No, the Orlando Magic never beat the Boston Celtics in the 7-game series this season. That would have been pretty much true, regardless of the health situations that both teams dealt with. Orlando, who was eliminated after a match-five loss in Boston on Tuesday night, has a contest cycle too early to tangle into the defending champion at the peak of his strength. Otherwise, it would have never been reasonable to expect.
That doesn’t justify a season spent simply refusing to address the rather obvious lack of scoring guards on this roster. Last year’s groundbreaking performance was still finished with the 22nd place ranking in the offense and the first round exit at the hands of Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Orlando is currently under immeasurable 13 seasons of bottom 10 attacks, including all eight he spent under current top basketball executive Jeff Weltman. We knew that magic would enter the season that they couldn’t score. Of course, injuries played a role in it, but they ranked 27th in the offense. The Magic made the playoffs and got worse off in offense than tanking teams like the Jazz, Pelicans and 76ers. That won’t happen. It did so because magic saw the desperate need for guards in their final offseason and decided that the three veterans of Kentavius Caldwell Pope would be enough. Obviously, he wasn’t.
This scoring guard didn’t have to be a superstar. The bar here isn’t particularly high, at least at this stage of Orlando’s development. I know that Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner use many of their possessions. It makes no sense to put them on the floor with a heliocentric All-Star like Trae Young. But here there is a central basis and a place that can be reached. Magic requires someone who can dribble and shoot. They need someone who can avoid being ranked 23rd in a 3-point attempt and 30th in a 30th percentage. Please show us who can penetrate the defense and do catch-and-shoot so that Banchelo and Wagner have a little more room to work together.
Ty Jerome will be from God for this group. He’s trying to become a free agent as the Cavaliers are becoming more expensive. Can he nick on a mid-level contract? Orlando needs to do some kind of work to afford it, but it’s viable. The decline in team options for Mo Wagner and Gary Harris will soon bring them back around the tax line. From there, there are plenty of money-saving options. Jet Howard isn’t playing and can easily trade in someone else’s space. If you’re adding security guards anyway, trade Cole Anthony.
Jerome becomes a valuable bridge option. The magic is still thinking about what they have here exactly. They may not be ready for an all-in offer with a bigger name. D’Angelo Russell measures some meaning for the same reason, but his playoff track record is clearly uneven. Magic can defensively protect one weak link. That defense doesn’t make much sense if they can’t score.
However, when you hear about high-end options, if they are available, the magic should go for them. Anfernee Simons, from Florida, is the name of a popular trading machine. He is probably the ideal middle ground between the stars and the bridge, someone who can overwhelm its finances or age with this group without any minority to the Banchelo or Wagner. He’s not a point guard. He is a scorer and someone who seriously needs the defensive support that magic can give him. He has been very close over the past two seasons, giving Orlando a situational alternative to the buncello.
Desmond Bane checks the same box. He is now 26 years old enough, but young enough to grow in this group. He’s at a maximum of 25%, but until 2029 he’s locked up in it and the cap will rise faster than his contract. A great shooter, a serviceable creator, not particularly advanced compared to his peer group. Is he going to be as available as Simons? Probably not, but nothing fell off the table after the first round passed the thunderous Grizzlies.
This is the more risky name: Bradley Beal. He clearly has a non-trade clause, but since he was a University of Florida graduate and he was on a better team, magic could make him abandon it. The obvious advantage here is that he could get to match his salary and there is probably nothing else. So what sounds more appealing is the shot creator who meets a proven need even in his current state, or the combination of Caldwell Pope coming out of a bad year, Anthony being swapped, Mo Wagner torn ACL and whether Gary Harris could possibly come out beyond his rotational age? Purely for next year’s roster, the answer is probably beer.
Last year was cute. This year, regardless of the injury, I was frustrated. The NBA’s competition window is whimsical. It’s easy to look at Banchero and Wagner and assume they’ll win together for 10 years. It rarely works that way. These two are ready to win now. Magic has Championship Caliber Defense. They have many mobile medium size contracts to allow all first round picks to be traded and aggregate for better people.
It’s time to take an important step. The Eastern Conference will never be this weaker after the first few seeds forever. Banchero and Wagner will soon hit Prime. The magic will have the opportunity to make real postseason noises next spring. If health allowed, the only thing standing among them was their dogmatic commitment to defense and great wings, using almost every roster building tool at their disposal. It’s time to diversify. The magic is covered in size and defense. The next step is to add an attack. They should have known that a year ago. They need to know that now.
