As the Eastern Conference begins to retool, the Orlando Magic cannot sit on their hands.
As of Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, free agency in the NBA officially began, but multiple moves began happening well beforehand.
The headlining news of the day was the decision by LeBron James to part with the Los Angeles Lakers and enter free agency as he prepares to embark on his 24th season. A trade also happened between the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors that is reuniting Kawhi Leonard with Toronto, where he won his second championship in 2019.
Oh yeah, let us also keep in mind that Giannis Antetokounmpo will be donning a Miami Heat jersey next season, and the franchise followed up that blockbuster move with the re-signing of Andrew Wiggins to a new three-year, $64 million deal and the addition of Tim Hardaway Jr.
With these moves being made in the Eastern Conference, it begs the question about what the Orlando Magic’s front office is doing to bolster the roster in a landscape that just became more difficult in the early moments in the apex of the offseason. The answer? Not much.
It is important to remember that the Magic did not have the luxury of many options going into the offseason to begin with. They were a team deep in the first apron and were nearing the second apron. So far, Orlando’s moves have consisted of waiving Jonathan Isaac and exercising the team option on Jamal Cain.
Again, these money-saving, marginal moves were expected to some degree, and there is a belief by the organization in its core players, especially under new head coach Sean Sweeney, which also lends to some stagnation in its participation during this time. However, Orlando has to do something to improve, even if it is an incremental move, and it seems like President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman is resting on his laurels to some extent yet again.
One such glaring example has to do with Isaac. According to NBA Insiders Mark Stein and Jake Fischer, the Magic are "expected" to re-sign Isaac to a smaller salary. Orlando could have waived and stretched Isaac's remaining money and searched for an upgrade, and simply waiving him was a beneficial cost-cutting maneuver, but why bring him back?
Last season was one of the worst and most inconsistent of Isaac’s career, yet there is a chance the big man may return to the team that drafted him in 2017 despite an egregious lack of production and availability due to injuries. Additionally, the team is prepared to lose Moe Wagner in free agency, and it has not engaged in trade talks for Goga Bitadze, despite reported interest in him from other teams.
Before Antetokounmpo ended up with the Heat, I spoke on the Full Court Magic podcast about why I believed Weltman and the front office would not make a move for him, and the reason for it was a larger indictment of Weltman's overall executive philosophy.
I lamented Weltman’s propensity for being cautious and paralyzed by his idea that the team is good enough as currently constructed, and that a lack of health has been the main hindrance keeping the Magic from reaching their potential. It is a real possibility that, if other significant transactions play out in the East, the Magic's postseason aspirations will take a big hit.
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