The Orlando Magic will finally take the floor Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies, giving fans their first look at a team now being guided by first-year head coach Sean Sweeney.
Most of the rotation already looks locked in, but the preseason still matters for a few players who need to make their case. For Richardson, Penda and Jamal Cain, these next two weeks are about more than getting back into game shape. They’re about earning trust, carving out minutes and forcing their way into the conversation.
Richardson arrives with the cleanest path to a bigger role. The Magic’s No. 25 draft pick last year never quite won over Jamahl Mosley as a rookie, appearing in 54 games but averaging only 10.9 minutes. He spent much of the season stuck behind Tyus Jones, whose play was catastrophic, and Jevon Carter, who joined the team in February.
Now he gets a fresh start after an encouraging summer. At 6-foot-1, Richardson gives Orlando a real shooting threat, especially without the ball. He’s the kind of player who can punish defenses when he’s coming off screens or working into secondary actions, and that’s exactly where his value could pop if Sweeney leans into spacing.
Penda is a different kind of bet. He was another rookie who mostly watched from the sideline last season, logging 59 games but averaging just 3.8 points and 3.2 rebounds on 40.4/32.3/68.8 shooting in 12.8 minutes a night. He also missed some camp time because of a hamstring injury, which makes the preseason even more important for him.
Still, there’s a reason he stands out as a possible breakout candidate. His defensive instincts and winning intangibles have been evident, and he looked more comfortable in Summer League as a floor spacer and secondary creator.
That said, Summer League only goes so far. Plenty of players shine there and then disappear when the games count, which is why this preseason is the real measuring stick for whether Penda has actually taken a step.
Cain’s story is a little different, but the opportunity is just as real. He had one play last season that summed up his first full year with Orlando: he came out of nowhere and hammered Detroit’s Jalen Duren in Game 4.
That was the theme for most of his season, too. Cain barely cracked the rotation, playing in 40 regular season games and going under 15 minutes in 25 of them.
He spent most of the year on a two-way deal before getting elevated to a standard contract in March. His regular-season numbers were modest - 5.4 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.2 minutes - though that worked out to a 16-6 per-36 line.
The postseason, though, gave him a better stage. Cain started three of Orlando’s seven playoff games and averaged 17.6 minutes, more than five minutes above his regular-season workload. He put up 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds, and his defense and rebounding brought a jolt of energy that showed up loudest in Game 4, when he posted eight points and nine rebounds, including three offensive boards.
Now he’s trying to turn that into something more permanent.
In Other News...
Sean Sweeney's Defensive Vision Could Change Everything For The Magic
Sean Sweeney made it clear this week that the Magic are not building their defense around a single look. Switching will be part of the plan next season, but only as one tool among several, with the staff aiming to tailor coverages to matchups and whatever lineup combinations are available on a given night. It is a useful reminder of how much Orlando values versatility, not just in its personnel but in the way it wants to defend.
Sweeney compared the approach to a pitcher mixing pitches, and the analogy fits the challenge ahead for a roster that can be asked to do a lot of different things. The real question for Orlando is not whether switching works, but how often it should be used and what other schemes can be layered around it when the opponent or the rotation calls for something else. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Two-Way Battle Could Create An Unexpected Roster Opportunity
Colin Castleton and Alex Morales will spend this season bouncing between the NBA and Osceola as the Magic continue sorting out the back end of their roster under new head coach Sean Sweeney. Both are on two-way contracts, which means their development will be shared between Orlando and the G League, and that arrangement should give the team a closer look at two players with different paths but similar urgency. On the Osceola side, Ronnie Burrell will be the new head coach guiding that process.
Morales is entering his second season on a two-way deal and is trying to show he is ready for an NBA role when the Magic need one. Castleton, meanwhile, is back on another two-way contract and looking to stay healthy enough to make the most of whatever chances come his way. For a team trying to sharpen its depth, the competition between the two could quietly become one of the more interesting subplots of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Jalen Suggs Has One Big Task In This Pivotal Magic Season
As the Magic head into a season carrying real expectations, Jalen Suggs stands right in the middle of the conversation. He has already shown how valuable he can be on the defensive end and as a playmaker, but Orlandos push to take a meaningful step forward will depend in part on whether he can smooth out the rough edges that have shown up in his game.
At Media Day, Suggs pointed to consistency and efficiency as the biggest areas he wants to sharpen, with decision-making and shooting among the details he knows need work. For a team trying to turn promise into results, that makes his role especially important, because the difference between a good season and a breakthrough one may come down to how steady he can be night after night. [Read more 🡒]