With external options limited, Orlando’s most important work will be done in-house.
Namely, the Magic must decide whether Anthony Black, the sixth overall pick in 2023, is definitely a long-term member of this core. And if he is, they then have to price how important it’ll be to keep him—and it surely won’t be cheap.
“If I’m Anthony Black’s agent, I’m going into extension negotiations this summer and I’m saying, ‘Not a penny less than Jalen Suggs. I’ve been better than him this season and I play more than him,'” Zach Lowe said on a March episode of The Zach Lowe Show. “And that contract is going to foist some very tough decisions onto the Magic.”
Suggs, for those who don’t remember, scored a five-year, $150.5 million deal. That’s a huge chunk of change, especially considering what Orlando also owes to Bane, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. The Magic are almost compensating this core like it’s a contender, despite the team appearing nowhere near that level.
That’s not saying Black should be denied an extension, but it does mean giving him a big-money one might necessitate some cuts to be made elsewhere—if not now, then at least at some point in the near future.