The Orlando Magic’s biggest problem still has a very familiar shape: they need more shooting.
That issue has been hanging over the roster for a while. Last season, Orlando finished 27th in 3-point percentage.
The year before, it was dead last. Injuries have played a part, but the inability to consistently knock down perimeter shots has been just as damaging.
The front office did make some quiet moves in the offseason, but the financial reality of being a first-apron team limited what the Magic could do. They brought back or added a few respectable shooters in Nikola Vucevic, Jonathan Isaac and Jevon Carter, though only Vucevic has been reliably productive from deep in recent seasons.
That is why a late offseason swing could make sense, especially if a veteran shooter becomes available. One name to watch is Buddy Hield.
On Tuesday, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the Atlanta Hawks traded Hield and Ryan Nembhard to the Charlotte Hornets for Dorian Finney-Smith. But Hield is not expected to stay in Charlotte for long.
Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported that the Hornets are expected to waive Hield, which would put him on the market for teams looking for instant shooting help. That is exactly the kind of opening Orlando should be monitoring.
Hield is 33 now and clearly in the later stages of his career, but the one thing he still brings is real perimeter touch. Across 11 NBA seasons, he has hit 39.5% of his 3s.
He also fits the profile of a player who can slide into different systems without needing the ball to be his whole world. If he ends up with another team for the 2026-27 season, it would be his seventh stop.
For Orlando, this would be a low-risk bet rather than a headline-grabber. Hield’s most recent season was his roughest from long distance. In 44 games with the Golden State Warriors, he connected on just 34.4% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
There was a bounce-back of sorts after he was traded to Atlanta in February, though the sample was tiny. In seven games, Hield shot 41.2% from three while averaging between one and 2.4 attempts per game.
That kind of production is exactly why he remains interesting. At this stage, Hield is the sort of player who would likely be available on a veteran minimum deal, which keeps him in Orlando’s range. And beyond the shooting itself, he could give a young locker room some added veteran presence.
Hield has topped 40% from 3-point range in three of his 11 seasons. If he could get back to that level in Orlando, it would be a real boost for a team that badly needs it.
Whether it ends up being Hield or someone else, the Magic still have to solve this problem.
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Franz Wagner is expected back in the mix, and his presence could matter as much as any lineup tweak the team makes. When he is healthy, he gives the Magic a versatile scorer and connector who can ease the burden on Banchero and Bane, but the real question is whether he can stay on the floor and sharpen the shooting that would let Orlandos offense finally open up in a way it has not yet consistently managed. [Read more 🡒]