The Orlando Magic appear to have significantly sped up their rebuild this offseason. After many seasons where they struggled to win recently, the Magic could end up making an unexpected run for the Play-In Tournament this upcoming season.
Their biggest move this offseason came when they selected Paolo Banchero with the first overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. The ping-pong balls fell Orlando’s way during the draft lottery, allowing Orlando the freedom to choose whoever they would like to lead their next great team. The Magic’s decision to choose Banchero could be what helps them go from a cellar-dweller in the Eastern Conference to a potential playoff team.
Things are certainly looking up in Orlando right now, but could they have made more of their offseason? Chances are they could have. Let’s take a look at the big move that the Magic needed to make but didn’t, and how it could affect them moving forward.
The Magic’s offseason move they needed to make
Move on from Mo Bamba
Mo Bamba has a lot of potential that he has not come close to reaching during his first four seasons in the NBA with the Magic. The sixth overall pick of the 2018 NBA Draft, Bamba had a lot of expectations entering the league, but he struggled to find his role with the team early on in his career.
With Bamba set to hit free agency after the 2021-22 season, it seemed like the campaign was Bamba’s make-or-break campaign. He didn’t really make any sort of impact over his first three seasons, and needed to prove he could be a part of the Magic’s future. Bamba put together the best season of his career (10.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.7 BPG, 48 FG%) but still largely failed to make himself a vital piece of Orlando’s future.
It seemed like the Magic could explore trading Bamba at the 2021 NBA trade deadline, but they ended up holding onto him. After all, he started 69 games for them last season, and was a key member of their rotation. But heading into the 2022-23 season, it looks like Bamba’s role with Orlando is going to be smaller than it was last season.
A big reason for that is because of Banchero’s addition to the team. Banchero projects to be Orlando’s starting power forward next season, which is where Bamba spent most of the previous season, playing alongside Wendell Carter Jr. Bamba is probably going to come off the bench, making his presence on the team somewhat unnecessary.
The confusing part is that the Magic could have opted to let Bamba walk in free agency this offseason. He never really reached his potential, and there wasn’t really going to be a starting role for him with Banchero now in town. Instead, they signed Bamba to a two-year, $20.6 million contract, keeping him in Orlando for the next few seasons.
The Magic’s whole handling of the Bamba situation is confusing, and it probably is indicative of their wrong move not to trade him at the trade deadline. Orlando risked losing Bamba in free agency for nothing, which wouldn’t be the worst thing ever, but it would have been a horrible return on a high draft pick back in 2018.
To combat that, the Magic decided to re-sign him. It admittedly isn’t the worst move ever, but it feels wasteful. Bamba is going to only be getting bench minutes, and given how he wasn’t making much of an impact in 25.7 minutes per game last season, it’s hard to see him being much more successful in a bench role next season.
Orlando isn’t really stuck with Bamba per se, but they probably aren’t going to trade him so soon after they signed him to a new deal. It’s confusing to understand what Orlando’s front office is trying to accomplish here, but holding onto Bamba feels like a waste.
Bamba’s trade value isn’t going to be super high, but the Magic could have at least tried to trade him and get something in return. He’s still just 24 years old, and given that he was a high first round pick, it’s clear that he has potential. Another team might have been (or still be) willing to part with a draft pick or another young player who hasn’t panned out in return for Bamba.
Rather than continuing to work on improving their rebuilding efforts, the Magic settled on re-signing Bamba. He doesn’t have a clear fit in the organization anymore, especially with Banchero on board, making him an expensive bench player right now. It would have been a better move for Orlando to move on from him this offseason and hope that they could have gotten something in return for their disappointing 2018 draft pick, but instead, he figures to continue to struggle on Orlando’s bench.
