Anyone else just massively depressed with the state of this team?

[thelead]

I visit the board at least once a day and just can't get excited about the draft nor the coaching search. Is it just me?

I can't even contribute much because of my animosity towards this franchise.

[RookieStar]

??? Being aa Magic fan has its up and downs... more downs that ups probably but this is one of those times where its pretty exciting to be one

[KillMonger]

For me personally not really, these things tend to be cyclical....i would be fair weather if i considered anything else....i'm here no matter good or bad, it'll make things that much sweeter when we turn things around

[MartinsIzAfraud]

Sucks having a ton of meh role players but having 2 top 8 picks is a chance for us to hit on one of those.

I think once we hire a HC and see what these picks are it’ll somewhat open the path of excitement up.

We’re going to be young, bad, but hopefully we see improvements as the year goes on.

[Kent]

There's nothing wrong if you're not feeling it.

Don't force it either.

Let it be and when you feel the excitement again, the board and the team will be here.

[thelead]

For me, it boils down to the prospects available at 5+8 and the injuries to players that still have so much to prove. There just is very little light at the end of the tunnel IMO.

[Rainwater]

After years of non movement, I am excited about this new direction/creating a new team. Hopefully finding the next superstar.

[SOUL]

Not at all. Will be interesting to see how players turn out. We have a lot of interesting prospects on the team. Will be fun to see the young group last year + Isaac + our rookie(s) from this year.

[Knightro]

I visit the board at least once a day and just can't get excited about the draft nor the coaching search. Is it just me?

I can't even contribute much because of my animosity towards this franchise.

Compared to where they were 6 months ago? Absolutely not.

They are miles more interesting both short and long-term than they were at any point the last 3 years.

More interesting doesn't necessarily mean better, but the same old, same old was getting.... old.

[The Effect]

Nah im good

Excited about Cole, RJ and Okeke. If Fultz returns 100%, thats a big positive, if not, thats nice cap space.
If isaac ever plays more than 41 games, thats good

Plus we get 2 chances in the top 10 to find our superstar

NOW........say we hire some proven-loser retread coach and then waste our draft picks on scottie barnes and Usman Garuba or some other defensive bust with offensive game............Then ill be depressed

[SOUL]

Honestly, I just gave up with winning being the ultimate factor in my interest of this team. In terms of like, if they have a bad/rebuilding team, my "joy" with it comes from improvement with the players and seeing where that goes. Once we actually become competitive again, then winning will give me joy + improvement.

Bucks fans seemed absolutely miserable half the time I go to their forum, yet they're in the NBA finals and were over the moon when they beat the Hawks.. so it's not like having a team that is a lock for ECF the last few years is some holy grail of fandom, we even knew that in our Dwight years.

I wanted a higher pick but 5 + 8 are interesting to me in that it can be packaged or we can find people there. It's always nice to get the #1 pick, but every fanbase obviously wants that.

The only thing that sucks is injuries. Seeing Fultz and Isaac go down sucked because you know they're such hard workers.

[thelead]

I visit the board at least once a day and just can't get excited about the draft nor the coaching search. Is it just me?

I can't even contribute much because of my animosity towards this franchise.

Compared to where they were 6 months ago? Absolutely not.

They are miles more interesting both short and long-term than they were at any point the last 3 years.

More interesting doesn't necessarily mean better, but the same old, same old was getting.... old.

Well, yeah I'll take where we are today vs where we were 6 months ago for sure.

[Rainwater]

For me personally not really, these things tend to be cyclical....i would be fair weather if i considered anything else....i'm here no matter good or bad, it'll make things that much sweeter when we turn things around

I think that is what people tend to forget, these things tend to be cyclical. You going to go through periods of famine and feet.

[SOUL]

I think that is what people tend to forget, these things tend to be cyclical. You going to go through periods of famine and feet.

[thelead]

Nah im good

Excited about Cole, RJ and Okeke. If Fultz returns 100%, thats a big positive, if not, thats nice cap space.
If isaac ever plays more than 41 games, thats good

Plus we get 2 chances in the top 10 to find our superstar

NOW........say we hire some proven-loser retread coach and then waste our draft picks on scottie barnes and Usman Garuba or some other defensive bust with offensive game............Then ill be depressed

So many 'ifs' in your analysis and that's why I'm apathetic. If this guy recovers and improves, if that guy actually develops a shot, if we don't draft another offensively inept prospect (which is what we're projected to be drafting in Kuminga or Barnes)...

I truly want Isaac to just stay healthy, and I truly want Fultz to prove to be the guy that I though he would be coming out of college but there is very little evidence either will happen. But I stick along for the ride because I'm a masochist I guess.

[Bensational]

For me, it boils down to the prospects available at 5+8 and the injuries to players that still have so much to prove. There just is very little light at the end of the tunnel IMO.

I know where you’re coming from, but at this present moment I still see so many variables which could swing our way. No idea who’s going be be available with our picks and how they’ll turn out. Though I do have my preferred picks in mind already so it’ll be hard for me to be excited if we draft prospects that aren’t the kind of guys I want to watch play.

Like I was saying to Pepe in another post - I think it’s perfectly acceptable to question where to invest your energy. I’ve been a fan of the team for nearly 30 years, so I’ve got a lot of history which keeps me tied to following the team. That said, in 30 years I’ve become an adult who knows that sometimes remaining in relationships which are toxic for you just isn’t a good move. Sometimes life sends us hardships which we need to slog through for our own benefit, but other times the pride of being regarded as someone who sticks around in the face of abuse/disrespect/conflicting values can be misplaced.

In the end it’s all about you and what makes you happy. As long as that doesn’t come at the expense of others, I say go for it.

This team will be interesting to watch next season in the very least for the wildcard element. Who’s gonna step up now that the handicaps have been removed? We have a lot of new faces and will see new faces even on those who have been on the team for a while now, because it’s a new opportunity for everyone.

[j-ragg]

That’s how I felt last summer.

Might feel that way again after we take Kuminga & Barnes with our top 10 picks.

[Rainwater]

I think that is what people tend to forget, these things tend to be cyclical. You going to go through periods of famine and feet.

Damn, auto correct strikes again. Feast****

[tiderulz]

I am actually the opposite. rather than just seeing them recycle, repeat the same stuff year after year, im excited to see who we draft, who is the new coach and how we move from there

[Xatticus]

Nah im good

Excited about Cole, RJ and Okeke. If Fultz returns 100%, thats a big positive, if not, thats nice cap space.
If isaac ever plays more than 41 games, thats good

Plus we get 2 chances in the top 10 to find our superstar

NOW........say we hire some proven-loser retread coach and then waste our draft picks on scottie barnes and Usman Garuba or some other defensive bust with offensive game............Then ill be depressed

So many 'ifs' in your analysis and that's why I'm apathetic. If this guy recovers and improves, if that guy actually develops a shot, if we don't draft another offensively inept prospect (which is what we're projected to be drafting in Kuminga or Barnes)...

I truly want Isaac to just stay healthy, and I truly want Fultz to prove to be the guy that I though he would be coming out of college but there is very little evidence either will happen. But I stick along for the ride because I'm a masochist I guess.

I'm optimistic for the first time in a long time. I thought the situation was rather hopeless before the trade deadline. Dumping our core and moving on from Clifford has thoroughly reinvigorated my interest. I honestly like Weltman. I enjoy listening to his press conferences. I was just really concerned that he didn't have the conviction to actually do anything of substance, but the last four months have bought a lot of time from me.

I have my concerns. I don't like our guard rotation at all aside from Hampton. The Fultz extension was a bad move. Anthony was an uninspiring selection. I hope we don't hitch our wagon to these guys. I hope we don't draft more low-IQ bodies and hope one of them learns to play basketball. I really don't want to see us draft an 'alpha' that sees our rebuild as his opportunity to hoist up shots en route to a Wiggins contract. I'm just not going to get overly pessimistic until there is cause to do so. If we come out of the draft with Kuminga and Bouknight... I'm not fretting about that until it actually happens.

But to answer your original question... No. I'm not pessimistic at all right now. If they botch this rebuild by drafting the wrong guys, the ceiling will cave in and we will get a new front office. Pretty much anything was preferable to me versus where we were five months ago, so I'm not losing sight of that. I'm just crossing my fingers that we come out of draft night with some prospects that I'll be interested in watching develop.