Ranking Magic's Top Trade Targets After 2025 NBA Playoff Loss
A potential breakthrough season for the Orlando Magic never quite materialized.
Lengthy injury absences from star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner left Magic fans contemplating what could have been as the team now trudges into the 2025 NBA offseason following a first-round loss to the Boston Celtics.
That breakout could still be coming for this club, though, perhaps as soon as next season. It'll take some roster-strengthening over the summer to make that happen.
Upgrading this bottom-five offense should be the obvious focus, and we have identified and ranked three trade targets who could make that happen.
3. Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers
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Hey, folks: Even low-hanging fruit still needs picking. Anfernee Simons, who grew up in Orlando, might be the most-discussed trade target connected to this team. Even his former teammate in Portland, Jusuf Nurkić, has spoken on record about the fit.
"I think they are missing one player," Nurkić told reporters earlier this season. "I can't name it, but that's my little fella from Portland."
Simons is a pure scorer. Even better, he's someone who can consistently put points on the board without dominating the basketball. He has been an efficient 20.7-points-per-game scorer since the start of the 2022-23 season while handling a manageable 25.7 usage percentage over this stretch, per Basketball-Reference.
The Magic desperately need offense and Simons provides it in the form of silky jumpers, above-the-rim finishes, transition attacks and secondary ball-handling. If they think they need a star role player as opposed to a legitimate star, he could easily be their preferred pick.
2. LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
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If the Magic want more offensive creativity, LaMelo Ball offers about as much of that as anyone in the Association.
There are red flags flying around him, which we'll get to, but his talent is undeniable. He is a 6'7" playmaker with dizzying handles, tremendous vision and the ability to make any pass from any angle. Oh, and he just averaged better than 25 points while routinely flashing some of the league's deepest shooting range.
As for the concerns, they are notable and numerous. He has trouble staying healthy, struggles with inefficiency, doesn't always engage defensively and lacks a history of winning. You wonder, though, whether the warts are enough to convince the Hornets to move on and to shy away other potential suitors.
Orlando can't afford to fork over every asset in its collection for Ball, but it could absolutely decide a 23-year-old who stars on the end of the floor with this club struggles is worth a significant investment.
1. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
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Is this a pipe dream? Probably. But in an NBA world where Luka Dončić can be traded and the Nuggets can axe their coach and general manager three games ahead of their playoff opening, it feels appropriate to dream big.
So, while risking alienating Nikola Jokić by trading away his two-man-game dance partner Jamal Murray feels like too much, it also doesn't seem impossible. Heck, the Nuggets have even discussed it before.
Murray feels like exactly what the Magic need. He'd be perfect if he didn't have a worrisome injury history, but that's about it as far as alarms go. Otherwise, he's a slick shot-maker who can be equally potent on or off the ball. And his championship experience—on a journey he took with Magic swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope—could be vital in helping this young core get where it wants to go.
Murray, who turned 28 in February, is in the heart of his prime but still young enough to mesh with the Banchero-Wagner tandem. It might take just about everything the Magic have to lure Murray out of Denver, but that's a necessary sacrifice if Orlando's front office believes he's the missing piece.
