NBA Power Rankings 2: Jordan Poole leads breakout candidates

The Orlando Magic come into the season as the consensus bottom-rung squad in the league, the team most expected to have the best lottery odds come the end of the season. They are leaning into the rebuild, stocking the roster with young prospects and giving them plenty of run.

So far, the preseason has been a rotation laboratory for new head coach Jamahl Mosley, who has started nine different Magic players across two games. There are 10 first-round picks 24 and under on this roster, including six top-eight picks, so that tinkering is necessary to find the best combinations and identify which players have real upside.

Breakout Player: Wendell Carter Jr. Acquired from the Chicago Bulls in the Nikola Vucevic trade, Carter Jr. has shown flashes of being a low-end starting center. Can he develop into more than that? In Orlando he’s been given the green light to shoot from outside, taking seven 3-pointers across two preseason games, and he has defensive chops as a center who can protect the rim and survive in space. With Isaac out to start the year and Mo Bamba a major unknown, Carter could take a leap forward with room to grow in the frontcourt.