The Orlando Magic hit the reset button on their franchise this season. After making the first round of the playoffs for the past two seasons, the Magic decided at the trade deadline to blow up their roster and try to get some younger talent in.
To start off the rebuild they sent Evan Fournier to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jeff Teague. The Magic then waived Teague but received a trade exception. They then traded Gary Clark and Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets in exchange for R.J. Hampton, Gary Harris, and a 2025 first-round pick.
The final move for the Magic was to send their franchise center Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls. In return, they received Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter, a 2021 first-round draft pick, and a 2023 first-round draft pick. Getting two young guys and three first-round draft picks over the next five years is a good start to your rebuild.
The Orlando Magic have started to rebuild their franchise at the trade deadline last season. Here are 5 roster moves they must make this offseason.
The Magic actually have an incredible boon next season with the return of two players. Jonathan Isaac injured his knee prior to the season starting so the Magic will get a former No. 6 pick, with two-and-a-half NBA seasons experience under his belt.
On top of that, they will also get a former No. 1 pick with three-and-a-half years of NBA experience in Markelle Fultz as he comes back from his knee injury. This is going to be a really good jumpstart to the rebuild, which is going to be helped by two first-round picks in the 2021 NBA draft.
With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the five roster moves they need to make this offseason.