their encouraging growth.