Orlando Magic
Key Acquisitions: G Cole Anthony, F James Ennis, G Michael Carter-Williams, G Dwayne Bacon, F Gary Clark
Key Departures: F Johnathan Isaac (Injury – Will miss entire 2020-21 season), G D.J. Augustin, F Wesley Iwundu
The only thing the Orlando Magic did in the offseason that will help their roster moving forward is drafting Cole Anthony 15th overall in the 2020 NBA Draft. With veteran guard D.J. Augustin departing for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Magic still trying to figure out what they have in Markelle Fultz, selecting Cole Anthony to be the point guard of the future was a fantastic move. Anthony fits that athletic, fast-tempo guard that Magic likes to have on their roster and is one of the quickest point guards in this year’s rookie class.
Other than Cole Anthony though, the Magic did absolutely nothing this offseason and will be without forward Johnathan Isaac for the entire 2020-21 NBA season after he tore his ACL on August 3rd in the NBA bubble. With all of the uncertainty of Aaron Gordon’s future on the Orlando Magic, this team could be stretched thin at power-forward if the team decides to move Gordon mid-season. Chuma Okeke is finally healthy and ready to make his rookie debut with the Magic, but they will likely take a very cautious approach with him.
Last season, the Magic finished with a 33-40 record and because of how bad the Eastern Conference was, they made the playoffs, only to lose in the first-round. Nikola Vucevic looks to be a fantastic player for the Magic and Evan Fournier is knocking down shots on the perimeter, but they do not have a “go-to” guy.
They are tied up in cap space, made no moves to free up any cap space for future years, and on-top of everything, are in no position to contend in the Eastern Conference. With a good amount of the teams who missed the playoffs in the East improving this offseason, the Magic absolutely have to make a move if they want to make the playoffs again this season.
The Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, New York Knicks and the Atlanta Hawks are all teams who got drastically better this offseason while the Magic did not change their roster whatsoever. Since the 2010-11 season, the Magic have had a winning record just once and will not have a winning record in the 2020-21 season, making them the biggest loser of the offseason.
