Post-Mortem: 2021-22 Orlando Magic

[Upperclass]

Somehow the Magic have built a really nice team.. they just need a strong goto guard.. maybe Ivey in the draft

[Bornstellar]

Keep GM. Keep coach. As expected. Rising team. Way too early to say otherwise after year 1 of the rebuild.

[cupcakesnake]

My biggest question is what in the hell is going on with Jonathan Isaac. He's supposed to be their best player or best prospect. A true 5 position defender who can protect the rim at an elite level, and had the potential to become maybe okay offensively. But when was the last time someone missed 2 full seasons from an ACL tear (it's usually an 8-10 month injury) and anytime we get a report he's still a long ways away or "without a timetable". Add his Kyrie-lite personality to the mix, and I find myself wondering if Isaac will really exist as an NBA player.

The team exceeded my expectations. They're probably going to win 23 games. I looked at the youth and complete lack of shooting from all their most important players and saw a 17 win disaster. Their defense was just fine despite missing Isaac. Wagner was way better than anyone expected in year 1, and he and Cole Anthony increased this teams ability to shoot a little bit (even if Cole has fallen apart in the second half of the season). Somehow Mosley managed to get all the young guys big rotation minutes this year, which I think is a huge win. The Magic have a nice flock of young players with a variety of skill sets. They're going to have tremendous flexibility as they moving forward and hopefully they can build something special.

[dc]

Somehow the Magic have built a really nice team.. they just need a strong goto guard.. maybe Ivey in the draft

Aren't they a team already loaded with guards?

[djsunyc]

i think fultz needs to be starting and one of cole/suggs move to the bench. fultz is lifting the play of everyone. cole sometimes makes big shots but alot of his play is w/o any purpose. suggs can't shoot - he needs to work on that nonstop this summer.

[Michael Jackson]

My biggest question is what in the hell is going on with Jonathan Isaac. He's supposed to be their best player or best prospect. A true 5 position defender who can protect the rim at an elite level, and had the potential to become maybe okay offensively. But when was the last time someone missed 2 full seasons from an ACL tear (it's usually an 8-10 month injury) and anytime we get a report he's still a long ways away or "without a timetable". Add his Kyrie-lite personality to the mix, and I find myself wondering if Isaac will really exist as an NBA player.

The team exceeded my expectations. They're probably going to win 23 games. I looked at the youth and complete lack of shooting from all their most important players and saw a 17 win disaster. Their defense was just fine despite missing Isaac. Wagner was way better than anyone expected in year 1, and he and Cole Anthony increased this teams ability to shoot a little bit (even if Cole has fallen apart in the second half of the season). Somehow Mosley managed to get all the young guys big rotation minutes this year, which I think is a huge win. The Magic have a nice flock of young players with a variety of skill sets. They're going to have tremendous flexibility as they moving forward and hopefully they can build something special.

Living through the D Rose fiasco in Chicago... the Isaac issue is concerning.

[thelead]

The Fultz minutes restriction and Isaac rehab is all about giving them extra time to work on their bodies, giving reps to the even younger guys, and to lose enough to get another top 5 pick. I'm not worried about Isaac as a Magic fan.

[PlatinumState]

Orlandos in a good place if they draft a future star that develops quick this summer
I think Banchero would be pefect at the 3
I dont know what to do about Bamba though. What kind of extension will he want? Is he their center going forward?

[aminiaturebuddha]

As others have mentioned, Isaac is a huge question mark. It's really a shame, because he looked like he was quickly becoming one of the absolute best defensive players in the league. He was never a playmaker, so his lack of passing was always going to be a drawback for any offensive system, but his jumper was becoming quite consistent, so as a 3rd option he wouldn't have been bad.

That kind of player - elite defender, solid scorer off the creation of others - can be a very useful player. We'll have to see how much of his defensive ability has been sapped now because of injuries. Because a forward combo of Isaac and Franz is quite enticing on both ends of the court.

Aside from Isaac, I think they've actually got a decent collection of young talent (Franz, Suggs, Carter, Bamba, Anthony, etc.). It doesn't quite all work yet, but they should be patient and see who plays well together, figure out a true philosophy and system, and then shape the roster from there. I'd say thing are looking up, but it will probably still take a few years to get there.

[Ruma85]

I think if they do well in the draft & free agency they can a good change to fight for the play-in