The Orlando Magic are just one of those teams that can never seem to get their act together.
A toxic losing culture mixed with bad decisions by the front-office have both done their parts in keeping the team near the bottom of almost every single season.
A good picture of just how badly they’ve missed out is a list of the players they’ve traded since the summer of 2014.
(shout out to Reddit user u/stjornuryk for his original post)
June 26, 2014
Traded Dario Saric, a 2015 2nd round draft pick (Willy Hernangomez was later selected) and a 2018 1st round draft pick (Landry Shamet was later selected) to the Philadelphia 76ers for Elfrid Payton.
July 14, 2015
Traded Maurice Harkless to the Portland Trail Blazers for a 2020 2nd round draft pick. (Pick is top-55 protected)
February 16, 2016
Traded Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings.
June 23, 2016
Traded Ersan Ilyasova, Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka.
Amazingly, if the team stopped making trades in June 25th, 2014, their roster today would include Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Domantas Sabonis, and Dario Saric.
Granted, they wouldn’t be the favorites to win the Championship, but that team would almost surely make the playoffs.
Victor Oladipo is an All-Star for the Pacers, and he’s done an exceptional job leading them to a respectable record in the East.
Tobias Harris is no Hall-of-Famer, but his play is a big reason why the Clippers have done so well this season.
Add them with Sabonis, Gordon, and Saric? That’s a decent looking roster. Or, at the very least, one that’s in a way better position than they are now.
Lesson here? No mistake in the NBA is uncostly. For the Magic, their long history of trade and draft mistakes has cast them into irrelevance, a position they know all too well.
