In the hours after the Orlando Magic acquired Desmond Bane, it was hard not to get wrapped up in excitement over the team.
Getting Bane on the team was a bold move that greatly improved a dire need. Everyone imagined how the pieces of the puzzle would fit together. Immediately, the Magic vaulted into the conversation for potential contenders in a wide-open Eastern Conference. Everyone saw this as a step forward.
The feeling about the Magic a year later is quite a bit different.
Everyone might recognize the Magic are better than the 8-seed they finished at. There might still be recognition of this team's talent and its place among the Eastern Conference's Playoff teams.
But nobody is annointing them future champions. Nobody is jumping out on the limb they did last year when many said they could reach the Eastern Conference Finals.
The roster is expected to be much the same this year as it was last year. Nobody is expecting massive changes. But Orlando's frustrating 2026 season, as injury filled as it was, has changed how everyone views this team.
If the Magic are going to change minds, they will have to do so on the court. Nobody is giving them the benefit of the doubt anymore.
Fans will be hard-pressed to find anybody in the national media -- and maybe even fans, frustrated by a team failing to meet expectations -- who is ready to sign the Magic's praises.
Orlando went from a media darling to a team everyone is doubting. And the early look-ahead to the 2027 season only drives that point home.
The early predictions
It is still too early to make any big predictions for the 2027 season.
The offseason is still ahead. Even though the Orlando Magic are not expected to make major changes to their lineup, they will add at least a few players to supplement their bench. The front office has signalled it believes in its starting five at the very least.
There will be a lot of moves beyond the Magic too -- the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade is the first big domino of this offseason to fall.
That is to say, the league will change a lot in the next month before the Magic can sit down and truly prepare for their season.
But the early predictions are not friendly to the Magic.
Law Murray of The Athletic ranked the Magic 14th in his post-Finals power rankings. That is actually up one spot, a credit to their 3-1 lead in the first round that ultimately fell apart. The Magic will have questions to answer about their offense, particularly after their Game 6 collapse.
Murray ranked the Magic eighth among Eastern Conference Teams.
ESPN ranked the Magic 15th in their postseason power rankings. They have the Magic ninth among Eastern Conference teams, elevating the Indiana Pacers back into the Playoff picture.
Orlando has a hill to climb even to avoid the Play-In, it would seem.
The sports books reflect this change too.
The early odds from BetMGM have the Magic at +5000 to win the title, ranking seventh among Eastern Conference teams. The Magic were +4000 to win the title last year in the preseason.
Nobody is buying that Desmond Bane by himself was going to change anything. They move from a potential contender to a team on "The Bubble."
The Magic were darlings last year. This year they have a lot to prove.
Changes ahead?
That is fair to say.
The Orlando Magic are being roped into the Giannis Antetokounmpo discussions because of concerns and questions about Paolo Banchero and his ability to be the team's leading star. Two seasons with extended absences from Franz Wagner have even drawn his durability into question.
Ultimately that is the central question for the Magic. Can their two young stars stay on the court together long enough and make good on their vast amount of talent? Can Banchero truly be a leading star or, as his critics claim, an empty calorie scorer? Can Wagner be that guy if Banchero is not?
The Magic must improve the supporting cast this offseason and they must connect and click with a new coach. But much of the story of this season will be whether the Magic are building around the right two stars.
When that duo was together, the Magic were stellar. They took a 3-1 series lead on the No. 1 seed when they had their full complement of starters. The Magic showed they can still be very good.
But the margin for error in the Eastern Conference is still very tight. It may not take much to tumble from the 4-seed to the 8-seed.
And this summer the East could only get better.
The Boston Celtics, who still finished as the 2-seed despite a first-round series loss, will have Jayson Tatum back for the entire season after his fast return from the ruptured Achilles in March.
The Indiana Pacers, the 2025 Eastern Conference champions, will get Tyrese Haliburton back from his ruptured Achilles. They had one of the worst records in the league last year, but reinforced themselves with Ivica Zubac at the trade deadline. They will be dangerous.
The Charlotte Hornets will have a full season playing with the confidence they showed after Christmas that made them a legitimate Play-In threat. The Washington Wizards will get a full season with Trae Young, Anthony Davis and the No. 1 pick to cause havoc.
And that does not even include what trades might happen -- including the pending Giannis Antetokounmpo deal that everyone expects to send him to play for the Miami Heat.
The one thing nobody can predict is how the rest of the conference will change. There is always some surprise -- like the Magic acquiring Desmond Bane.
The Magic are banking on health to hold their spot. And, indeed, health will play a large part in how the East sorts itself out with how many quality teams there are.
But that seems to be all they are banking on. The Magic might very well watch other teams make more aggressive pushes for their spot. Orlando cannot sit still.
As the Magic learned last year, one trade does not fix all of your problems. There is still something more a team has to find.
Orlando has the talent to be competitive at the top of the East.
But nobody will believe the Magic can do that until they do. They have a lot to prove next season. And the work is just beginning.
