The Orlando Magic may not have made the playoffs in the Eastern Conference at the conclusion of the 2022-23 NBA season, but they have to be encouraged by the direction they are heading in.
After starting the season 5-20, the team finished strong and started to gel. Orlando finished the season going 29-28, a massive improvement from how they got out of the gates. The roster is overflowing with high-upside young players as this rebuild looks to be off to a great start.
The Magic will have the opportunity to add another impact piece to their current core as they landed the No. 6 in the 2023 NBA Draft. Whoever has their name called will join an impressive group that includes reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter and Cole Anthony.
That is a strong quartet on its own, but there are other solid players already in place. Markelle Fultz, Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac all can be parts of a successful rotation. Or, they can be the foundation of a blockbuster trade leading up to the draft.
If ownership is looking to speed this rebuild up, the Magic could look to jump into the fray for one of the superstars who could become available on a trade this offseason. Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report has that happening in his recent mock draft, having Orlando make a blockbuster trade with the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Magic would send Fultz, Suggs and Isaac along with the Nos. 6 and 11 picks in the 2023 NBA Draft and a 2025 first-round pick that is top-three protected to the greater Northwest in exchange for star point guard, Damian Lillard. Rebuilding is something that Portland has pushed back against but they would lean into it with this deal.
The Trail Blazers would end up with three lottery picks to pair with Anfernee Simons and the new players coming over from Orlando. The Magic would be a trendy playoff pick with Lillard now leading the offense surrounded by excellent young players who have already established themselves in the NBA.
The Magic aren’t projected to have cap space this offseason, so this kind of splash would be the only way they can make an immediate upgrade to the roster. After playing above .500 the last two-thirds of the season, the team’s brain trust may be willing to take a risk to push up the standings in what has ended up being a wide-open Eastern Conference.
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