With the 2022 NBA Free Agency period coming to a close, the majority of rosters around the NBA are beginning to be finalized in preparation for the 2022-2023 NBA Season. Although there are still plenty of intriguing free agents left on the market, it seems as if the Orlando Magic are contempt with everything they’ve done this offseason. Despite entering the offseason with ~$27 million in cap space, Orlando decided to use most of their cap space in order to re-sign their own free agents. Shortly after the 2022 Free Agency period opened on July 1st, Orlando chose to re-sign Unrestricted Free Agent Mo Bamba to a two-year, $21 million deal, along with Veteran Guard Garry Harris on a two-year, $26 million deal. Finally, the Magic retained Restricted Free Agent (RFA) Bol Bol on a two-year, $3.8 million contract.
In addition to their three free-agent signings, Orlando has also signed both of their 2022 rookies from the 2022 NBA Draft. According to the Orlando Sentinel’s Khobi Price, Orlando signed No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero to a four-year, $50.1 Million Rookie Contract, which is fully guaranteed in his first two NBA seasons (22.6 million from 2022-2024), but includes two Team Options (TO) for Orlando in the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons. Likewise, Orlando signed No. 32 pick Caleb Houstan to his rookie scale contract. Per Orlando’s President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, the terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In short, Orlando’s offseason moves via Free Agency and the Draft reveal that the Magic plan on running it back with most of last year’s team while continuing to prioritize player development of their young players. With this said, the Magic’s offseason plans give us a clear idea of what Orlando’s Roster and Rotation will look like for the 2022-2023 NBA Season.
Orlando Magic’s Projected 2022-2023 NBA Roster
As it currently stands, the Magic have 16 players signed to Standard NBA Contracts, which is actually one more than what is allowed once the Regular Season begins. In spite of this, each NBA team is allowed to have up to 20 players, including two-way players, signed to deals during the offseason before having to cut their rosters down to 15 players on standard contracts (plus a pair of two-way players) before the regular season starts. Simply put, this means that the Magic will have to trade or waive at least one player for their roster to meet the NBA’s roster cut-off rule. In reference to these 16 players currently on Orlando’s roster, this is the breakdown by position (listed alphabetically).
Guards: Cole Anthony, Devin Cannady, Markelle Fultz, R.J. Hampton, Gary Harris, Jalen Suggs.
Forwards (Wings): Caleb Houstan, Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke, Terrence Ross, Franz Wagner.
Forwards (Big Men): Mo Bamba, Paolo Banchero, Bol Bol, Wendell Carter Jr., Mortiz Wagner.
With Orlando needing to part ways with at least one of the players listed above to meet the NBA’s roster cut-off rule, a few names immediately jump out as the likely culprits. Despite being a fan favorite in Orlando, Ross will likely be the odd man out in Orlando’s rotation, due to his age and projected trade value across the league. At 31 years old, Ross doesn’t fit Orlando’s current timeline, and has seen diminished playing time as a result of the breakout seasons by Wagner and Harris. Furthermore, Ross is entering the final year of his four-year, $54 million contract he signed in 2019, and is just set to receive $11.5 million in 2022-2023.
In reference to these factors regarding Ross, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Orlando will continue to shop Ross around the NBA, which they have been doing since the 2022 NBA Draft. As a three-&-d wing with consistent scoring and shooting (Career Avg of 11.2 PPG; 41.6/35.3/81.9 Shooting Splits), Ross will have plenty of interest from contending teams, and will likely be on the move within the coming months. In addition to Ross, Okeke and M. Wagner may also be on the move, depending on how they continue to progress through Orlando’s Training Camps and the 2022-2023 NBA Season. For context, Okeke is in the third year of his four-year, $15.0 Million Rookie Contract, and is set to receive $3.4 Million, but Orlando does have a TO on Okeke. As for M. Wagner, he is in the first year of a two-year, $3.6 million contract, and is set to make $1.7 million this season.
Orlando Magic’s Projected 2022-2023 NBA Lineup and Depth Chart
As a result of retaining the majority of their players from last season, Orlando still has plenty of depth in the Frontcourt and Backcourt. While this is an excellent problem to have, it’ll be tough for second-year Head Coach Jamahl Mosley to decide where to play each one of his young players.
Guards: Fultz, Anthony, Suggs, Harris, Hampton, Cannady.
Forwards (Wings): F. Wagner, Isaac, Okeke, Ross, Bol.
Forwards (Big Men): Carter Jr., Banchero, Bamba, M. Wagner.
Similar to last season, Orlando will likely lean on multiple variations of three-guard lineups to ensure each young guard will receive adequate playing time. For example, Mosley may run Fultz, Anthony, and Suggs together, paired with a frontcourt of Banchero and Carter Jr., or substitute Anthony for Harris if in need of a shooting boost. The most important thing for Orlando is to make sure that all of their guards, especially Harris and Hampton, get solid playing time, so they can boost their trade value in the instance of a mid-season trade.
Like their Backcourt, Orlando’s Frontcourt will also remain quite interchangeable. Depending on Isaac’s and Bol’s health, Wagner will likely be the Magic’s Starting Small Forward, or may come off the bench if Mosley runs the aforementioned three-guard lineup. Carter Jr. will likely stay locked into the starting lineup, either as the Power Forward or the Center. If Carter Jr. mainly plays at Center, then Banchero is expected to be Orlando’s Starting Power Forward, while Bamba will come off the bench. If Carter Jr. mainly plays at Power Forward, however, then Bamba will likely become Orlando’s Starting Center, and Banchero will come off the bench as the main scoring threat.
Throughout the 2022-2023 Season, the Magic typically ran a ten-man rotation, but they may need to increase it to eleven or twelve to have all of their young players involved. If Orlando finds themselves near the bottom of the Eastern Conference Standings, then expect to see them embrace the tank by starting their young and unpolished players while using Harris and Ross as bench depth, if they are still on the team at that point.