Headline Surfer graphic / ABOVE: Cole Anthony, PG, led the 2021-22 Orlando Magic in scoring and assists, Wendell Carter Jr., C, in rebounds, Chuma Okeke, PF, in steals, and Mo Bamba, C, in blocks. BELOW: Jeff Weltman, the president of basketball operations, said the potential for the Magic to improve is based on continuing team personnel adjustments and the upcoming NBA Draft where Orlando has a top lottery pick.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Only the Houston Rockets finished with the worst record in the NBA this season with the Orlando Magic just ahead of them.
But it's not all doom and gloom for the Magic who will have one of the top lottery picks in the upcoming NBA Draft.
The Magic were 22-60, just two games better than the Western Conference Houston Rockets, which finished 20-62. The Magic were dead last in the Eastern Conference.
The Magic had a slightly better record at home than on the road, but not by much.
Orlando was 12-29 at Amway Arena and 10-31 and away from Amway.
The Magic last made the post-season in 2019-20, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the opening round as the final seed. But the team was gutted at the NBA trading deadline last year: NBA SHOCKER: Orlando Magic trade All Star Nicola Vucevic to Chicago Bulls, Aaron Gordon to Denver Nuggets & Evan Fournier to Boston Celtics in biggest mid-season teardown in franchise history.
Jeff Weltman, president of Orlando Magic basketball operations, continues to preach patience to Magic fans, recognizing even the prize of getting a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, possibly the overall No. 1 draft selection, likely won't be enough to turn Orlando's fortunes around next season.
“We’re not content, we’re not satisfied,” Weltman told Open Mike host Mike Bianchi on 96.9 FM's The Game earlier this week. “Our goals remain the same which are to develop these young guys. Everybody says you need stars in this league. sometimes stars don’t always reveal themselves instantly. We’ve had guys who had tremendous growth on this team. I think this team right now has tremendous potential. This is a young, young team with everything in front of it."
Jeff Weltman, president of Orlando Magic basketball operations, continues to preach patience to Magic fans, recognizing even the prize of getting a lottery pick in the NBA Draft, possibly the overall No. 1 draft selection, likely won't be enough to turn Orlando's fortunes around next season.
“We’re not content, we’re not satisfied,” Weltman told Open Mike host Mike Bianchi on 96.9 FM's The Game earlier this week. “Our goals remain the same which are to develop these young guys. Everybody says you need stars in this league. sometimes stars don’t always reveal themselves instantly. We’ve had guys who had tremendous growth on this team. I think this team right now has tremendous potential. This is a young, young team with everything in front of it."
Weltman continued: “I don’t really think that we recalibrate our goals going into the season. We ramp them up. We challenge our guys to get better. From a team-building standpoint, we’ll look to add more.”
Weltman told Bianchi the Magic have the potential to get better, especially with the lottery pick, but nothing is guaranteed.
“There’s never a guarantee that you turn that corner,” Weltman said.
“That’s always the risk," Weltman added, but there is also a risk in keeping a group together that doesn’t feel like it has the momentum to break through to another level. I believe that it’s all in the relationships, it’s all in the work, it’s all in the character of the players and the connectivity of the coaches to the players. Those are obviously elements we have our antenna up for.”
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YouTube embedding / Utility Sports video / Orlando Magic Offseason Preview including 2022 NBA Draft Prospects the Orlando Magic could and should target.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: