As the 2022 NBA Offseason has slowed down in preparation for the 2022-2023 season, many may look at the Orlando Magic’s offseason moves as “underwhelming”. Despite entering the 2022 Free Agency period with $27+ Million in Salary Cap, Orlando focused on retaining their own players, rather than signing other coveted free agents. Within the first few days of Free Agency, the Magic opted to re-sign Mo Bamba (two years, $21 Million), Gary Harris (two years, $26 Million), and Bol Bol (two years, $3.8 Million) to team-friendly contracts. As shown by the aforementioned contracts, Orlando is content with entering the 2022-2023 season with a roster similar to last season’s.
Furthermore, Orlando was able to save plenty of money in preparation for the 2023 Free Agency period, and are set to have upwards of $60 Million in Salary Cap space. Unlike the 2022 free agency class, the 2023 free agency class is set to include plenty of superstars, such as Los Angeles’ Lebron James, Brooklyn’s Kyrie Irving, Miami’s Tyler Herro, New York’s RJ Barrett, and Washington’s Kristaps Porzingis. With this said, Orlando is expected to use their salary cap space on a different free agent, per Sean Deveney at Heavy.com.
“I’d watch out for the Magic to be ready to make an offer if he’s [Poole] restricted, knowing there’s a good chance Golden State is not going to match,” one Eastern Conference executive told Deveney and Heavy Sports.
At first glance, the thought of Golden State parting ways with Poole after their run to the 2022 NBA Finals may seem outlandish. Upon further examination, however, this situation could become reality for the Warriors.
In total, Golden State is guaranteed to pay $416.1 Billion to eleven of their players under standard contracts, per Sports Reference. For context, Orlando is set to pay just $164.2 Billion in guaranteed money. With this said, Golden State does have the option of paying all of their major players that are extension-eligible, such as Poole, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, and Draymond Green. If Golden State were to do so, this could push the Warriors’ payroll to around $225 million and put the total outlay over $400+ million with the luxury tax, per Sportrac. Most League Sources don’t expect the Warriors to pay that much to keep their roster intact.
“They bring in a lot of money,” the Eastern Conference Executive said. “They can do things most other teams can’t as far as keeping their talent in place. But even with that there are some limits. They made a choice with (Gary) Payton. They’re going to go through that again here.”
For those who don’t know, Golden State decided to let Gary Payton and Otto Porter Jr. leave in Free Agency to avoid a spike in the luxury tax. In addition to Poole’s looming restricted free agency, Golden State will also have to deal with Wiggins, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Poole is expected to receive a contract similar to that of Jalen Brunson’s four-year, $110 Million Contract, whether it’s with Golden State or Orlando.
If Golden State decides to not extend Poole, then Orlando would be a logical destination for the 23-year-old Guard. Standing at 6’4″ and 194 pounds, Poole would provide a much-needed scoring spark to the Magic as an efficient three-level scorer. In 76 games (51 starts) with Golden State this past season, Poole averaged a career-high 18.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, and 4.0 APG while shooting 44.8% from the field, 36.4% from three-point range, and 92.5% from the free-throw line. When Golden State needed Poole to step his game up after Stephen Curry suffered an injury, Poole did just that, averaging 17.0 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 3.8 APG while posting 50.8/39.1/91.5% shooting splits en route to the Warriors’ sixth NBA Championship.
As a small-market team, Orlando has never been a free-agent destination, even when the Magic made the 1994-1995 NBA Finals behind Penny Hardaway and Shaquille O’ Neal. If the Magic are able to land Poole in 2023, it would be a monumental signing for Orlando, one that may help propel the Magic back to the NBA Playoffs. Since trading franchise cornerstones Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier at the 2021 NBA Trade Deadline, Orlando has gone just 28-82, but have accumulated plenty of young and promising talent along the way.
For reference, of the Magic’s sixteen players that are under standard contracts for the 2022-2023 season, fourteen are age 25 or younger. Likewise, the only two exceptions to this are Terrence Ross and Gary Harris, both of whom are on the trade market for the upcoming season. Even Orlando’s Head Coach, Jamahl Mosley, is one of the youngest coaches in the league, at 43 years old. If Orlando does manage to aquire Poole, the Magic would form one of the NBA’s best young cores in the league.
In adding Poole to their roster, the Magic would further solidify their deep rotation of guards, headlined by Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton, and Jalen Suggs, all former first-round picks. In spite of this, Orlando’s frontcourt may even be more talented than their backcourt, thanks to the services of Wendell Carter Jr., Paolo Banchero, Bamba, Franz Wagner, Chuma Okeke, and Caleb Houstan.