Why The Orlando Magic Must Find A Point Guard This Summer

The Orlando Magic have had a whirlwind of a season, starting out the year like gangbusters in terms of upping their three-point shooting, and significantly investing in their offense.

Unfortunately, both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner went down with injuries, and later Wagner’s brother, Moe, went down with a season-ending ACL tear.

Despite it all, the club is 29-30 and seventh in the Eastern Conference, which is frankly impressive when you consider how ineffective their offense has been.

Shooting woes

Despite Orlando leaning into the the three-point shot early in the year, the team has seen a major drop-off.

Outside of Moe Wagner (36.0%), not a single player on the roster is over the league average of 35.9% from downtown through February 24th.

Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs – the team’s three primarily players, are hitting 30%, 30.7%, and 31.4% respectively, with newcomer Kentavious Caldwell-Pope also struggling at a mere 30.5% from range.

Those are concerning numbers for Orlando, in large part due to the fact that the organization seems to insist upon running its offense through Banchero and Franz Wagner, and opting not to aggressively seek for a real floor leader, who can consistently break down defenses, and create open looks for others.

Their decision to spend $66 million over three years for Caldwell-Pope had a feel of “use it or lose it” over it, but the contract currently looks fairly egregious, especially as the veteran isn’t offering something the Magic don’t already have.

It’s time to find a point guard

This summer, the Magic must begin a search for a real point guard to lead the troops. It’s entirely possible for the team to provide heavy usage for Banchero, their primary player, while have a more traditional floor leader on the floor.

How to get a real point guard, however, is a bigger issue.

There are players who should be available to Orlando this summer, such as D’Angelo Russell or Tyus Jones, but are those names that lift them up enough?

Darius Garland, who’d be a perfect fit, isn’t available, nor would Orlando have enough to pry him away from the Cleveland Cavaliers. De’Aaron Fox, another candidate, was recently acquired by the San Antonio Spurs, a place he actively wanted to go to.

As such, it’s not easy identifying a point guard who fits the bill.

Perhaps, then, Orlando could lean into an upside play by calling up the Chicago Bulls, and inquiring about Coby White or Ayo Dosunmu – perhaps even both.

The Coby White fit

The Bulls underpaid White when he became an unrestricted free agent, handing him $36 million over three seasons, a contract he easily outperformed.

His current deal has caused a problem for the Bulls who, due to the 140% extension limit, can’t extend him under any realistic parameter, meaning White is almost assuredly heading into unrestricted free agency in 2026.

By not trading White at the February 6th trade deadline, the Bulls made a blunder. White will now have just one year remaining on his deal, meaning he could be had for cheaper than his price tag would look before the deadline.

White, who’s 6’5 and a scorer who can play both on and off the ball, has improved as a ball-handler and defender in recent years. He’s not elite in either category, but his ability to spot up off the attention given to others, while also creating opportunities for himself and teammates, makes him a strong theoretical fit in Orlando.

His 18.1 points, and 4.6 assists, would be an immediate welcome to Orlando’s offense, as would his three made three-pointers per game, which he cans at a rate of 36.8%, while hitting almost 90% from the foul line.

The Magic may wish for elite defenders, but their collective defense – which remains one of the best in the NBA – can carry White’s presence rather easily, just as the franchise can expect White to improve on that end of the floor under head coach Jamahl Mosley.

Orlando may have to relinquish draft compensation to get their hands on White, but in the grand scheme of things, it could be worth it.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.