After starting the 2022-23 season with a 5-20 record and looking like they would once again have a shot at the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic started to find rhythm. Coaching one of the youngest teams in the league, Jamahl Mosley seemed to find something last year, as the Magic went on to finish the season with a 34-48 record. They still came up short of reaching the playoffs for the third consecutive year, but what this franchise found is more significant than earning a play-in tournament or postseason spot.
They found hope.
For close to two decades now, the Magic have been one of the most underwhelming franchises in the league. They had a few good moments with All-Star Dwight Howard and Stan Van Gundy as their head coach, yet the number of seasons this organization finished with 20-or-so wins outweighed any success they had found.
The Magic have finally turned down a different path, one that could very well lead them back to the playoffs with triumph. On a roster packed full of recent first-round picks, it was 2022 first overall pick Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner who pulled the rabbit from the hat.
These two combined to average 38.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor last season, cementing themselves as the faces of the franchise. Instead of taking time to themselves to enjoy the offseason, both Banchero and Wagner were busy participating in the 2023 FIBA World Cup for Team USA and Team Germany, respectively.
These kind of experiences are valuable, especially for young talents in the NBA. Banchero learned a lot more about being a strong frontcourt presence during his time with USA Basketball and Wagner learned a lot more not only about his game, but what it means to win at the highest level possible.
Wagner and Germany claimed the gold medal at the World Cup for the first time, as the Magic wing scored 19 points in the championship game. At Magic Media Day, the 22-year-old talked about his international experience and how playing for Germany has helped him as a young player entering his third NBA season.
“Super special experience. It still hasn't registered, honestly,” Wagner told reporters last week. “I learned a lot by playing in really important games. Not everything is going to go your way, but how do you respond and win those close games, I think that was a very important experience for me.”
Dennis Schroder was named the MVP for the Germans, but Wagner held an extremely important role in their championship run, averaging 16.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game while shooting roughly 60 percent from the floor in four total games during the tournament.
Gaining experience and time are the two factors that influence any franchise's rebuild. There are still a handful of players on the Magic's roster who will need time to develop, but the success Banchero and Wagner have found has kick-started this team's ascension from the bottom of the league standings.
As the 2023-24 season rapidly approaches, Orlando's only goal is to build off what they found last year. In doing so, Mosley and the Magic are hopeful that the playoffs will be within sight.
Magic offseason additions and departures
Additions: G/F Joe Ingles (free agency – MIL), G Anthony Black (draft), G/F Jett Howard (draft)
Departures: C Bol Bol (free agency – PHX)
Through the years, the Magic have been known for going after the players they have wanted in the NBA Draft, regardless of where they are picking and where people are projecting certain prospects to go. This same mindset existed this summer when Orlando selected Anthony Black and Jett Howard in the lottery.
There had been some discussion in league circles of whether or not the Magic would be dealing one or both of their picks in order to gain more future value, but Black and Howard were two players the franchise fell in love with early on in the pre-draft process.
Starting with Black, he's a modern-day point guard whose size presents upside on both ends of the court. At Arkansas, he proved to be a really smart decision-maker who can do a little bit of everything with the ball in his hands. At the next level, it will be interesting to see how Black adjusts to playing off the ball, as the Magic already have a lot of ball handlers on their roster.
As more and more teams began to show interest in Black, including the Magic, it became apparent that he was not going to be on the board by the time Orlando was picking again at 13th overall. This is why they decided to select him with the sixth overall selection in this year's draft.
Speaking of the 13th pick, the Magic selected Jett Howard, the son of two-time NBA champion and current Michigan men's basketball head coach Juwan Howard. Throughout the pre-draft process, there was no telling where Howard would end up due to some concerns about his defensive effort. On offense, he can be a handful for opposing teams, especially given that he shot close to 37 percent from distance at Michigan.
The Magic ranked 24th in three-point shooting percentage last season and 25th in threes made per game. It was apparent that they were going to be adding some perimeter help during the summer, which is why taking Howard was not too much of a surprise. Orlando got the guy they wanted and then continued to add some shooting depth in free agency.
Joe Ingles was the only free agent the Magic signed this offseason, as the sharpshooter heads south after spending one season with the Milwaukee Bucks. Finishing second in the 2020-21 Sixth Man of the Year voting, Ingles suffered a torn ACL in 2022 that sidelined him for the first couple of months last season. A calming presence on the wing, Ingles is the perfect veteran to have in this locker room as the Magic look to change their recent misfortunes.
This was a pretty uneventful offseason in terms of additions and departures for the Magic. They did not have any pending free agents heading into the summer and with basically their entire roster still on their rookie deals, the last few months have been dedicated to development, especially in the backcourt.
Orlando's backcourt logjam
If there is one thing you can point to with the Magic right now and claim it is a problem, it would be all the talent they have in their backcourt. Having depth is never a problem, but at some point, someone is going to grow frustrated with their role simply because there are not enough minutes to go around.
When Orlando finished the 2022-23 season, they did so with Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris as their starting point guard and shooting guard, respectively. Jalen Suggs drew some starts late in the year as well when Harris was out of the lineup. In total, the Magic had 14 different players make at least one start last season, five of whom were backcourt talents.
As they prepare to begin the new season, the Magic have Fultz, Harris, Suggs, Cole Anthony, and their two rookies as possible options to turn to in their backcourt. So who will ultimately start for this organization?
Fultz will likely be the opening night starting point guard for the Magic, but that does not necessarily mean either Anthony or Black won't take this title after a few weeks. Set to become a free agent after this season, Fultz's future in Orlando is definitely in question, especially after the team went out and selected their point guard of the future with the sixth overall pick.
Aside from who will and who will not start, there are questions surrounding Suggs and what his future with the organization looks like. Drafted fifth overall in 2021, Suggs has dealt with a handful of injury concerns the last two seasons, which gave limited his overall production.
Seeing as he has upside as a two-way player at either guard position and the fact that the team just picked up his team option for the 2024-25 season, the Magic may be willing to give him another shot before making a decision about his long-term future next offseason.
The same cannot necessarily be said for Anthony, though, as he is entering the final year of his rookie deal and did not receive an extension from the team this summer. Should Black emerge as a key contributor in Orlando's nightly rotation, someone will have to lose minutes. This player could wind up being either Fultz or Anthony. Perhaps they could both have their minutes cut due to Black's eventual emergence.
The bottom line is that the roster the Magic enter the season with likely won't be the roster they finish with. Given the expiring contracts they have, as well as the young, emerging talent in their backcourt, it seems destined that Orlando will move one of their guards for an upgrade elsewhere.
Even if the Magic are finding success trending toward the trade deadline and they look like a team that could sneak into the play-in tournament, they may be willing to move a player like Fultz, Anthony or Suggs if it means acquiring a win-now player and a future draft pick.
2023-24 season outlook
How good the Magic can potentially be depends on the growth that they can make over the course of the next few months. Banchero and Wagner are going to do their thing and Wendell Carter Jr. will be a double-double threat at the center position, but who else will emerge for this young group?
While nobody seems to be talking about him because of his injury history, Jonathan Isaac is truly the difference between the Magic finding immediate success and having to continue their rebuild into the 2023-24 season.
Isaac was a player this organization was really high on after they drafted him sixth overall in 2017, and he became an instant source of production during the 2019-20 season. In fact, Isaac looked like he could become one of the better two-way forwards in the league. He then missed two straight seasons due to an ACL injury and suffered a torn left adductor muscle near the end of last season.
At this moment, Isaac has been a participant in Magic training camp, yet there is no word on if he will be ready to go for the start of the regular season.
Nonetheless, this doesn't change his importance to Orlando. They have received little to no production from the power forward position through the years. With Isaac healthy, they could move Banchero to the small forward spot, giving them three big options to make the Magic a top-tier rebounding team. Even with Isaac coming off the bench in a sixth-man role, he could still impact winning from a defensive perspective.
As much as they need to improve offensively, defense is where the Magic will be able to find growth the quickest. They have the length and athleticism to be a top-10 defensive team in the league, which is why this will likely be a point of emphasis from Mosley and his coaching staff during the 2023-24 season. Isaac has always been a high-impact defender, which is why his availability is of the utmost importance to this team.
Success is on the horizon for Orlando. This front office has a ton of draft capital through the next few seasons and has continued to develop a young core with a lot of untapped potential. It will be very interesting to see if the Magic have enough firepower around Wagner and Banchero in order to become noticeable in the Eastern Conference.
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