The Orlando Magic are less than two weeks away from the beginning of their 2020-21 regular season. Since the preseason started this weekend, there’s no better time to preview the season. The Magic are looking for a third straight trip to the playoffs. With the Eastern Conference more competitive, this might not be realistic. Continuity is the major theme for the team and they will need it to get off to a good start to the season.
Where the Magic Stand Now
The Orlando Magic front office views the 2019-20 season as a positive. The team finished with a 33-40 regular-season record and finished as the eighth seed for the playoffs. They shocked the Bucks in the first game of the playoffs. Orlando lost the next four games but left the bubble happy.
More importantly, Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac emerged as building blocks for the future. Veteran building blocks Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, and Evan Fournier were equally as good.
The franchise did not make many moves in the offseason. The front office is betting on continuity to help with a fast start to this season. They are looking to change the slow starts of the last two seasons.
The Projected Starting Five:
PG: Markelle Fultz
SG: Evan Fournier
SF: James Ennis III
PF: Aaron Gordon
C: Nikola Vucevic
Sixth man: Terrence Ross
Magic are Stuck Between the Present and the Future
With Fultz and Isaac, Orlando believes it has its new franchise cornerstones. The team also has Chuma Okeke, Mo Bamba, and this year’s first-round draft pick Cole Anthony to grow along with them. Isaac is out for the season with a torn left ACL. He had a breakthrough season last year.
Orlando didn’t make any big additions to the roster in free agency. Instead, they chose to re-sign their own free agents. The team’s biggest loss was long time point guard D.J. Augustin. Outside of the draft, the biggest addition was Dwayne Bacon. The team is hoping to see Cole Anthony and Chuma Okeke make the biggest impacts as rookies. Okeke was the Magic’s first-round pick last year but sat out due to a torn left ACL suffered in the NCAA tournament.
The Present
Management will take calculated risks on who to commit to and who to use to bolster the roster. The previous core of Aaron Gordon, Nicola Vucevic, and Evan Fournier are on high salary contracts and may no longer be a part of the team’s future.
If Isaac were healthy then Gordon might already be gone. The same goes for Vucevic but Mo Bamba still hasn’t proven to be a starter. Fournier may still be traded after opting into the final year of his contract during the offseason. Isaac and Fultz are both eligible for extensions. The pair will be restricted free agents after the season.
2020-21 Schedule
The Magic have a brutal first-half schedule. It may be one of the worst in the NBA. There are no easy games in the division this year either. Washington, Charlotte, and Atlanta are all on the same talent level as Orlando. Miami may be the class of the division.
They will open the regular season with the Heat and that will be difficult. They will play the Wizards twice and the 76ers all within the first five games. The team could start 1-4.
Once past this stretch, a trip to Houston and Dallas is on deck. After this, a killer run of games against Milwaukee, Boston twice, and Brooklyn could cut the legs out of the season.
There are very few “gimmie” games in the first half so the Magic will have to win them. They play Cleveland, Chicago, and Detroit twice in the first half. They may need to go 6-0 to keep playoff hopes alive.
Season Outlook
Despite athletic talent, the Magic lack complimentary shooters. Many of their players are similar in playing style just at different heights and body types. All of this will lead to stretches of cold shooting and inefficient offense.
If the team struggles, President of Basketball Operationss Jeff Weltman will likely make moves to improve the team’s future and Isaac and Fultz will become the team’s priorities. Finding pieces to place around the two will be first and foremost.
Because of this, Fournier and Gordon are prime trade candidates. Neither is part of the future and will work well with Fultz and Isaac. Despite the expectation of a Vucevic trade to make room for Bamba, Vucevic is too important for the offense. Instead, Mo Bamba will be sent out to a team believing in his raw talent. Weltman will get a complimentary piece for Isaac and Fultz as the return.
Other players who could be traded are Terrence Ross and Al-Farouq Aminu. Both are valuable but may not be vital to the future. They are the type of pieces that could bring back young talent or draft picks.
The Magic will struggle but still see a light at the end of the tunnel. They will say goodbye to at least former cornerstone in Gordon and/or Fournier. They will also get excited by glimpses of talent from Okeke and Anthony. They will continue to build for the future rather than embracing a bottom-tier playoff team.
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