The Magic are heading into the season with a different kind of buzz - or, more accurately, not much buzz at all. And that suits Jeff Weltman just fine.
National preseason rankings have Orlando floating in the middle of the NBA pack. The Ringer’s Michael Pina put the Magic 15th overall, SB Nation’s Ricky O’Donnell had them 15th as well, USA Today slotted them 16th, and NBA.com’s John Schuhmann placed them 10th in the Eastern Conference.
After three straight first-round playoff exits, Weltman isn’t losing sleep over that.
“Last year, I think they picked us to win the East,” Weltman said Monday at media day inside the AdventHealth Training Center. “Honestly, I much prefer this summer. I much prefer the focus, the attention, the notoriety being drawn to other teams.”
He said the quieter outside noise matches the way Orlando has handled its offseason.
“We’ve just gone about our work quietly,” Weltman added. “We’ve done a lot of good work here. I think a lot of important work.”
That work was mostly about keeping the group together. The Magic re-signed Jonathan Isaac and Jevon Carter, picked up the team option on Jamal Cain, and brought back most of last season’s roster. Orlando added just one new free agent, reconnecting with fan favorite Nikola Vucevic, and drafted Izaiyah Nelson in the second round before signing him to a two-way contract.
The departures were limited, too. Moe Wagner left in free agency for the Brooklyn Nets, while Jett Howard - Orlando’s 2023 lottery pick - signed a two-way contract with the Dallas Mavericks.
The biggest change came on the bench. The Magic moved on from Jamahl Mosley and hired Sean Sweeney, a first-time NBA head coach whose reputation is built on intensity and detail. Sweeney spent more than a decade as an assistant and most recently ran the defense for the San Antonio Spurs, who lost in June to the New York Knicks in the NBA Finals.
On Monday, the players kept coming back to the same thing when talking about Sweeney: clarity.
“It’s just been constant communication,” said Paolo Banchero, who also spent time with Sweeney this summer in Banchero’s hometown of Seattle. “Him telling me what he expects from me, asking me what I want and stuff like that … Can’t ask for anything more from a new coach.”
Wendell Carter Jr. echoed that theme.
“He expects us to do what we’re being told to do,” Carter said. “As a player, that’s what you dream of.
That’s what you want. You want to be held to a standard and when you’re not meeting that standard, to be told that you’re not doing it.”
Desmond Bane sounded just as impressed.
“I’ve been extremely impressed with his approach. I think that his care factor is through the roof. He says it all the time, this is the job that he wanted.”
While other teams around the league made splashier headlines, Orlando is betting that continuity, paired with a new voice and a new standard, can push the group forward.
Weltman made it clear he’s comfortable with the lack of national attention.
“Our players are beginning to get to an age where they are understanding what goes into winning (and) what goes into getting out of the playoffs,” he said. “The integration with the coaching staff has been terrific.
So, honestly, I would say it doesn’t matter, I don’t care, but actually, I like it. It’s great.
“We’ve all got to play the games. That’s all that matters.”
The Magic begin training camp Tuesday, then head into a week of practice before opening the preseason Oct. 7 at Memphis. Their regular season starts Oct. 21 against Atlanta at Kia Center.
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