The 2024-25 season did not quite go according to plan for the Orlando Magic. They were not able to get into much of a rhythm on the season, dealing with various injuries to their three best players in Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs — with Suggs’ injury ending his season prematurely. In the end, the Magic fell to the seventh seed and lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round in five games.
The foundation is there for the Magic to be a contending team in the East for years to come. But it’s ever evident what their weakness is; they struggle to score the basketball, ranking 28th in offensive rating this past season, and it’s hard to win when you can’t quite put the ball through the hoop with the necessary efficiency.
It’s clear that the Magic must acquire some offensive reinforcements, particularly at either guard position, and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line pointed out a few names — including Atlanta Hawks star Trae Young — as potential targets this offseason.
“Will Orlando chase an All-Star talent like Atlanta’s Trae Young?” Fischer wrote. “The Magic have the means to go shopping for a number of veterans. Boston is most definitely listening on calls for Jrue Holiday, sources say. There in theory remains an opening for teams to broach Houston about sign-and-trades for Fred VanVleet… In short: Orlando has the stackable contracts to go out and make bids for various marquee targets.”
But Fischer noted that the most likely scenario for the Magic isn’t to pull off a blockbuster trade, but to open up the space necessary to sign someone like Nickeil Alexander-Walker to the full midlevel exception.
“The most realistic scenario could very well be Orlando opting for minor trades as well as declining various options to gain access to the full $14.1 million midlevel exception,” Fischer added.
Magic to create draft-night chaos?
The Magic are facing a roster crunch, as they already have 15 players on standard contracts heading into next season, provided that they pick up the team options on Gary Harris and the injured Moe Wagner. They will have to deal with an impending logjam very soon, and perhaps they could use those contracts, along with the first-round picks that they own this year, to strike a trade to improve the team.
“Like the Thunder, Orlando and Brooklyn have also been mentioned by rival executives as teams to monitor for potential trades up into the late lottery,” Fischer reported. “Orlando holds the Nos. 16 and 25 picks on June 25…”
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