Jalen Suggs sits at the center of everything the Orlando Magic are trying to figure out.
That became clear in their playoff series with the Detroit Pistons, which showed both sides of his game in sharp relief. In Game 1, Suggs gave Orlando the kind of burst that can tilt a series, knocking down three of his 10 3-pointers for 16 points.
He played with confidence and energy, and his early shot-making helped the Magic grab the lead and settle in. He followed that with 19 points in Game 2, again going 3-for-10 from deep.
Then the series turned, especially after Franz Wagner’s injury, and Suggs’ impact swung the other way. He went 1-for-11 in the Game 4 win, then scored just 23 total points over the final three games while shooting 3-for-15 from three.
Orlando needed him to take command without Wagner. Instead, his aggression faded, and the frustration seemed to take over.
That’s the bind the Magic are in. They still don’t know exactly how good this team can be, and the roster is already loaded with decisions they can’t dodge.
Paolo Banchero has to be better. Wagner has to be healthy.
But the player who may tell them the most about their future is Suggs.
He is one of the most valuable pieces on the roster and one of the most complicated. He brings the kind of defensive edge that changes games and gives Orlando its identity. At the same time, he has not consistently delivered in the biggest moments, and his contract situation is now part of the conversation too.
Suggs has not been a bust. He never became the lead guard Orlando hoped for when it took him fifth in the 2021 Draft, but he has settled in as a solid player with clear defensive value. He made the All-Defensive Team in 2024 and remains one of the league’s better defenders, with the kind of anticipation that creates turnovers and disrupts rhythm.
The numbers back that up. Orlando posted a team-best +5.2 net rating with Suggs on the floor and -2.8 when he sat.
Most of that swing came on defense. He also took a step forward as a shooter last season, hitting 33.9 percent from three overall and 39.3 percent on 3.8 catch-and-shoot attempts per game.
That ranked 47th among players who attempted at least three catch-and-shoot threes per game.
Still, the challenge with Suggs has always been less about talent than about control. He has improved as a passer, posting a career-high 5.5 assists per game last season, but he can still get too amped up and drift away from what the team needs. That has shown up in the playoffs, where he has struggled badly from deep in back-to-back series - 29.2 percent on 6.9 attempts per game against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2024, then 24.1 percent on 7.7 attempts per game against the Pistons last year.
That matters because defenses treat him a certain way. If Suggs is making threes, Orlando’s offense opens up.
If he isn’t, the Magic feel it immediately. And in those playoff series, he has been part of the reason they stayed alive and part of the reason they fell short.
Injuries only complicate things further. Suggs played 57 games last season while dealing with a hip contusion and an MCL sprain, the second-most games he has logged in a year during his career. Availability remains part of the equation, and it only adds pressure for him to produce when he is on the floor.
That is the storm waiting for him as the season opens. The Magic need his defense, his energy and his shot-making to line up.
When it does, he can lift them. When it doesn’t, the questions only get louder.
And the money makes those questions impossible to ignore.
Suggs is set to make $32.4 million this upcoming season, and his contract still has three years and $83.1 million left, with a team option on the third and final year. The deal was front-loaded, so this is the last season he’ll make more than $30 million, but the bigger issue is what his salary means for a team with limited flexibility.
On Locked On NBA’s amnesty exercise, Suggs was the player who got the axe, and Wes Goldberg explained why: "With his injury history, I don't think you could trade him," Wes Goldberg said on Locked on NBA. "I love Jalen Suggs, by the way. I think for that money, that particular roster, where they are against the salary cap, could they amnesty Jalen Suggs and then all of a sudden they have way more flexibility to make moves around that roster, elevate Anthony Black and kind of do all of that."
That is the reality Orlando is staring at. The Magic have protected themselves, but keeping Suggs also means staying tied to a roster that has had trouble getting out of the first round and is pressing against the second apron. Anthony Black is also due for an extension, which could force the team to choose how it wants to build its backcourt.
So this season is about more than Suggs’ next shot or his next defensive stop. It is about what he proves on the floor and what the Magic decide about him afterward. The answer to both could help define what this team becomes.
In Other News...
Anthony Black Is Forcing A Tough Magic Decision
Anthony Black has quietly become one of the more interesting long-term questions on the Magic roster, which is saying something for a team already juggling a crowded core and a tight financial picture. Orlando has more than $150 million committed to its top four players, and with Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner all central to the franchises direction, every future decision carries extra weight.
Black has flashed enough as a starter to make the front office think twice, even with the shooting inconsistency that still follows him. If he reaches restricted free agency, the Magic may not be alone in trying to sort out his market, with Sacramento expected to be in position to look around as its own roster changes loom. For Orlando, the challenge is simple to state and hard to solve: keep the upside without boxing itself into an even tougher cap squeeze. [Read more 🡒]
Anthony Black Has A Lot Riding On Orlandos Next Decision
The Magic have started rolling out offseason training photos, and Anthony Black is right in the middle of the group getting ready for the upcoming NBA season. For Orlando, it is a familiar sort of checkpoint with a young player whose profile keeps rising: Black has increased his scoring average in each of his first three seasons, which has helped keep him in the conversation as one of the teams more important developmental pieces.
The next decision around Black carries some weight because he is entering the second year of a club option on his contract, with an extension possible before the season and restricted free agency waiting in 2027-28 if things play out that far. The questions are still the same ones that have followed him: his offense has trended up, but the three-point shot, free throws and an uneven postseason showing leave Orlando with a real evaluation to make before the roster picture tightens further. [Read more 🡒]