Official 2025 Offseason Thread

[cedric76]

Great interview by Jett, looking forward to seeing what they do this summer

[Magic_Johnny12]

I'm pretty sure Weltman said we need players who can play defense in the playoffs. Cole and Goga proved they couldn't.

Goga, Cole, and the 16th pick for Cam Johnson. Draft Clayton or Wolf with the 25th pick.

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Orlando can’t really afford to make one single move without addressing their guard problem. I’m a Johnson fan, but Cole’s expiring and Goga need to be used more effectively and in combination for a starting guard.

Orlando doesn’t have a lot of big *positive tangible contracts to move.


Either WCJ or Goga (likely Goga)

Anthony - neutral value/expiring filler

Pope - Negative value

JI - Negative value

Goga might be the only positive bigger contract Orlando has to move outside of big 3 (which is comical and sad).

[three3d]

I’m convinced that P5 and Franz pairing doesn’t work. Ball movement starts to work wonders if one of them is on the bench and one of them is tasked to lead shooters.

That’s why I’m ok with trading P5 for Trae (this will fix our stagnant offense and also our 3 point shooting). I’ll also move on from our coach (Malone and Jenkins are available). The time for contention should be near. Enough of the “development” year. We must follow Pistons / Pacers and actually make winning moves.

Except that isn’t a winning move.

IF and BIG IF you want to trade Franz Portland is interesting with Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons. Avdija’s advanced stats suggest he’s way more efficient of a scorer and on lower volume than Franz and Paolo. But the real kicker with Avdija is his contract is his one of the biggest bargains in the league. Simons has been debated to nausea. We all know what he brings and what he doesn’t bring, but he’s an immediate offensive upgrade..

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Moving Defense to Offense here's a simple trade that makes some sense, also posted in trade thread but moving here.

Orlando Trades - Jon Isaac + Cole + 25 magic 1st
Portland Trades- Anfernee Simons

Magic hand Simons a deal like Cole's immediately and make the cap work in the background.

[Magic_Johnny12]

Ehh, it’s good to hear this from Weltman but this echoes desperation than actually something of substance that has been the plan all along.

Let me remind everyone Weltman only has one full season left on his contract and we have seen this same story one too many times in this league and would proceed with caution.

GM makes panic move to try to keep his job and still is inevitably let go after putting their franchise in even worst shape.

I genuinely hope this isn’t the case, but Orlando is going from one of the least expensive teams in the league to top-5 most expensive factoring in Paolos max. Our flexibility is gone and the time to execute was BEFORE Franz/Paolos got their well deserved maxes.

We’re seeing it with San Antonio, you build while your star player is on his rookie scale. Any real GM poster could have told you this.

The issue is him just now realizing we have TWO actual building blocks, this was an obvious observation from the very beginning and he was way too risk adverse to react sooner.

Again, happy that we’re finally deciding to turn the page but I’m a little concerned of the timing of it all but pressure makes diamonds so we’ll finally get to see what Weltman actually gets paid to do.

It will be interesting to see if he gets extended this summer... I'd imagine that comes here quickly.

Waiting till last minute and wasting time on Fultz/Cole was absolutely moronic. After 1.5 years of each with this current roster you knew they weren't anything special and could be replaced easily. Ok you re-sign Cole but after that 1st year where he took a massive dip you move him for another comparable player/piece. There's no way a tanking team or lower-level team wouldn't have been interested in a veteran like Cole for vet who was stuck in a bad spot.

I'm just about ready to change my signature to "Sexton or White or Simons or bigger move please"

Austin Reaves should be Orlando’s #1 target this offseason (outside of an established all-star guard).

The Lakers need defense and a big man, Orlando has both.

Orlando needs a guard that isn’t paid like a superstar and has potential to be more, Lakers have one.

A trade centered around Goga/KCP/pick(s) for Reaves makes a lot of sense for both teams.

[three3d]

Moving Defense to Offense here's a simple trade that makes some sense, also posted in trade thread but moving here.

Orlando Trades - Jon Isaac + Cole + 25 magic 1st
Portland Trades- Anfernee Simons

Magic hand Simons a deal like Cole's immediately and make the cap work in the background.

I wonder if Portland would be interested in WCJ as a back up to Clingan or as a PF for them. They also have Ayton who has a massive contract, but I believe he’s on his last year of his contract.

[eyriq]

Moving Defense to Offense here's a simple trade that makes some sense, also posted in trade thread but moving here.

Orlando Trades - Jon Isaac + Cole + 25 magic 1st
Portland Trades- Anfernee Simons

Magic hand Simons a deal like Cole's immediately and make the cap work in the background.

Love it

[pepe1991]

He boxed team into a corner.

And whole idea of " can't play 1 bad defender in playoffs" is so 1991 way of thinking that it's hilarious to even entertain it.

Problem: now when he wants to make moves, other teams know it and will use that as leverage.

Also for guy who didn't make a trade for 4 years, now he has to make several? Guy who doesn't even make calls...

btw whole " 8 future picks" it's 8 own picks in first round. Even Suns swap isn't pick right but ability to swap pick with worst of Wizards/Suns, if that pick is better than our.

[bigdogdylan5]

I think the most telling thing in his interview was the deadline point about only looking at expiring contracts. This is reading between the lines but I think the days of going into the tax are long gone with the new Devos owners.

[three3d]

https://behindthecoaching.substack.com/p/head-coach-candidates-for-the-2025

“Terry Stotts (GSW) - Lead assistant of the Warriors and former head coach of the Hawks, Bucks, and Trail Blazers who would implement an elite offensive system immediately.“


The entire team PLUS Mosley would benefit hugely by adding Stotts to the best as the lead assistant. To be honest, it’s a move that if it doesn’t work out with Mosley, you’ve got your next coach in place. So it could be a motivating factor for everyone.

[eyriq]

There is something to be said about having 2.5 max guys while having one of the worst offenses in the league with those two guys leading your team.

It basically means Weltman failed in 4 seasons to acquire a supporting cast of players that makes sense next to them.

Any idiot could have told you Isaac, Cole, KCP, and Carter were not the guys to pay to “round out” the roster. Paolo and Franz need shooting and back court playmaking. None of those players provide that.

Weltman just wanted to pay them instead of making decisions because they were here first, or weren’t being bid on by others (KCP).

This is premature.

No.

You just can’t handle the idea that GMs need to be working all the time to optimize rosters on the fringes. You think there is some concrete made up timeframe when GMs need to be working.

You don’t just randomly arrive at a second apron team with the worst supporting cast in the league with a bottom 3 offense.

I’d call you an idiot but I don’t think that’s necessarily true because you have formed intelligent arguments before. I think you are just naive.

You're reacting to a scenario that simply doesn't exist. The Magic are not locked into a second apron team, and pretending otherwise to justify an exaggerated narrative doesn’t make it any more real.

Of course GMs should be constantly looking to improve the roster, but that doesn't mean inventing pressure where it doesn't exist. There's a difference between being proactive and being reactive to a fictional construct.

We didn’t just “arrive” at this state through negligence, it’s part of a deliberate, disciplined approach. You can disagree with the strategy, but at least critique the reality of it, not a version that ignores the actual financial and roster context.

[89Magicfan]

I’m convinced that P5 and Franz pairing doesn’t work. Ball movement starts to work wonders if one of them is on the bench and one of them is tasked to lead shooters.

That’s why I’m ok with trading P5 for Trae (this will fix our stagnant offense and also our 3 point shooting). I’ll also move on from our coach (Malone and Jenkins are available). The time for contention should be near. Enough of the “development” year. We must follow Pistons / Pacers and actually make winning moves.

Except that isn’t a winning move.

IF and BIG IF you want to trade Franz Portland is interesting with Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons. Avdija’s advanced stats suggest he’s way more efficient of a scorer and on lower volume than Franz and Paolo. But the real kicker with Avdija is his contract is his one of the biggest bargains in the league. Simons has been debated to nausea. We all know what he brings and what he doesn’t bring, but he’s an immediate offensive upgrade..

You’ve beaten this horse in its afterlife.

Answer for me is still no.

My fault I see you talked about Franz and not Paolo.

I don’t think that I’d do it because Paolo/Franz are very supportive of one another and Franz is a legit 2 way player.

Best direction long term to go is to build around those 2.

[three3d]

Except that isn’t a winning move.

IF and BIG IF you want to trade Franz Portland is interesting with Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons. Avdija’s advanced stats suggest he’s way more efficient of a scorer and on lower volume than Franz and Paolo. But the real kicker with Avdija is his contract is his one of the biggest bargains in the league. Simons has been debated to nausea. We all know what he brings and what he doesn’t bring, but he’s an immediate offensive upgrade..

You’ve beaten this horse in its afterlife.

Answer for me is still no.

Lol that I have. It’s only my opinion that it immediately upgrades are starting lineup with two new pieces and relieves a lot of salary cap to go get another big name.

[Idiosyncratic]

I can't be the only one terrified that Weltman is going to make moves, but the wrong ones in an effort to try and earn an extension and ultimately lower our ultimate upside.

They need moves, but there is definitely a wrong way to go about it.

[three3d]

I can't be the only one terrified that Weltman is going to make moves, but the wrong ones in an effort to try and earn an extension and ultimately lower our ultimate upside.

They need moves, but there is definitely a wrong way to go about it.

The easiest single biggest move to fix the problem without trading players is to upgrade the coaching staff. They have to get an offensive minded proven coach in there to implement a system from the ground up.
I don’t even know if they should be moving players until they have an offensive idea and that’s gonna come with a new coach not a head coach but assistant coaches they don’t look like they belong in middle school themselves

[pepe1991]

This is premature.

No.

You just can’t handle the idea that GMs need to be working all the time to optimize rosters on the fringes. You think there is some concrete made up timeframe when GMs need to be working.

You don’t just randomly arrive at a second apron team with the worst supporting cast in the league with a bottom 3 offense.

I’d call you an idiot but I don’t think that’s necessarily true because you have formed intelligent arguments before. I think you are just naive.

You're reacting to a scenario that simply doesn't exist. The Magic are not locked into a second apron team, and pretending otherwise to justify an exaggerated narrative doesn’t make it any more real.

Of course GMs should be constantly looking to improve the roster, but that doesn't mean inventing pressure where it doesn't exist. There's a difference between being proactive and being reactive to a fictional construct.

We didn’t just “arrive” at this state through negligence, it’s part of a deliberate, disciplined approach. You can disagree with the strategy, but at least critique the reality of it, not a version that ignores the actual financial and roster context.

Hold your horses.

Your approach stopped being logical after aprons.

It's way easier to add actual talent when your young, upcomming stars are on rookie contracts, because it gives you flexibility- case and point Rockets and OKC exist to prove you wrong.

Waiting for 4-5 years to start building something makes no sense, because max contracts of rookie scale players simply limits your flexibility.

Magic are 1st apron team next year. Period. Without Banchero's exstension.
Franz injury was actually blessing because it prevented him from activating Derrick Rose rule, if that happened, him and Paolo would be making near $100M a year alone in 2026-27.


Also Magic really don't have much talent on roster aside from Paolo, Franz and Suggs. All other guys are bench players or fringe starters on other playoff teams.

All this "too young to " talk is complete waste of time. Anthony Edwards exists to prove this wrong. Wolves pushed all their chips when he was 21. Age is just excuse for do nothing.

There is no excuse what Weltman did with Isaac, G. Harris and Carter. Just washed near $50M down toilet ( a year) on 3 bench players. One just has to start because we have 4 backup Cs.

Every single talking head in nba, every single smart person, every single podcaster out there is asking post Celtics same question: how da **** can Magic have so bad guards?

Needless to say that we wasted 5 years on Fultz.

[VFX]

This is premature.

No.

You just can’t handle the idea that GMs need to be working all the time to optimize rosters on the fringes. You think there is some concrete made up timeframe when GMs need to be working.

You don’t just randomly arrive at a second apron team with the worst supporting cast in the league with a bottom 3 offense.

I’d call you an idiot but I don’t think that’s necessarily true because you have formed intelligent arguments before. I think you are just naive.

You're reacting to a scenario that simply doesn't exist. The Magic are not locked into a second apron team, and pretending otherwise to justify an exaggerated narrative doesn’t make it any more real.

Of course GMs should be constantly looking to improve the roster, but that doesn't mean inventing pressure where it doesn't exist. There's a difference between being proactive and being reactive to a fictional construct.

We didn’t just “arrive” at this state through negligence, it’s part of a deliberate, disciplined approach. You can disagree with the strategy, but at least critique the reality of it, not a version that ignores the actual financial and roster context.

I’ve already laid this out…

When Paolo is paid this team is in the second apron if no changes are made and 2-3 players are not moved. Some combination of Isaac, Goga, declining Gary, or Cole are gone. There is no justification for a 41-41 team to go into next season potentially looking at 2nd apron.

Who builds a roster out of players you cannot keep and have LOWER value than they had prior to giving them their deal? Someone that has cornered themselves into a bad situation.

It’s not fabricating a random scenario. It’s looking at contracts , cap space, and finding ways to improve the team. You don’t like reality. You don’t like that the FO has an issue now outside of owning its own picks.

[89Magicfan]

IF and BIG IF you want to trade Franz Portland is interesting with Deni Avdija and Anfernee Simons. Avdija’s advanced stats suggest he’s way more efficient of a scorer and on lower volume than Franz and Paolo. But the real kicker with Avdija is his contract is his one of the biggest bargains in the league. Simons has been debated to nausea. We all know what he brings and what he doesn’t bring, but he’s an immediate offensive upgrade..

You’ve beaten this horse in its afterlife.

Answer for me is still no.

Lol that I have. It’s only my opinion that it immediately upgrades are starting lineup with two new pieces and relieves a lot of salary cap to go get another big name.

I thought it was Paolo lol.

I think to trade Franz you better be getting something a lot more than just efficiency. Him and Paolo are very supportive of one another. No egos just wanting to win and Franz is quite the 2 way player.

Best direction long term is to properly build around them and if Wepark can’t, find someone who can.

I like many here don’t trust that WePark can. They just now are saying what we’ve all been saying for last 2 years.

[three3d]

You’ve beaten this horse in its afterlife.

Answer for me is still no.

Lol that I have. It’s only my opinion that it immediately upgrades are starting lineup with two new pieces and relieves a lot of salary cap to go get another big name.

I thought it was Paolo lol.

I think to trade Franz you better be getting something a lot more than just efficiency. Him and Paolo are very supportive of one another. No egos just wanting to win and Franz is quite the 2 way player.

Best direction long term is to properly build around them and if Wepark can’t, find someone who can.

I like many here don’t trust that WePark can. They just now are saying what we’ve all been saying for last 2 years.

It was Paolo, that was at the time Paolo was out injured and Franz was carrying the team on his back and playing so great. And then Paolo came back and it just doesn’t click right with those two. Franz is way better at finishing around the room and he’s got a nice Dirk step back, Paolo while not great at it has a better pull up and three point shot game.

[eyriq]

No.

You just can’t handle the idea that GMs need to be working all the time to optimize rosters on the fringes. You think there is some concrete made up timeframe when GMs need to be working.

You don’t just randomly arrive at a second apron team with the worst supporting cast in the league with a bottom 3 offense.

I’d call you an idiot but I don’t think that’s necessarily true because you have formed intelligent arguments before. I think you are just naive.

You're reacting to a scenario that simply doesn't exist. The Magic are not locked into a second apron team, and pretending otherwise to justify an exaggerated narrative doesn’t make it any more real.

Of course GMs should be constantly looking to improve the roster, but that doesn't mean inventing pressure where it doesn't exist. There's a difference between being proactive and being reactive to a fictional construct.

We didn’t just “arrive” at this state through negligence, it’s part of a deliberate, disciplined approach. You can disagree with the strategy, but at least critique the reality of it, not a version that ignores the actual financial and roster context.

Hold your horses.

Your approach stopped being logical after aprons.

It's way easier to add actual talent when your young, upcomming stars are on rookie contracts, because it gives you flexibility- case and point Rockets and OKC exist to prove you wrong.

Waiting for 4-5 years to start building something makes no sense, because max contracts of rookie scale players simply limits your flexibility.

Magic are 1st apron team next year. Period. Without Banchero's exstension.
Franz injury was actually blessing because it prevented him from activating Derrick Rose rule, if that happened, him and Paolo would be making near $100M a year alone in 2026-27.


Also Magic really don't have much talent on roster aside from Paolo, Franz and Suggs. All other guys are bench players or fringe starters on other playoff teams.

All this "too young to " talk is complete waste of time. Anthony Edwards exists to prove this wrong. Wolves pushed all their chips when he was 21. Age is just excuse for do nothing.

There is no excuse what Weltman did with Isaac, G. Harris and Carter. Just washed near $50M down toilet ( a year) on 3 bench players. One just has to start because we have 4 backup Cs.

Every single talking head in nba, every single smart person, every single podcaster out there is asking post Celtics same question: how da **** can Magic have so bad guards?

Needless to say that we wasted 5 years on Fultz.

You're acting like adding talent means blowing up the cap, but WCJ, JI, Cole, etc are already locked in through 2026–27, upgrades will come by swapping within those slots, not stacking new money. That’s not cap mismanagement; it’s strategic flexibility under the new CBA. Weltman is playing the long game in a new trade-driven landscape, and most just haven’t caught up yet