In this episode of The NBA Podcast, Morten Jensen and Bryan Toporek take a mulligan on the 2014 NBA draft class. Who goes No. 1 overall, Nikola Jokic or Joel Embiid? Where do the likes of Zach LaVine, Aaron Gordon and Marcus Smart wind up? How far does Andrew Wiggins fall? Which real-life second-round picks…
Just over a year ago, the Philadelphia 76ers gave up on former No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz by trading him to the Orlando Magic for pennies on the dollar. Direly in need of a floor general who fit its timeline, Orlando bought in on a player that most people had written off despite being only…
The Orlando Magic were incredibly lucky in terms of health last season. Their top six rotation players—Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic, D.J. Augustin, Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross—combined to miss only 16 games. They rode that good fortune to a 42-40 record and their first playoff berth in seven seasons. They’ve been far less…
Ten games is a small sample size. It’s a little early to be hitting a panic button. Unfortunately, it might be apt in the case of the Orlando Magic. Through ten games, the Magic are nearing record incompetence in terms of scoring. It took them until game eight of the year to top the century…
Fresh off their most successful season since the Dwight Howard era—albeit a 42-40 record, 7th-place finish and five-game first-round ouster—the Orlando Magic are largely running back the same group. They re-signed All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross and signed forward Al-Farouq Aminu in free agency, but they otherwise valued continuity after their first playoff…
The 2019-20 NBA season is just around the corner. After an offseason chock-full of player movement, the title race appears as wide-open as it has been in years. Over the coming weeks, we will examine one big question hanging over each team heading into the season. We’ll continue today with the Southeast Division, where two…
While a number of playoff teams underwent seismic changes this offseason, the Orlando Magic largely opted for continuity instead. Fresh off a career-best season, center Nikola Vucevic re-signed on a four-year, $100 million deal that descends in value each season. The Magic also re-signed backup center Khem Birch to a two-year, $6 million deal and…
Normally when an NBA superstar falls from public grace, it’s due to something out of his control. His play slips as he ages, or his body breaks down after thousands of wild forays to the basket. Or a younger player at his position reinvents what we accept as possible and said superstar loses relevancy. (Hello…
Ever since trading away Dwight Howard in August 2012, the Orlando Magic have been stuck in rebuilding purgatory. A series of boneheaded free-agent signings and trades rendered them too good to tank but not good enough for the playoffs, leaving them mired in the NBA’s worst kind of no-man’s land. Oddly enough, Los Angeles Lakers…
On the surface, the Orlando Magic do not have a ball handler other teams fear in the pick-and-roll. Elfrid Payton is long gone, and the Magic haven’t had an All-Star guard on their roster since Jameer Nelson a decade ago. Opponent scouting reports won’t highlight ball screens as a major point of attack or key…
