Weltman reveals the Magic's strategic search for a buyout candidate, prioritizing impact over mere transaction as playoff push intensifies.
The Orlando Magic’s disappointing start to the season prompted a roster move at the NBA trade deadline, as guard Tyus Jones was dealt in an effort to drop below the luxury tax.
Following a strong win over the Brooklyn Nets, Orlando sits at 26–24, well below preseason projections. By moving Jones and two second-round picks, the Magic opened a roster spot while gaining financial flexibility.
Following the conclusion of the trade deadline, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman indicated the team could explore the buyout market. Where he potentially hinted at adding a veteran to bolster its midseason push as the playoff race tightens.
"Well, again this a lot feeds into what our roster looks like and picking guys up so that you just say you did something or like is there a guy that's going to make a difference,” Weltman said. And also even in looking at trade situation you have to look at do they have money next year in their contract? What are they looking what is the player looking for? There are some players that got traded and you can say like why wouldn't the Magic go after those guys? Well maybe we don't have a contract that matches up. Maybe they have money next year. Maybe they have expectations about what they're looking for.”
“So I see a couple of names but like we have our back court with Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. So is that guy going to play in front of those guys? And this is again our core. So I don't know. We've been spending a lot of time on that this morning even talking about potential buyout guys and whatnot. We will look to add somebody to replace Tyus shortly and after that we'll kind of see how that stuff shakes out."
The Magic have reached a point in the season where they are scouring the market for veteran, proven winners, though options that fit those criteria are limited for a midseason addition.
"Well I would say hopefully for us probably a veteran but I would also say those guys generally aren't going to move the needle a lot,” Weltman added. “And I don't want to do it just for the sake of doing it. Right now get our guys back healthy get on the floor. Our roster is fairly well balanced. It's complete. If I say we're going to bring in a 32-year-old guy who's a great open three-point shooter but how do we get him on the court so like what does that do? So I don't know. We'll kind of go through the process of seeing the next few days who shakes out. There could be some surprises or talk to agents who are saying hey listen, they've said they'll buy him out if you guys are interested and that sort of stuff. We might just keep our powder dry for a bit. I don't know. I wouldn't look at that minimum guy who's going to be on the buyout market at this stage as a needle mover."