Bleacher Report released an article today on NBA teams that should blow it up now.
What are your thoughts?
Here is the link: https://www.bleacherreport.com/articles/2928265-nba-teams-that-should-blow-it-up-now
Here is the part about Orlando:
The Orlando Magic haven't escaped the first round of the playoffs since 2010, which was peak Dwight Howard time. Howard is now in his age-35 season and has played for six teams since departing Orlando, which helps contextualize just how long the Magic have been wandering in the wilderness.
Few teams better exemplify life in limbo than the Magic, who've resided in that soft and meaningless middle for a decade. Not bad enough to start over; not good enough to do more than quietly sulk away after a first-round beating. That's the Magic in a nutshell.
Shouldn't Orlando be sick of this? Actually, shouldn't it have been sick of this three or four years ago?
Enough is enough. Nikola Vucevic is one of the best offensive canters in the league, and he's averaging a career-high 23.2 points on 57.4 percent true shooting. He's never been better, which is precisely why now is the time to move him. Nobody likes defensively suspect non-switching centers, but Vooch provides enough offensive potency for teams to view his deal (two more years at an average of $23 million after this one) as a sound investment.
Looking at you, Boston Celtics.
Aaron Gordon has spent virtually his entire career on the trade block, and though he's five years younger than Vucevic, the 25-year-old has been roughly the same "solid starter on a bad team" over the last three seasons. Maybe he has another level in him, but it's clear that he isn't reaching it in Orlando.
Evan Fournier's contract expires after this season, and Terrence Ross could spark interest as a sixth man for a scoring-starved contender. These are movable contracts, and the urgency to ship them out is only amplified by the presences of deals the Magic can't budge.
Jonathan Isaac won't play this season because of another major knee injury, but his four-year, $80 million extension kicks in for 2021-22. Markelle Fultz went down earlier this year with his own torn ACL, and he's on the books for $16.5 million in 2021-22 and 2022-23 with a largely non-guaranteed $17 million in 2023-24. The players most likely to lead Orlando out of purgatory are hugely risky investments who won't be healthy enough to contribute until next season.
Despite the lower expected value of tanking, the Magic are one of the teams that should think hardest about going that route anyway. It'd be one thing if the vets on hand were the remnants of a successful core trying to squeeze out one last run before disbanding or aging out. But this group peaks at five-game first-round dismissals.
That's a bleak future, so Orlando should be trying to build a brighter one.