{"id":257797,"date":"2026-05-04T15:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257797\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T15:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T15:12:09","slug":"they-aint-good-enough-they-gotta-go-tracy-mcgrady-believes-the-orlando-magic-should-blow-up-their-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/257797\/","title":{"rendered":"“They ain’t good enough, they gotta go” – Tracy McGrady believes the Orlando Magic should blow up their roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the\u00a0Orlando Magic<\/a>\u00a0took a 3-1 series lead over the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons<\/a> in the first round of this season’s playoffs, it seemed that the franchise and its young core were finally starting to emerge as the dangerous contenders they were touted to be at the start of the season.<\/p>\n

The Pistons were the massive favorites after a dominant postseason, but they looked as vulnerable as ever against the Magic, led by their star Paolo Banchero<\/a>. It was the perfect opportunity for the franchise to fully stand out on its own. Instead, they walked out of this season with\u00a0more questions than answers<\/a>\u00a0after a Game 7 collapse.<\/p>\n

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For a team as young as the Magic, it was definitely a reality check. And despite a late surge in their stars, there is still no definite direction as to where they are headed. And for former franchise superstar\u00a0Tracy McGrady<\/a>, the first-round collapse was a sign that the franchise needs to change.<\/p>\n

Exposed Magic<\/p>\n

Orlando had control for most of the series against Detroit. Still, the Pistons showed why their young core was better than the Magic’s and have exposed their true ceiling so much that even Banchero is\u00a0unsure of the team’s future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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For all the promise surrounding the duo of Paolo and Franz Wagner<\/a>, the supporting cast didn’t hold up when it mattered the most. The loss marks a troubling pattern for a team that has spent years building its talent through the draft. They are at a crossroads, and McGrady didn’t hold back on advising them on what to do.<\/p>\n

“What they have on their roster right now, what you see on their bench, they gotta go. I’m sorry. They ain’t good enough, they gotta go. They need to improve this roster if they wanna be a team in the east that’s gonna compete,”\u00a0he\u00a0stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“‘Cause New York’s ain’t going nowhere. Boston and Detroit’s not going nowhere,”\u00a0T-Mac added.\u00a0“So you have to improve this roster. I don’t care, man, improve the roster.”<\/p>\n

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Throughout the season, the Magic were exposed with their lack of stability and consistency in both their star players and their depth, leading them to fall to the eighth seed and fight their way through the Play-In Tournament after everyone expected them to become contenders.<\/p>\n

The New York Knicks<\/a> continue to rise with a balanced roster on both ends, while the Boston Celtics<\/a> remain a powerhouse with championship expectations despite their early postseason exit. Now, Detroit has also shown they are miles better than Orlando in terms of resilience. Compared to other Eastern Conference powerhouses, the Magic are just short of depth and ultimately need to either follow McGrady’s advice or at least bolster their roster further.<\/p>\n

Related: Jeanie Buss\u00a0explains why\u00a0Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0kept\u00a0Luka Doncic\u00a0trade completely secret: \u201cNobody knew\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

What the Magic can do in the offseason<\/p>\n

What complicates the Magic’s offseason and beyond is that, even though they are a young team, their deal to acquire Desmond Bane<\/a> last year, in which they sent four unprotected first-round picks, has severely limited their room to make improvements. Not to mention that Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.<\/a> are set to take up hefty cap space next season.<\/p>\n

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And despite a great postseason, Banchero has yet to fully dispel doubts about whether he can truly lead the team alongside Wagner, whose injury concerns have worsened this season, as he failed to suit up for their last three games against Detroit. Their talent is undeniable on the court, but they haven’t really shown that they are untouchable.<\/p>\n

Whether the Magic make major roster changes or not, they are still entering the upcoming season with many holes to fill. The Pistons series showed both their incredible potential and their undeniable weaknesses, and it will be interesting to see what the franchise’s front office notices more as they try to emerge as true contenders.<\/p>\n

Related: Insider claims Orlando’s star player will demand a trade if the coach isn’t fired: “The Magic are dealing with major turmoil”<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Basketball Network<\/a> on May 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News<\/a> section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the\u00a0Orlando Magic\u00a0took a 3-1 series lead over the No. 1-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257798,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[9806,5798,5834,5819,15355,139,141,1239,140,5799,5797,53583,109208,5813],"class_list":["post-257797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-boston-celtics","tag-desmond-bane","tag-detroit-pistons","tag-franz-wagner","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-magic","tag-orlando-news","tag-paolo-banchero","tag-the-magic","tag-the-pistons","tag-tracy-mcgrady","tag-wendell-carter-jr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257797"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257797\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}