Although the Orlando Magic have had a quietly successful last 12 months in the grand scheme of things, it is still easy to predict how this coming season is going to go for them. With a whole host of young players, and veteran help in the form of Terrence Ross and Robin Lopez leading the charge, plenty of losing will be on the agenda.
This will be no problem if the youngsters on the roster show improvement, and if it leads to another lottery pick for the organization as well. At that point, the Magic will be well on their way to fielding a competitive roster, and head coach Jamahl Mosley will have hopefully implemented the kind of culture that the team buys into as well.
The Orlando Magic don’t figure to be very good next season, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t surprise people with how they perform in 2021-22.
There are always surprises in the NBA, and the Magic are a franchise that are so often overlooked if they don’t have a superstar on their roster. Even when Nikola Vucevic was in town, himself an All-Star on two occasions, casual fans just didn’t care about what the Magic were doing. They made the postseason two years running and were a nice little team, but it didn’t matter.
Clearly, the expectations are now different, but that doesn’t mean that this group can’t surprise, even if the manner of these shocks will look very different. Any team that has Jalen Suggs, R.J. Hampton, Cole Anthony and Chuma Okeke is going to be intriguing to watch, and you can bet there will be some surprise wins and performances this coming year.
The Magic are still miles away from where they want to be, but they look to have done this mini rebuild more correctly than previous attempts. They are going to be worse, but the feeling is that a genuinely competitive team is going to grow out of that experience sooner rather than later. In the meantime, here are three bold predictions for the organization in 2021-22.
3. The Orlando Magic make a core-changing trade
A surprising place to start, but looking at the roster it is not as ridiculous a prospect as you might think. Obviously, the front office is going to give this group every chance to grow together and to see how all of the pieces fit together too. On some nights it will look imbalanced and ugly, but that is all part of the process.
One look at the backcourt, however, throws up some interesting questions. Right now the Magic have Suggs, Hampton, Anthony, Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris on their books. Harris will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and a contender may see him as a rental for a postseason push (like Evan Fournier was for the Boston Celtics last year). He does make a good deal of money though and the Magic wouldn’t get a lot back for him as a likely short-term rental.
But beyond that, it will be interesting to see how the Magic develop their backcourt. Not so long ago it was their clear area of weakness when Arron Afflalo was leading the team in scoring and was the best part about their guard rotation. We’ve come a long way since, but all four of the other young players mention, all of which are under 23, will all feel they should start.
Which makes the future of Anthony in particular interesting. Clearly, his chip on the shoulder mentality was greatly appreciated by fans in his rookie season, and it molded how the group as a whole approached plenty of games. He is clearly important to the culture and growth of the team as a cohesive unit, as well as being a guard with plenty of upside.
But with Fultz having been given a new deal not so long ago, Suggs already looking like he could be the guy and Hampton having tons of potential, what would happen if the right deal came up for Anthony? The kind that could see another young player go in the other direction? The Magic are far from set at any position in the court, and there should be discussions around any player.
It just feels right now that if the front office is to surprise and continue trying to get better, somebody like Anthony could be the candidate to get moved on. Not that he should be, and there’s every chance he has a brilliant sophomore season. Maybe it will be Okeke or Wendell Carter Jr. who leaves? There’s tons of youth on the roster right now and if another organization picks up the phone about anybody, the team should listen to what they have to say.
2. Chuma Okeke to win Most Improved Player
It seems like a massive stretch but stay with us on this one. Suggs to win the Rookie of the Year award is something we have already examined before, and if it was to happen while it would be surprising, it wouldn’t be the most outrageous result of all time. Already Suggs appears to have that it factor, and he’ll get all the chances to lay claim to that award.
Okeke is still a relatively unknown prospect outside of Orlando, and national recognition is going to be hard to come by this year as well. But when he played last year (after missing his rookie season with a torn ACL), there was a smoothness and fluidity to his game that we have not seen on the Magic’s team for a long time.
Okeke is of a similar build to Aaron Gordon, a big man on the wing, although he is not nearly as athletic. Instead, offensively he is capable of scoring in a manner of different ways that only looks like it is going to improve. Defensively he is far from a slouch, although playing well on that end doesn’t typically lend itself to winning this award unless it is part of an overall massive improvement on both ends of the court.
Much of the NBA is narrative-driven, and there are going to be plenty of other guys who get more spotlight who could then go on to win this award. Lonzo Ball is one such example, and after changing scenery and landing with the Chicago Bulls the stage is set for him to help that franchise beyond their modest expectations.
Okeke managed only 7.8 points per game in 45 contests (19 starts) last season. But a lot of those games were played alongside an older core that was trying to win. You can bet coach Mosley is going to try and find out how Okeke can help this team, and call his number offensively far more than he has ever seen as a professional.
Shooting a shade under 35 percent from deep last year is promising, and it would be no surprise if Okeke nearly doubled his output in scoring. This award is about far more than that of course, but putting the ball through the net translates with casual fans and media types alike in a way that nothing else does.
This truly is a bold prediction, crazy even, but if the Magic are better than everybody expects them to be, and Okeke is a key reason for that, then why couldn’t he make a run at winning this award? He possesses a way of playing that nobody else on the roster does, and could be the crucial link between an enthusiastic backcourt and a big man rotation that is trying to find its way.
1. Orlando Magic to make play-in tournament
It seems weird that we would get this far and not mention Jonathan Isaac. Entering his fourth season, he has already received a new contract but has spent so much of his time on the sidelines through injury. He is currently out with an ACL injury sustained in the NBA’s bubble, but he will be back before long, and his talents are obvious and wildly exciting when he is fit.
Isaac raises the floor of this whole roster, and if he can come back and contribute this coming season, then why couldn’t they make the play-in tournament? That isn’t the goal, but as we’ve seen before when a group gets used to losing and not being relevant, it can take a long time to shake that perception.
Arriving at the play-in tournament would not only put the Magic ahead of schedule, it would give the fans something to cheer for if they were in a race to make it, and really that is the whole reason that it was introduced a couple of seasons back (but refined properly last year). This doesn’t all hinge on Isaac, but his incredible defensive instincts would mask so much of the growing pains around the rest of the team.
Suggs for example is sure to shoot out of the blocks and average double-digits in scoring. Carter Jr. is going to want to put a marker down as the solution at the center position over Mohamed Bamba as well. But if Isaac is alongside both of these guys, then right away there is a real feeling of stability there.
That is without even considering the offensive game of Isaac, which included a willingness to step into some 3-pointers in the past. Even if Isaac can only contribute in fits and starts, a core of Suggs, Okeke, Fultz, Carter Jr., Anthony, Hampton, Harris, Ross and Michael Carter-Williams is going to surprise a few people. Whether they want to or not is another story, but the play-in tournament, and an actual shot at the postseason, is there for this group if things fall their way.