The Orlando Magic’s goals were clear at the start of the season and the goals for this project are clear too.
The team spoke all offseason about its desire to win homecourt advantage and improve on last year’s trip to Game 7 in the first round. Ultimately the team’s goal is to win a championship.
In that prism, it is hard to view this season as anything but a disappointment. Orlando is struggling at 25-28 nearing the All-Star Break. They are eighth in the Eastern Conference and struggling to keep up in the race to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Injuries gutted the team and have kept them from reaching their full potential. But it is also clear the supporting cast has not performed well enough to maximize the stars on the roster.
The Magic needed a trade. They needed to acquire new players to start becoming the team that will one day compete for a championship. Standing pat at the trade deadline actively hurts these causes, even if there is a bigger piece to the puzzle that needs to wait for the offseason.
This team needs some relief.
But the Magic stood pat at the trade deadline. They did not make that move to begin addressing their key needs on offense or with their shooting. It may not have been completely in their control—the price for the players they wanted may have exceeded what they were willing to pay. The Magic have only seen their top three players together for 96 minutes and six games.
There is something to wanting to see this team at full health and trying to understand how good it can be and what it needs without seeing that. There is also something to not wanting to integrate new players into the roster at the same time they are integrating all three of their best players after extended injuries.
The Magic need an injection of new players, shooting and offense, but they still have that opportunity in the offseason.
But that only increases the pressure to execute those deals and make those difficult decisions this offseason. The Magic delayed the inevitable by standing pat. The team’s issues are obvious.
What is done is done. The Magic are moving forward with the team they have. It may not accomplish the goals the team hoped at the beginning of the season, but they can still make the Playoffs and find some success.
If the team is healthy, they are still capable of being the team everyone imagined. Orlando has been waiting for Jalen Suggs to return ever since he went out with the back strain in early January. He too now has missed a month.
But regardless of how this team finishes the season or where it finishes the season, the issues that had everyone anticipating this trade deadline and disappointed after it passed with no action remain.
Orlando must address its offensive shortcomings meaningfully before the start of next season. The goal for the rest of the season is to reclaim its defensive identity and its path up the standings. The Magic must maximize the rest of the season with the group they have.
The realization should be that wherever they finish is their ceiling and the team must act in the offseason.
