Orlando Magic: 3 reasons front office are losing the fans
By Luke Duffy
2. The Orlando Magic’s reluctance to trade
It has long been a sore point for Magic fans, the apparent reluctance of the front office to take part in any major shake-up of the roster, and it only grows louder now. Before it was possible to see where the front office was coming from. Those aforementioned playoff appearances were proof that continuity around their core guys was working.
The counter-argument was always that, no matter how well this group played together, there was a clear ceiling to how far they could go. The most optimistic of people would say that was the second round of the playoffs. But with Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz out for the long-term with injury, as well as whatever is going on with Al-Farouq Aminu and half the roster, surely the time to make some moves is now?
This makes for some really grim reading, and it isn’t going to get much better anytime soon. Obviously, Vucevic is the best thing about the Magic, and if he were gone then they would take a significant step back. But his value has never been higher, so why not see what is available on the market?
Even beyond Vucevic, Aaron Gordon has been mentioned in trade rumors for basically an entire Presidential term, and he’s still on the team. Evan Fournier is an unrestricted free agent this summer. As an expiring deal, could the Magic get something back from a contender who sees him as a rental and the final piece in a title push?
Fournier has shown how important he is to the franchise when fitting this season, he can create in ways that nobody else on the roster can. But if they bring him back, alongside Gordon and Vucevic for now, what exactly are the front office doing here? The front office did well in snagging Fultz for basically nothing from the Philadelphia 76ers.
Fans love the player and it gave Hammond, Weltman and the rest of the decision-makers in Orlando some time with the fans. That time has now run out, as they have done nothing else with it. No moves around the edges, just continuing on a path that gets harder to feel positive about by the day.