Yet despite the introduction of a play-in tournament to keep fringe organizations like the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers interested in making it to the postseason, and if you’re the Pacers, that is the least of your worries, the Magic have still not sunk to the depths of the standings.
This is contrary to 2012 when Dwight Howard left and they quickly became the worst team in the league outside of the “Process” era Philadelphia 76ers. To be fair to that franchise, that didn’t work out too badly for them, as they have built successfully around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
After all, the higher the lottery odds for this coming offseason, the better. But as the fanbase capitulates internally on social media, with some bemoaning a team win and others understanding you literally cannot lose every game in a professional league, even if you try, we need to remember that a change to the lottery means just being in the bottom is enough to secure the joint best odds at the first overall pick.
The thinking is that this draft class is five deep with potentially great players, before dropping off. The way the Magic have played recently, it would not be a surprise to see them pick sixth overall, and find themselves looking in like they have done so often in the past. Here are the three reasons the Magic aren’t as bad as most fans want them to be at this stage.
March 26, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>They have also been shrewd in “resting” players, while their great hope for the future, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, has been injured for much of the year, playing only 35 games. Contrast this to the Magic, who started the season with hopes of getting back to the postseason for the third straight year.</p>
<p>Injuries stopped that dream early while trading away their core was the signal to move into a rebuild. The problem is that there were already guys on the roster, such as Mohamed Bamba, who not only have a point to prove and were looking for an opportunity but were around a playoff-level team.</p>
<p>Combine that with a head coach in Steve Clifford who preaches playing high-level defense, wants to win and doesn’t seem to care about the long-term future here (and with his job possibly on the line, why would he?), and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a young team that will lose games. Just not enough to be the worst in the league compared to others.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Guys Want Jobs </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-428151" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2137,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1232675440.jpeg" alt="Orlando Magic" width="3200" height="2137" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232675440.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232675440-768x513.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Orlando Magic (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Reason No. 2 the Orlando Magic tank isn’t working: Guys want jobs</h2>
<p>With the season over for the Magic and roster spots still needing to be filled because of injury, not to mention trying to ease off on playing younger guys so they don’t get hurt, the organization has turned to filling out their bench with short-term solutions and two-way deals. This has seen Moritz Wagner (<a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/franz-wagner-moe-burn-nba-draft/578400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">who apparently isn’t that good</a>) and Admiral Schoefield (great name) added recently.</p>
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<p>Obviously, if these guys were good enough, they’d have stuck with their previous teams. That way of thinking isn’t flawed, but it is not totally accurate either. So much of any sport has to do with circumstance, and now that these players are getting an opportunity late in the season, they are taking it.</p>
<p>Do you think Wagner wants to have to scramble to find somewhere to play again? They’re looking for job security and a chance to stay in the league for as long as possible, and it is why the likes of Wagner can put up <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://247sports.com/college/michigan/Article/Moe-Wagner-scores-season-high-24-points-in-third-game-with-Orlando-Magic-Michigan-basketball-NBA-164946497/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">24 points in a game</a> recently. These guys aren’t household names, but they are still among the best players in the world.</p>
<p>Somebody has to take these shots and make plays, even on a team like the Magic, so it makes complete sense that individuals who are looking to get a contract, either in Orlando or elsewhere, would do all they can to showcase themselves. They don’t care that the franchise is trying to lose games, and why should they?</p>
<p>So on one hand you see the logic in signing these players because they aren’t thought of as the elite guys in the league. But on the other, they want to make money and have job security, and it may just be that with their previous team the role wasn’t there for them. The Magic have needed a center recently, and Wagner has stepped up. Most likely to their annoyance.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Young Guys Care </a>
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<img class="size-full wp-image-428153" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2133,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1232675740.jpeg" alt="Orlando Magic" width="3200" height="2133" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232675740.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1232675740-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Orlando Magic (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>Reason No. 3 the Orlando Magic tank isn’t working: Young guys care</h2>
<p>This might be seen as a negative at this moment in time, but it certainly won’t always be this way. The reality is though, that players like Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton already look like they really care. Anthony has a chip on his shoulder that we haven’t seen in Orlando for a while, and he <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/04/orlando-magic-cole-anthony-rookie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">should have been</a> the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for April.</p>
<p>Hampton wasn’t given many opportunities with the Denver Nuggets before being traded as part of the deal that sent Aaron Gordon the other way. Both also realize that Markelle Fultz was the starting point guard before his ACL, and he is going to return sooner rather than later. He also appears to be in great spirits about his recovery too, which is excellent to see.</p>
<div class="embed ">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">In an exclusive interview, Markelle Fultz described what his last four months have been like after his knee injury and how his rehab is going. </p>
<p>“It just puts another chip on my shoulder again," Fultz said. Story now on <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNBA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@TheAthleticNBA and <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://twitter.com/TheAthletic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>@TheAthletic.
https://t.co/qwv4p8N6u2
<p>— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://twitter.com/JoshuaBRobbins/status/1390291507278585859?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>May 6, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Both Anthony and Hampton, as well as appearing to genuinely like one another, also seem to accept and enjoy the fact they’ll be with the Magic for the long haul. They’re also proud young players, who don’t look like they enjoy the prospect of losing all the time. How did that work out with guys like Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo in the past again?</p>
<p>As mentioned already, Bamba is <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1390111481866244104" target="_blank" rel="noopener">getting a real opportunity to play</a> at this stage, and if you think he is going to sit back and watch the front office draft more competition for the position, as well as Wendell Carter Jr. already being in place and looking like the real deal, then you are mistaken. Ditto Anthony and Hampton.</p>
<p>The prospect of a young stud joining them is a great thought for Orlando Magic fans and the long-term future of the organization. It is also undoubtedly the goal right now. But that doesn’t mean young players who have shown real promise at this point like the idea of more competition, or how it could create an imbalance on the roster. This is the main reason they are not as bad as most fans want them to be at this stage. Too many young players, who are legitimately good, who care.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="A special year for point guards wearing No. 4" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/05/nba-special-year-point-guards-4/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/07/orlando-magic-3-reasons-tanking-properly/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/05/05/nba-special-year-point-guards-4/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> A special year for point guards wearing No. 4 </a> </div>
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