The Orlando Magic had an incredible 2023-24 NBA season, finishing as a top-four seed in the East and going to a seven-game series against the more experienced Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. The team has proven they’re ahead of schedule and could acquire two big-name veterans this summer who will be entering the free agency market after not agreeing on contract extensions with their incumbent teams this season.
Klay Thompson couldn’t agree on the price of a contract extension with the Golden State Warriors, where he’s played since being drafted in 2011 and won four championships. Paul George is also facing an uncertain future with the Clippers, entering free agency after not agreeing upon a new contract despite his co-star Kawhi Leonard getting a max contract extension during the season.
If both veteran players end up being casualties of the new salary cap rules for their luxury tax-paying teams, the Magic could have a golden opportunity to acquire both and establish themselves as bonafide contenders in the East.
Klay Thompson
Sign for three years, $110 million
Klay Thompson’s market value is arguably the lowest it has been, but stealing him away from the Golden State Warriors will prove a difficult task. If it isn’t a significant payday, there isn’t much sense in Klay leaving the franchise he won four titles with to take a bet on a young group of stars elsewhere. But he is testing free agency, and paying him over $30 million per season will make the Warriors queasy as they look to scale back to reinvigorate their contending chances. The Magic are expected to be one of the teams most interested in snagging Klay away from the Warriors.
A contract like this can be structured in a way that gives Klay more money in the first two seasons, reducing the team’s cap hit when Thompson is 38 years old and commanding a large portion of the team’s salary space. Klay averaged 17.9 points last season, shooting 38.7% from three on 9.0 attempts per game. Even if Klay isn’t the sniper he used to be, he’s an elite shooter in the NBA.
The Magic were the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA, with this deficiency proving to be their downfall against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round. Having a veteran shooter like Thompson is not only for their core of young guards such as Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, and Jett Howard, but it also will be a major strength for the Magic while bringing in a culture-setting four-time champion.
Paul George
Los Angeles Clippers Receive: Cole Anthony, Joe Ingles, 2025 First-Round Pick (DEN)
Orlando Magic Receive: Paul George
If the Clippers can’t sign Paul George to the three-year, $147.5 million extension Kawhi Leonard signed in the middle of the season, the nine-time All-Star might take his talents to Orlando. This will allow him to form a veteran partnership with Klay Thompson behind the established duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. As the veterans help the new guns come along, they still have valuable on-court skills they can provide to help the Magic be a winning franchise.
George averaged 22.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists this season, having bright spots as one of the primary options on the Clippers, but that production didn’t come through in the Playoffs. George averaged 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.8 assists in the postseason, which could complicate the Clippers finding enough reasons to commit a huge portion of their future flexibility in contracts for Geroge and James Harden this summer.
Harden likely won’t have a robust trade market, but if the Clippers can manage to sign and trade George to the Magic, they can ensure they don’t lose him for nothing. Adding a scoring guard like Cole Anthony would be a massive boost to this team’s stagnant offense, as Cole averaged 11.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists this season. Joe Ingles can be a veteran forward on a team with no forward depth.
Magic Return To High-Level Contention After Over A Decade
Adding pieces like George and Thompson will help the Magic become bonafide threats in what turned out to be a weak Eastern Conference this season. They were a top-four seed without even explicitly building toward a winning roster this season, so adding veteran pieces like George and Thompson should propel them forward into being a threat to teams like the Celtics. With Banchero and Wagner forming the young two-headed monster, there is maneuverability for future moves and contention.
Starters: Jalen Suggs, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero
Key Bench Players: Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Harris, Anthony Black, Moritz Wagner, Jett Howard
Their lineups will likely be fluid with plenty of optionality across their roster. They can play big with Carter or Mo Wagner starting in place of Klay, who can be a flamethrower scorer off the bench with more freedom to operate. He had success in that role through stretches this season when he was benched for rookie Brandin Podziemski.
This sets the Magic up to be one of the major threats in the East since Dwight Howard led them to the NBA Finals in 2009, and arguably the most star-studded team they have had since the Shaquille O’Neal and Penny Hardaway days in the early-to-mid ’90s. The team already has great defensive fundamentals they play off and the tone-setters for the same remain on the squad like Suggs and Jonathan Isaac.
Adding the shooting ability of both Klay and George will be a major benefit to the functionality of the Magic’s lineups. Thompson might float in and out of the bench in this situation given the defensive intensity he can maintain, but George has shown he’s still a very good defensive perimeter wing. His offensive polish is much-needed, especially with the offensive logjams we saw with Banchero and Wagner at points in the season.
The Magic can strike while the iron is hot in the Eastern Conference and guarantee a roster capable of making a deep push every season. While it’s a risk to take such bets on veterans like Thompson and George, it’s the kind of move the Magic need to usher in a new era of competitiveness in the city of Orlando.
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