For the first time in their NBA careers, Magic stars Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs will play under a head coach other than Jamahl Mosley next season.
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Thursday marked 10 days since Orlando dismissed Mosley as the team’s 15th coach, and so far not much has been disclosed from what’s expected to be a close-to-the-vest search under president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman.
Under Mosley, the Magic went 189-221 across five regular seasons while reaching the playoffs the last three years but failing to advance past the first round.
Beyond hiring a new coach, however, there are major questions facing the Magic entering the offseason:
Will the Magic make another splash on the trade market?
Less than a year ago, Orlando acquired Desmond Bane in a blockbuster trade that sent Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony and four future first-round draft picks to the Grizzlies.
The deal went down on Father’s Day (June 15) last summer and came out of complete left field, amid the NBA Finals between Indiana and eventual-champion Oklahoma City.
Significantly altering Orlando’s roster would likely have to come in the form of another trade as opposed to free agency, given the financial reality facing the Magic. The team already has roughly $173 million in salary locked up in its starting lineup of Banchero, Wagner, Suggs, Wendell Carter Jr. and Bane.
Orlando is, of course, working with less tradable first-round draft capital as a result of the Bane trade. In addition, Weltman said in his end-of-season interview that he didn’t want to “dismantle” the Magic based on how this season ended.
Could the Magic turn to free agency for help?
The Magic have three open roster spots to fill with Moe Wagner, Jevon Carter and Jett Howard entering unrestricted free agency.
Weltman said the Magic will consider both “major moves” and “smaller nibbles” the team could potentially make this summer. He also pointed toward “rounding out the roster with veteran guys that know how to come in and win.”
While those types of moves might not be as flashy, it’s worth considering the fact that Orlando’s bench ranked 26th in scoring in the regular season (32.6 points per night) and 27th in 3-point shooting (33%) according to NBA.com.
Unless a move is done to create more financial space, veteran minimum signings are an option for the Magic in free agency. As a projected tax team, Orlando will also have access to the taxpayer mid-level exception (projected at $6.1 million).
Will the Magic extend Anthony Black?
With a year remaining on his rookie deal, Black is the latest Magic draft pick eligible to sign an extension this summer. The deadline to do so is typically set for the day before the start of the regular season, which is usually late October.
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If a deal can’t get done before the deadline, Black would become a restricted free agent next summer.
A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player’s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. Black also could become unrestricted if Orlando opts not to qualify him, which would allow him to sign with any team.
Will the Magic extend him? Look at the history for clues.
The Magic already picked up Black’s club options for this season and next, as he’s morphed into a key rotational piece. In addition, Orlando previously extended Anthony, Suggs, Wagner and Banchero the past three summers.
Black was on track to be a candidate for the league’s most improved player before he missed a chunk of time down the stretch of the regular season due to a left lateral abdominal strain. Still, in 64 regular season games, Black averaged career highs of 15 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists during 29.8 minutes per night.
Are there any other key contract decisions?
Yes, and that includes Jonathan Isaac.
For now, Isaac is owed $8 million from the Magic, but his $14.5 million salary for 2026-27 would become fully guaranteed if he’s not waived by June 28. Orlando would then be allowed to stretch the $8 million owed over seven seasons, according to ESPN.
The longest tenured member of the Magic, Isaac’s career has been plagued by injuries. Although he worked toward a return, Isaac never made his way back from a left knee sprain that he suffered on March 12, missing the final 17 games of the regular season, both play-in games and all seven games of the first round.
There’s also the $2.5 million club option of Jamal Cain for the Magic to consider. Originally on a two-way contract, Cain carved out his role on the Orlando bench and signed a standard deal in March.
Cain averaged 9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.6 minutes per night across the final 17 games of the regular season, and he played in all seven playoff games against Detroit.
What about the NBA draft?
The last time the Magic entered a draft without a first-round pick was 2011, according to basketball-refence.com. That’ll be the case again this year after the Bane trade. In Orlando’s place, Charlotte will draft 18th instead.
Trading back into the first round is possible but would require a major move. The Magic still hold the No. 46 pick in the second round.
Recent second-rounders to stick with Orlando past the draft include Noah Penda (No. 32, 2025), Caleb Houstan (No. 32, 2022) and Melvin Frazier Jr. (No. 35, 2018).
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]