The NBA season is slowly approaching with training camp set to open in about two months.
Two months? That seems like a ridiculously long time from now. Why are we even talking about the Magic? There is nothing much to talk about (save for the news below).
There is definitely some consternation and hand-wringing though when it comes to this upcoming season. After three years of 25-or-fewer wins, the fan base is desperate to see the team return to the Playoffs. In fact, four seasons is the longest Playoff drought in Magic history. So Orlando fans are not used to being at the bottom of the standings for very long.
The Magic made very few changes to their core or roster in the offseason. They opted to make changes by waiting on internal improvement and making a coaching change to propel the team forward.
Scott Skiles has already stated the team’s goal is to finish .500, not just to make the Playoffs. He put the lofty expectations of a winning record on his team.
Still, a 25-win team jumping up to 41 wins is a big one. So should Magic fans temper their expectations some and find success in a 35-win season — still a 10-win improvement. I argued that over at Orlando Magic Daily (and still received responses form Magic fans firmly believing the team would hit the Mendoza line of 41 wins):
A 10-win improvement to 35 wins would be a huge step forward. It would not achieve the goal of making the Playoffs in all likelihood, but it gets the team out of the basement. And it gets the team hungry for the next step forward.
For those looking to set a win total, 35 seems reasonable and ambitious enough. The Playoff talk is positive and that should remain the goal, but it is very rare that a team take that 15-plus-win jump. The Bucks did it last year, but it is certainly pretty rare. Especially for a team so young.
This is not to put a damper on the Playoff talk or goals. The Magic should have that as their goal. As a team, they should not expect anything less.
The Playoffs remain a clear-cut goal for the Magic. But after last season’s disastrous season, Orlando should also be looking to simply get out of the basement and define roles so they have an idea of how this core might develop. That answer remains a little difficult to divine.
Jeff Clark of Celtics Hub sees the Magic a rising team because of their core group, but he also struggles to see the team with a lead dog. Without that clearly defined, perhaps, the Magic might remain a team in search of itself.
At this point, that is fine. This remains a young team with a new coach looking to win for the first time in their careers. That is not an easy thing to learn.
Everyone on the team is ready to take that step. It is about walking the path and not just talking it. Because no one on this roster has really walked the path toward a winning record even, it might be time to temper expectations and just look for the team to take a step forward.
Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris going to Team USA mini camp
The Orlando Magic’s Victor Oladipo and Tobias Harris will attend the Team USA mini camp in Las Vegas on August 11-13. The mini camp is the yearly get together and showcase for the U.S. Basketball program as the team prepares for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (the Magic play an exhibition game there in October, by the way).
Oladipo and Harris will be among the pool of players the team will consider for the Olympic roster. Thanks to the U.S.A.’s win in the FIBA World Cup last summer, the team does not have to compete at the Tournament of Americas later this month.
Both Oladipo and Harris participated in the mini camp before the FIBA World Cup as members of the Select Team. Now both young players are getting consideration for the main roster.
Orlando Solar Bears acquire two in trade
The Orlando Solar Bears acquired forward Tyler Currier and Lindsay Sparks in exchange for the ECHL rights to defensemen Bryce Aneloski.
Sparks scored 22 goals and 35 assists in 62 games with the Missouri Mavericks last year. The 24-year-old forward has tallied 80 total points for various ECHL teams in the past few years.
Currier had eight goals and eight assists in 52 games split between the Alaska Aces and the Missouri Mavericks.
