The Orlando Magic have had a season to forget. They are one of the worst teams in the NBA, having not been able to crack 20 wins on the season so far. On top of that, on the 25th of March, the franchise decided to go in a new direction and traded the established star players.
The Magic first traded Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics for Jeff Teague before waiving him. What this did accomplish was it gave the franchise a $17 million trade exception which has the potential to benefit them in the offseason or prior to the next trade deadline.
The next trade sent Gary Clark and Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets, receiving rookie shooting guard R.J. Hampton, Gary Harris, and a 2025 first-round pick. That is likely to be a late first-round pick given the Nuggets’ success at the moment but anything is possible.
The Orlando Magic are nearing the end of a rebuilding season they never wanted. Here are three goals for the remainder of the campaign.
In what felt like their biggest trade of the period, the Magic sent Al-Farouq Aminu and Nikola Vucevic to the Chicago Bulls for the expiring contract of Otto Porter Jr. and the 22-year-old Wendell Carter Jr.
It is unlikely the team will re-sign Porter but where this trade gets interesting is that Carter is a solid piece for the future. He is only 22 and this fits with the Magic’s timeline really well. He has one more year left on his rookie deal which is a team option. This trade has the potential to reap large rewards in the future.
With all this in mind, let’s look at the Magic’s three goals for the season down the stretch.