{"id":282072,"date":"2026-05-23T15:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T15:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/282072\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T15:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T15:24:11","slug":"orlando-magics-small-decisions-will-have-big-consequences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/282072\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic’s small decisions will have big consequences"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the trade deadline and even in his exit interview, Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman cautioned against panicked trades<\/a> or doing anything rash.<\/p>\n

There was always the hope of getting the team back healthy and seeing what this was supposed to look like at full bore. The Magic did not want to make dramatic changes without knowing what the team could do at full strength.<\/p>\n

Weltman said any major changes to the roster would cost some of the team’s core players, something he was unwilling to do at the deadline and still seemed hesitant to do even after the season.<\/p>\n

To be sure, after another first-round exit and the reality of this team’s salary cap situation<\/a>, the Magic must consider some big moves to the roster. That is where a lot of fans will put their attention.<\/p>\n

But the frustration of the trade deadline was ignoring the small moves off the bench. Jevon Carter was a solid addition to the team and proved that a small signing could have big consequences.<\/p>\n

While a lot of the attention will go to the big trades the Magic could make — will they part with Jalen Suggs<\/a> or Wendell Carter as seismic shifts ot the rotation? There are a lot of little moves that will determine the Magic’s future, too.<\/p>\n

While Weltman seemed hesitant to talk about these small moves at the deadline, they are unavoidable now. Big moves have seismic impacts. But little moves on the bench and to the rotation could have ripples that disrupt the whole lake that is this team.<\/p>\n

And there are a lot of these little decisions to make.<\/p>\n

The biggest of those little decisions centers on what to do with the beloved Moe Wagner after his up-and-down season recovering from a torn ACL. That decision may come later in the summer, but it is a huge domino in the Magic’s offseason.<\/p>\n

Magic must decide on Moe Wagner<\/p>\n

A lot of the attention as far as rebuilding the team’s culture and identity, has focused on whether the Orlando Magic can afford to move Jalen Suggs.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of stats to suggest Suggs remains a vital piece to this team. Just as the frustration from the Playoffs has the Magic asking very real questions about how much to continue committing to him.<\/p>\n

A debate of a similar type but on a much smaller scale will center on Moe Wagner.<\/p>\n

Wagner’s one-year, $5-million contract expires this offseason, turning him back into free agency for the third straight offseason. He has remained with the Magic as a vital energy piece. <\/p>\n

The downfall of the Magic’s bench can be traced back to his torn ACL in December 2024. <\/p>\n

The Magic averaged 41.5 points per game (fourth in the league) during the 2024 season. They were fifth with 40.1 points per game off the bench before Wagner’s injury and 22nd at 33.2 points per game after Wagner’s injury in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

Orlando finished 26th with 32.6 points per game off the bench in the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

Wagner is not the sole reason for that. Injuries throughout the roster gutted the team’s bench. The Desmond Bane trade cost the Magic one of their top bench scorers in Cole Anthony.<\/p>\n

But Wagner provides an offensive-minded player who can score points in a hurry. Even this year, he had several games where he was impactful as a low-post scorer. The Magic could still trust him to be a quick scoring burst.<\/p>\n

But undoubtedly, Wagner struggled as he came back from his knee injury in January. Wagner averaged only 6.9 points per game, the fewest he has scored since the season he joined the Magic in 2021.<\/p>\n

Wagner fell out of the rotation as the Magic tried to get their defense back on track. Wagner has never been a great defender, as willing as he is — he finished with five charges drawn, trailing only Jalen Suggs.<\/p>\n

Wagner only played meaningful minutes in Game 7 of the playoff series as the Magic sought some offensive spark, scoring five points in 9:42 and posting a positive plus\/minus. Wagner became an afterthought as the season progressed.<\/p>\n

And that puts his spot at risk.<\/p>\n

Wagner deserves some grace. It usually takes a year for a player to recover fully from a torn ACL and get back to the level they were at before the injury.<\/p>\n

The Magic know how vital his energy can be. And the question is whether the team will wait and bring him back. There are plenty of reasons to do so.<\/p>\n

But it is a decision point nonetheless.<\/p>\n

There will be little roster turnover<\/p>\n

But the Orlando Magic are running into another problem: There are very little roster moves to make.<\/p>\n

The Magic’s roster is full. And if they are not going to make moves at the top of the roster, there are not a lot of open roster spots to flip out.<\/p>\n

The Magic declined the team option for Jett Howard in the offseason, and the team changed the guarantee trigger for Jonathan Isaac’s option<\/a>. Those are two likely roster spots the Magic will open up.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether the Magic will try to bring Jevon Carter back. That is another open spot.<\/p>\n

Orlando is limited in the amount of money it can spend. The team likely only has the taxpaer mid-level exception to spend in free agency — roughly $6 million. That makes retaining players on the roster critical with only other minimum salaries to spend.<\/p>\n

There is not likely to be a lot of roster turnover outside of trades.<\/p>\n

That is what makes these little decisions so critical. The Magic would not be able to replace a player like Wagner with anything but a minimum contract.<\/p>\n

These small decisions will have big consequences as the Magic begin planning their offseason.<\/p>\n

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