The Orlando Magic did not have much room for upgrades this offseason, so they need their bench unit to support their starters as much as possible.
With the Miami Heat expected to add Klay Thompson after he clears waivers following a contract buyout from the Dallas Mavericks, it is another sign that teams across the Eastern Conference have gotten stronger not only in their starting units, but in their reserve-level players as well.
Throughout the season, especially during the playoffs, bench production can make or break a team. Unfortunately for the Orlando Magic, it has not been a strong suit. Last season did give way to the exponential improvement of Anthony Black, who starred in a sixth-man role where he was making consistent contributions while also taking over multiple games.
However, Black was mostly alone in that production off the bench during the 2025-26 campaign. Center Moritz Wagner did not suit up until January after recovering from an ACL tear, and he found himself with more Did-Not-Play designations than he did meaningful minutes.
Forward Jonathan Isaac was also often injured or very unproductive, and center Goga Bitadze was good in moments, but bad in others. Jevon Carter, the Magic’s pickup from the buyout market last season, also had his moments, but they were few and far between.
Moreover, Jase Richardson and Noah Penda showed potential in their rookie seasons, but both are still very young.
All told, Orlando’s bench was one of the weaker units in the NBA. During this offseason, other teams have given their bench an upgrade, and while the Magic did the same thing by adding Nikola Vucevic, the question still remains about whether or not theirs can stack up.
In a recent collaboration with my colleagues on the Heat Wave Podcast, I pointed to Orlando’s bench pieces and why I feel like they are not enough to push this team closer to a title:
"The Vucevic signing… That was a steal, because he could have commanded a little bit more on the market. I don't know if he's quite a mid-level exception player anymore, but to sign for the minimum, like, that shows that he wanted to come back, and that was good on their end because now they have a legitimate backup big that can space the floor; can go and get you a double-double on any given night, and that's a bench upgrade.
That was a key need for this group. But to answer your question, man, like, bringing back Jonathan Isaac isn't gonna push you closer to a championship. That was a bizarre move. Like, I don't understand what their affinity with this guy is, and he's, you know, and that's no offense to the person; I'm just speaking plainly here. Like, he's not a productive player, and he's always injured, and then Jevon Carter- you bring back a good locker room presence, but you bring back a six-foot, sub-200-pound guard who can't generate looks for his teammates.
He can't facilitate, and so you hope his 3-pointer drops, and if that's not dropping, you have an undersized guard who can't get into the paint, and he's easy to push around, so now what? You know, and maybe they're banking on another Anthony Black jump, getting ready for his extension, but we know from the injury history with this team you can't put it all on one guy.
So that's where they're at it again. This is not a team that's close. I mean, maybe they get into the second round under year-one Sean Sweeney, but like I said when I first hopped on here with you guys, things just got a lot harder in the East."
