Orlando Magic Given Bold Expectations By NBA Insider

The Orlando Magic could challenge the top teams in the Eastern Conference next season.

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero drives to the hoop past Indiana Pacers forward Obi Toppin. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Orlando Magic are building a team that can compete in the upcoming season.

The Eastern Conference is wide open, but the Magic are right there in terms of teams that could reach the NBA Finals.

The Athletic insider Eric Koreen listed the Magic as one of the top three teams in the East.

"As for the Magic, 2011-12 was the last time they finished outside of the bottom third in offensive efficiency. In their top six in minutes played that year: a 2025 Hall of Fame inductee (Dwight Howard), a current NBA coach and executive (JJ Redick and Jameer Nelson, the latter an assistant GM with Philadelphia) and the father of a rookie the Magic just drafted (Jason Richardson)," Koreen wrote.

"However, Desmond Bane, regardless of what you think of the cost, is a wonderful fit next to Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Tyus Jones is a functional NBA point guard. If their stars pop, which doesn’t seem like a stretch, they could be right there."

The Magic are making the improvements necessary to get better in the East and the hope is that Banchero, Wagner and Suggs can all take another step in their development.

Should the team stay healthy, the Magic will emerge as one of the top teams in the East next season.

In the meantime, the Magic will participate in the Las Vegas Summer League, which begins Thursday.

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