The Orlando Magic are heading into a season that feels different from the last three.
Three straight first-round exits have changed the conversation, and the pressure is no longer about simply getting back to the playoffs. That part has already been checked off. Now the focus shifts to what comes next, and that’s where the Magic’s core has to answer.
The organization made a major move by parting ways with Jamahl Mosley and bringing in Sean Sweeney as the next coach. Sweeney arrives with experience, a clear philosophy and the kind of fresh voice teams often need.
He’s also stepping into the job as a rookie head coach, which gives Orlando a little more room for patience. But that grace period doesn’t really extend to the players who are supposed to drive this team forward.
That’s why Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs are under a brighter spotlight now. They’ve already shown they can help a team reach the postseason.
What they haven’t yet shown is that they can push this group beyond the opening round. The novelty of just being there has faded.
On the latest Full Court Magic Podcast, that idea came into sharp focus.
"I think that this season is going to be interesting in a lot of ways because this is kind of a put-up or shut-up year for this Magic team from an individual standpoint in terms of the players across the roster and the team as a collective. And while I do believe that Orlando - I don't think it reset its runway for contention, but I think that might have gotten a little more grace given that this is Sweeney's first year; he's a rookie head coach, you know, things of that nature.
But I think for, you know, the core as we know it of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs, I won't include Desmond Bane because this is only year two for him. I think that, you know, this really is such a pivotal year for this group because they need to show that they can hang around in an Eastern Conference that's only gotten more difficult. And Paolo has demonstrated that he is taking his offseason work very seriously.
He said as much in a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show.
He said that, you know, this is the hardest he's worked in an offseason, just trying to get his body right, trying to become more durable. And the Magic are going to need the best version of Paolo Banchero.
"And Sean Sweeney, specifically, is going to need the best version of Paolo Banchero to succeed. You know, this is a two-way street with these guys. I do believe that Paolo having a new coach will be beneficial for him, just as it will for Franz and Jalen and Desmond, so on and so forth."
That’s the heart of it for Orlando. The new coach matters, but the bigger test belongs to the core. Banchero, Wagner and Suggs need to show that this group can climb higher than it has so far, and the season ahead is built around that challenge.