The 2021 NBA Trade Deadline is in the books, and unlike in previous years the Orlando Magic found themselves as the center of everybody’s attention. The organization deciding at the eleventh hour to blow it up by trading away their core of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier.
The returns for each player were certainly debated online by fans for days after the deals went down, but now that we have some separation from the initial hysteria of seeing such big roster overturn, we can look at who really came out of the day as a winner and a loser in the deals involving the Magic.
As is so often the case, this goes far beyond the actual players involved, and in fact not every one of those who either left Florida or joined the roster will be spoken about here. The Magic have now entered a phase of rebuilding, and so the big picture needs to be taken into account.
The established players of the last seven years are gone, but new faces have taken over for the Orlando Magic after the NBA trade deadline
Not only are the Magic fully in the hands of their young players in hopes that they grow into consistent NBA players who can play at a high level, their current front office is on the clock now as well having finally made some big moves. As scary as that uncertainty is, you could make the case the Magic now have a young core with one of the highest ceilings in the league.
Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Chuma Okeke and Wendell Carter Jr. is certainly a good place to start. Factor in a lottery pick this coming summer, as well as whatever Mohamed Bamba can be and the addition of Gary Harris, and suddenly the future doesn’t seem so frightening. We will get answers in time, but for now here are three winners and losers from the the deadline.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline winner: Chuma Okeke
No matter what way you look at it, Okeke has been one of the biggest winners from the Magic’s trade deadline. After missing all of his rookie season with an ACL tear, he had shown some flashes even before the veterans were moved on. We’ve already explored in more detail his positive impact here, but Okeke is suddenly in a favorable situation.
The way Gordon left for the Denver Nuggets has fans rallying around Okeke because of his offensive abilities so early in his career. The kind of play that fans expected to come from Gordon, but it never did. Having the backing of all fans in what is a tanking year is a good place for any young player to be.
Speaking of it being a year to tank, Okeke finds himself getting a ton of playing time to make mistakes and learn how he best fits with his teammates. The only thing is, he’s not exactly making a lot of mistakes at the moment. The scoring is there, and it is smooth from outside of the paint. Defensively Okeke is only going to get better as well.
With both Fultz and Isaac out with ACL tears themselves, Okeke is getting every opportunity to show that fans should be as excited about him as anybody else on the roster. Right now he is taking that chance. It is exciting to think about how good he could be next to Fultz and Anthony. All of a sudden scoring might not seem like so much of a chore for future versions of the Magic.
This feels like bonus territory for everybody involved. Okeke was certainly drafted with the intention of being an important player for the franchise, but most players are. They don’t always work out but the early returns from Okeke getting more minutes, more starts and more of the ball have benefitted everybody.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline loser: Mohamed Bamba
The Magic continue to be active in making changes to their roster, so center Mohamed Bamba isn’t quite the loser he was the day after the trade deadline. This is because since then, fan favorite Khem Birch has moved on, signing with the Toronto Raptors. With Vucevic also out of the picture, you would think that Bamba is actually a winner.
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But that is not the case either, because of who the Magic got back in the Vucevic deal with the Chicago Bulls. Carter Jr., who was taken one spot after Bamba in the 2018 NBA Draft, has come in and right away shown the kind of promise that we kept expecting to see from Bamba. Fans already happy with his production on the court.
He is only 21, and alongside the other young guys in place, figures to be a key player here going forward. Given that the organization have in recent years whiffed on lottery picks, with the likes of Mario Hezonja and Elfrid Payton not working out, it has been nice to see Carter Jr. show some promise early on.
The subtractions of Vucevic and Birch don’t quite make this the disaster it was looking like being for Bamba, but it is not far from it at this point. Although he has gotten more run himself recently, the franchise have gotten in Carter Jr. a fallback option if Bamba doesn’t take advantage of this opportunity.
In truth they might have already seen enough from Carter Jr., that they are only playing Bamba more now so as to increase his trade value. The team isn’t trying to win either, so it is the kind of plan that could work out for everybody. Bamba was drafted with a view to being the starting big man for the team. The decks were cleared for a second, until Carter Jr. showed up. Now it looks like the best Bamba can hope for is a backup role, which is not where he wants to be.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline winner: Aaron Gordon
Few players in recent memory have benefitted from a deadline day move quite like Gordon. For seven years with the Magic, the thinking was that if he played anywhere else, that his skillset would be highlighted far more favorably. On some nights the fit was there, but more often than not, it just didn’t quite work for whatever reason.
Not only did Gordon get to move to a Nuggets team with designs on making the finals, but it was also the best landing spot for him in the whole league. That organization needed to fill the hole left by Jerami Grant after his offseason move to the Detroit Pistons, and in Gordon they got just that. An elite defender that most didn’t realize was actually elite until he got to Denver.
It was thought that Gordon could be the face of the Magic there for a minute, but that was never his destiny. In fact, he played some of his best basketball once Vucevic ascended to that role, and he could play as a third option offensively and the top option defensively. This is what Gordon is doing with the Nuggets, but he’s got more help than he could have ever imagined.
Nikola Jokic might just win the MVP award this season. Jamal Murray turns into a flamethrower come the postseason. Michael Porter Jr. is the kind of modern big man that Gordon thrives next to. In short there is not nearly as much required from him, especially offensively, so he can fill in the gaps and look fantastic doing it. As such the Nuggets are rolling right now.
The only downside for Gordon was how he alienated Magic fans on his way out the door. Not that Gordon will care. He also needs to let the dunk contest setbacks go. But he is part of a contender that is here to stay and has not even hit his prime yet. He is getting more national exposure already than ever before too. A massive win for Gordon.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline loser: Steve Clifford
As is so often the case when a franchise changes direction, it is the head coach who becomes the fall guy. For current Magic head coach Steve Clifford, that most certainly looks like it may be the case. Brought in initially to help the organization get back to the playoffs, he has been able to do just that on back-to-back occasions, in 2019 and 2020.
This was important for a group that weren’t particularly young, and who needed to have some sort of postseason success to point to. Winning two games across two series before getting eliminated by the Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks respectively is hardly success, but it was proof they were going in the right direction.
Clifford is the kind of head coach you bring in to get the most out of veteran players, and to maximize the talent on a particular roster. What he does not have an amazing track record of doing is having patience with youth, and bringing them along in favor of the veterans on the team.
The moment the Magic made the trade deadline deals, the direction change was clear. Coach Clifford probably isn’t the ideal guy to have in place for a rebuild, although moving the likes of Birch may actually help him to stay in this job longer. If veteran players are being moved then you have to play youngsters, which is why Clifford has so freely used Carter Jr. and even Bamba.
Despite this, it still feels like Clifford may be shown the exit before long. The fit just isn’t as clear anymore between coach and players, although the defensive discipline that he preaches could do wonders for the young guys. From a personal perspective as well, nobody likes to see losses pile up on their managerial record. Right now though, Clifford has little choice.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline winner: The Magic’s future
The one clear mistake the Magic made back in 2012 when they hit reset was not leaning into it hard enough. The highest draft pick they ever got during that period was second overall, when they took Victor Oladipo. We know that that didn’t exactly work out, while the other lottery misfires have already been spoken about.
Now though, you could make the case that by this time next year, the Magic may have the brightest future of any up and coming team in the league. ACL tears are obviously no joke, and as recently as 10 years ago they ruined the Hall of Fame career of Derrick Rose. This is the injury that Okeke has had, and that Fultz and Isaac are recovering from.
There are no guarantees all three will stay healthy for long enough to be foundational building blocks here, but the play of Okeke has been really promising. Isaac will surely be an All-Defensive candidate one day, while Fultz was the second best player (after Vucevic) for the Magic in a playoff series last year. That is worth talking about.
Carter Jr. has hit the ground running, and Cole Anthony has had a nice rookie season so far. He has that chip on his shoulder that has been sorely lacking on Magic rosters in recent years. R.J. Hampton is the sleeper here, because at this stage he is insurance if one of Anthony or Fultz don’t happen to work out. He is also only 20, and was born a mere weeks before this.
Feel old yet? That’s the kind of youth we’re talking about with the Magic right now, and it is exciting. That is without taking the various first round draft picks into account in the coming years, and the two received from the Bulls for Vucevic could certainly have real significance. Not to mention the Magic’s own first rounder this summer as well.
Obviously all of these young guys, and we can include Bamba here too, aren’t going to be around for the long haul, but that is part of the reason to be excited. Not only do the organization have some real young players who could define their future, they also have likely trade candidates for when the next disgruntled star becomes available. A common occurrence in today’s NBA.
Orland Magic NBA trade deadline loser: Terrence Ross
It is hard not to feel sorry for Terrence Ross. One minute he is part of a group that looks like it can push higher up the Eastern Conference rankings when fully healthy. The next he is one of the few true veterans left on a team that is now trying to lose as many games as possible in preparation for a brighter future.
A brighter future that Ross won’t likely be a part of, as by the time the Magic are really good again (assuming that happens), Ross is more than likely going to be elsewhere. Such is the cruel nature of basketball. Even worse, Ross was probably the easiest guy the Magic could have moved at the deadline as well.
He does not make a ton of money, is used to coming off the bench and is a sniper from 3-point range. In other words, he ticks so many boxes for contenders. At this stage of his career he’s like a better J.J. Redick, or a discount version of Seth Curry. When you consider those guys are going to be part of playoff runs this season and beyond, Ross must feel hard done by.
At 30-years-old, he is bang in his prime and should be playing in more meaningful basketball games. As we have seen with Gordon and Fournier already as they have had much said about them since being traded, it is hard to get recognized when playing for the Magic. Even more so when the team is losing and you are not a young and exciting player.
The good news for Ross is that he will always be easily moved, given his style of play and his contract, which decreases over time. But it won’t be this year, and for the next three or so years in Florida, the Orlando Magic aren’t going to be among the most elite teams in the league. Which leaves Ross stuck on a sinking ship while the other veterans got off to play elsewhere.