Jeff Weltman Says Orlando Magic Were Close To Trade Deadline Deal

The Orlando Magic stood pat at the trade deadline for the second straight season, but that doesn't mean the front office didn't try to negotiate.

According to President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, the Magic were close to completing a deal.

"I try to always look at myself in the mirror, and I know that just as our players and our whole organization needs to get better every day, so do I," Weltman said in an interview with The Athletic.

"All I can say is we tried. We looked at ways of improving the roster, adding some depth heading into the playoffs, and we had to ask ourselves the question 'at what cost?'"

The organization has defended the importance of developing and sticking with players in the past, It has led to frustrations among the fan base and criticisms from the media regarding the inactivity by Weltman and the front office in the market.

"Where the conversations went, I thought they had a chance to get executed. We were kind of on the same page with teams," Weltman added. We were literally in discussions into the last hour of the deadline, and both of those teams elected to retain their players and sit tight. That's their perogative."

Despite falling short at the trade deadline, Weltman is confident in what the team needs to do moving forward.

"I feel we now have a better understanding of who we are and what we're trying to accomplish this summer, and I'm glad to have all of those assets in our back pocket," Weltman said. "So I hope we did the right thing."