The evening was brisk in The City Beautiful as faint tremors of an insipid trade deadline reverberated throughout the league. As for the Orlando Magic, their front office, headed by Jeff Weltman, decided to stand pat at the deadline. This was the first year, since Weltman’s appointment in 2017, that saw the Magic not complete a trade near the deadline. Head coach Jamahl Mosley voiced his continued confidence in the front office ahead of Thursday’s game against the Spurs, as Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reported.
“I know that Jeff and his team do a tremendous job looking at things, dissecting things, teams calling … All of those things come into play. We do a great job of communicating with one another.”
Struggles in the Sunshine State
The Magic remain comfortably seated in the eighth-place in the Eastern Conference standings, three wins ahead of the ninth-place Chicago Bulls. They entered Thursday night’s clash against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs having gone (3-2) on a five-game road trip. The last game of which they suffered a humbling loss to the Miami Heat.
On Tuesday, Miami outlasted the young Orlando squad in a 121-95 victory, catapulting themselves over the Magic in the standings. The Heat also claimed the season series (3-1) and now hold a potentially pivotal tiebreaker for playoff seeding. Franz Wagner endured possibly his worst performance of the season as he went 5-15 from the field and committed seven turnovers for a minus-20 net rating on the night. Recently selected first-time All-Star Paolo Banchero led the Magic in scoring with 23 points, along with nine rebounds and seven assists. However, this effort wasn’t enough to overcome a seasoned Miami Heat team.
“They wanted it more, it seemed like,” Banchero said.
There’s No Place Like Home
Entering Thursday evening, Orlando desperately needed to begin their four-game home stand on a better note than they ended their five-game road trip. To do so, they would require a better outing from their third-year forward, Franz Wagner. To which the German star delivered during a scintillating team performance. Wagner bounced back against the Spurs and went 13-17 from the field, finishing with 34 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
“I thought I’d try not to throw it away as much. I think I’m doing a better job of getting close to the basket, but any time you try to do something different there’s going to be ups and downs. I’m obviously not immune to that so I’ve just got to keep working at it. But the most important thing is making the right play for the team. I’m not going to get caught up too much in the other stuff,” Wagner said retrospectively after the game.
Perhaps even more noteworthy was that the Orlando Magic shot a scorching 59.3% from beyond the arc. A statistic the Magic currently ranks twenty-eighth in leaguewide, not to mention they also rank twenty-seventh in threes attempted per game. While this efficient shooting display from deep was certainly breathtaking, in no way should it be viewed as anything other than an outlier on the season. This Orlando Magic squad’s most often discussed weakness is their lack of consistent perimeter scorers. A roster deficiency that was not addressed at this year’s trade deadline by the front office.
Why Not Us? Why Not Now?
If the Magic ever wish to ascend into the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference, and the NBA as a whole, they will undoubtedly have to improve their shooting. However, remaining in a holding pattern isn’t necessarily the worst move that Weltman and company could have chosen.
The Magic entered the season as the fifth-youngest team in the league. Come to the off-season, they’ll have around $45 million projected in cap space and aren’t set to begin paying cornerstones Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs rookie extensions for another year. With multiple expiring deals, such as Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris, Orlando has retained the flexibility to address the shooting concerns in the off-season.
Orlando may yet look to alter their roster in the buyout market, but such incremental changes are likely to only produce a small splash in the strengthening maelstrom that is the Eastern Conference.
The limit on the current squad’s potential remains to be seen. Based on results throughout the regular season, it’s fairly reasonable to predict that when April rolls around the Magic will find themselves in a play-in spot. Uncharted territory for an unproven batch of young talent. Analyzing how this group handles the bright lights of the play-in and playoffs could yield the front office with valuable insights.
These insights may prove worth the wait to understand what changes need to be realized. Weltman and the front office have assembled an exciting collection of young talent with an emphasis on defense, size, and versatility. Gaining experience in the playoffs is a crucial step in the early development of a team with grander long-term ambitions.
Ultimately, the Magic can afford to tread water for the time being as the juggernauts of the East maximize their windows in playoff contention. Orlando’s window to a title is only just beginning to crack open. It would be bullish to believe that leveraging the entire future on an aging star or a few valuable role players could have improved their chances enough for a title to become within reach. That’s not to say that management shouldn’t make any monumental moves, but rather, they should acknowledge the team’s timeline and trajectory when completing said transactions to avoid something detrimental.
The Orlando Magic have questions that need to be answered. How and when will the front office address the shooting woes? How does this team, as currently constructed, fare in a best-of-seven playoff series? Should there be concern over Cole Anthony’s regression this year? Can Jonathan Isaac and others stay healthy for an extended period? Can Franz Wagner elevate his game consistently enough to be a reliable second-option scorer behind Paolo Banchero?
Amid all the endless speculation and relative silence from the executives upstairs, one thing is certain: the time for answers is quickly approaching.
Orlando Magic Upcoming Schedule
Orlando Magic (28-24) vs. Chicago Bulls (25-27)
The Magic will welcome the ninth-seeded Chicago Bulls at home with an opportunity to widen the gap in the standings between the two teams. Orlando leads the season series (2-0) and, with a win, could clinch the tiebreaker.
Tip-off: 7:00 pm EST
Arena: Kia Center
TV: Bally Sports Florida / NBC Sports Chicago / NBA League Pass
For More Basketball Content
If you enjoyed this article and want more NBA and College Basketball content, follow me on X/Twitter and Facebook. To find more great stories featuring the NBA or College Hoops click here.
