ORLANDO — Following the conclusion of Thursday’s NBA Trade deadline, Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman met with the media inside of the AdventHealth Training Center ahead of the team’s game against the Brooklyn Nets. 

The trade of Tyus Jones and two second round picks to the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday night to get under the luxury tax was the only move the Magic’s front office made. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania announced on Thursday that Jones had then been traded to the Dallas Mavericks. 

To open his press conference, Weltman was blunt in his displeasure with the state of the team. 

“I don't like the state of the team right now<” Weltman said. “You know, we're not playing well. I think it's been a little while that we haven't been playing well. I would imagine our fans are frustrated by the way they're playing and what we're playing, and I'm frustrated with them.  

So, you know, I remain optimistic about the rest of the season, and I think that it's on us to turn this thing around.” 

Weltman has served the Magic in his position since May 2017. In that time, he has not been known for groundbreaking moves at the deadline.  

Despite the results Weltman and the front office have produced; he disagrees with the sentiment that they are passive. 

“Yeah, that's not, that's just not ever the way that we approach it,” Weltman said. “We're aggressive 364 a year, and I think we're not afraid to make bold moves as I think last summer showed. But the answer to frustration isn't just to make a move just for the sake of making a move.” 

Weltman also made it clear that making a substantial move at the trade deadline would put the organization’s core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane at risk, given the way the group is constructed from a financial perspective. 

“I think one thing to understand is the way that our team is set up right now with contracts and timing.” he said. “For us to make a significant move means that we have to break into the core, our core guys. We're the fourth youngest team in the league still. For all the expectations that were placed on us and the hopes that we had this coming into the season, we're the fourth youngest team in the league.  

And for us to make a real move that's going to move the needle, it's going to mean breaking up our core.” 

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