Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Magic Should Take Note on Timberwolves' Rudy Gobert Trade
ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is sitting on the couch this postseason, but the team has high hopes that it won't be this time next year.
Orlando has potential to make some upgrades this offseason, but as some teams in the postseason are proving, the hunt for a superstar doesn't always make the grass greener. The Minnesota Timberwolves might be the best example of this.
After becoming the No. 7 seed in 2022, its best mark since 2004, Minnesota made a splash in the trade market, acquiring Rudy Gobert from the Utah Jazz in exchange for Patrick Beverley, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt, Leandro Bolmaro, and the draft rights to center Walker Kessler in addition to four first-round picks and a 2026 first-round pick swap.
The Wolves were expected to be one of the top teams in the West, but instead, the team regressed. Minnesota finished with the No. 8 seed and finds itself two games away from elimination against the top-seeded Denver Nuggets.
The Magic has a pair of lottery picks this summer, a host of young, promising prospects and cap space galore.
The Gobert trade shouldn't completely deter the Magic away from trying to acquire another major piece, but Orlando should keep in mind that the margin between teams in the NBA is pretty thin and mortgaging the future by sacrificing some of the squad's promising players may not be worth the short-term satisfaction.
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