2019-20 Finish: 30-52

Season Highlight:  Getting to 30 wins is impressive considering how many injuries they had.  If they had been in the weak Western Conference, they would have been competing for a playoff spot, but since the East is so loaded, it wasn’t as easy. 

Season Lowlight:  Not having a draft pick in this years draft really sucked for the team.  I’m not even sure when they traded it away, but it was a late lottery pick for sure.  For a team that is looking to rebuild with Lauri and company, they need some more youth around it.

Best Trade:  Orlando gets Pau Gasol, CJ Miles, Patrick Beverley, (2) 2^nd round picks for Wesley Matthews, Tony Snell, & Cheick Diallo

Not that Pau is anything amazing now, but Beverley and (2) 2^nd rounders for Matthews and Snell and Diallo is a great haul.  This trade looks awesome now.  It doesn’t hurt that I’ve been trying to get Beverley for years!

Worst Trade: Orlando gets Tyreke Evans, Kyle 0’Quinn, & (1) 1^st round for 2020 for Jonas Valanciunas

Not that this is that awful, they got a 1^st rounder out of this.  The thing that hurts is that Evans got suspended and O’Quinn is likely moving on for a pretty good still youngish center in Jonas.  Hopefully that 2020 pick ends up pretty good or this trade will not look great.

Other Notable Trades: Orlando gets Patrick Patterson for 10 GM points

Not much to say here other than Orlando didn’t make a ton of trades this season.

 Free Agency: 

Jeremy Lamb (F) – Lamb left and he is the 2^nd best player on the team.  This should be a priority for Orlando to put all their points and convince him to come back.  Lamb won’t be a starter for the Indiana Pacers once Oladipo comes back, so his numbers may drop, but he’s still worth the investment of some points to keep.

Patrick Beverley (A) – Beverley is also a key player on this team.  He’s likely to come back though and he may end up being the starter with Dragic aging quickly.  He’s a dog on defense, and would be a key cog in the team turning it around next year.

Kyle O’Quinn (F) – Kyle still is a on the right side of 30, but he’s probably not worth the GM points it would take to keep him.  I like O’Quinn, but he’s likely going to the open market.

Star:  Lauri Markkanen – Lauri is clearly the best player on this team now, and despite missing 1/3 of the season with injuries, he still put up 21 ppg and 10 rebounds per game.  Quite a great season for the young Finn.  He’s only going to get better, and he plays well in the 2k engine even though he’s a stretch big.  He needs to be joined by some other youth soon or he may get disgruntled and try to get out early like Porzingas.

Goat:  Jeremy Lamb – This guy is such a dynamic player, but only managed 14 ppg while averaging 31 minutes and playing 78/82 games.  For a guy that seems like he could be a 2k glitch player, he hasn’t lived up to it.  I still think they should try to resign him, but he is going to have to play better in order for him to avoid this mantle in the future.

Draft Grades (from Insider): No Picks

The Future:

I didn’t realize how inactive this team was last year as far as moves.  They didn’t draft anyone, no major splash trades, they don’t have a ton of concerns in free agency.  There isn’t a ton of hope coming this offseason for the Magic.  I don’t see a way they get a ton better right now.  This team looks like another 30-40 win team.  I have hope that Lauri might be able to elevate this team, but he’s gonna need some help.  I don’t see a way out of the middle tier of teams in the future, but it’s not the end of the world.  They are still competitive, and are a fun watch, and there are worse ways to go.  Nobody is competing with the likes of the Bucks and 76ers right now, so maybe just accept your fate and be a fun team to watch.