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.
Orlando Magic season goal No. 1: Stay healthy
The first thing the Magic needs for the season is to get their players back on the court. If they can do this then they can start assessing the talent that they are starting to accumulate and how they are going to play together.
They are not going to have the services of Markelle Fultz who is out for the season with a knee injury. The Magic will also be without the services of Jonathan Issac who is also out due to a knee injury. The positive for the Magic is they know what they have in these two players as they are both in their fourth season.
They have lost the ability to assess one of their two-way players Devin Cannady who is out for the season with an ankle injury. This is where the Magic are going to run into issues for the rebuild, it is hard to assess the future talent when you can’t get it on the court.
The Magic have also got Michael Carter-Williams, Porter, Terrence Ross, and Chuma Okeke out with various ailments. With so many players on the sidelines, they are not going to have the ability to see any chemistry develop between them.
Orlando Magic season goal No. 2: Have a leader emerge
One of the crucial aspects of a rebuilding club is having a leader emerge. The older players who are with the team can mentor the younger player, but the team needs one of the younger generation of players to step up and be a leader both on and off the court.
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One example of this is the OKC Thunder. They are basing their rebuild around the talents of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who has taken the mantle of leadership of their rebuilding franchise and setting an example of what is expected. He had the mentorship of Chris Paul last season but has stepped up this season.
The Magic don’t have the luxury of one of the greatest point guards of all time to mentor their younger players. What they do have is the opportunity for a player to take the initiative and show that he is the man who should lead the franchise.
The Magic obviously likes the looks of Hampton and Carter as they are the main pieces that they traded for. If one of these players can try and take on more responsibility then the Magic will have had a good start to their rebuild.
Orlando Magic season goal No. 3: Find their identity
For a team to be successful in the league they need to find their identity and stick to it. As an example, the Brooklyn Nets are an all-out offensive team. It is this high octane offense, which includes high-level 3-point shooting, that the Nets are banking on to get them out of the Eastern Conference.
The Magic are in the bottom third of most major statistical categories. They are also struggling to shoot the ball taking the eighth-most field goal attempts but hitting the 30th worst field goal percentage. This is not due to a high volume of 3-point shots either as they are 22nd in attempts from deep.
The Magic take the fifth-most 2-point field goal attempts and are last in 2-point field goal percentage as well. Where they can hang their hat is they are top-ten in offensive rebounds but that is not enough. They are 29th in the league in scoring which is not going to win them many games.
They are a team that looks after the ball though, being fourth in the league in turnovers per game. If they can continue this trend and move the ball so their players are in better positions to score, this is going to help them find their offensive identity.