National Basketball Association

If Magic can keep young core together, many believe bright future ahead

Published Apr. 26, 2015 2:00 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Orlando Magic finished last in the Southeast Division and 13th in the Eastern Conference with a 25-57 overall record. Orlando went 15-37 against conference opponents, 4-12 vs. division foes and ended its season on a four-game losing streak.

But with all things, one can choose to see the silver lining.

The Magic are a young team with a plethora of untapped potential.

Orlando had one of the NBA's youngest rosters with an average age of 25.3. With the exception of Channing Frye, Willie Green, Luke Ridnour and Ben Gordon, every Magic player was 25 or younger.

The Magic's nucleus of Elfrid Payton, Victor Oladipo, Tobias Harris, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic is comprised of players all born after 1990. In the NBA, talent will only get you so far, but a veteran presence can elevate a team to the postseason.

Consider this, LeBron James has been in the league since 2003. During the Magic's March 15 matchup against Cleveland, Harris, 22, had the duties of guarding not only the best player on the planet, but someone who spent the better part of his adolescence dominating the NBA.

The forward responded by recording 24 points and eight rebounds on the five-time MVP during the 123-108 loss, to which James admitted, "He had a really good game."

Orlando needs to develop a winning culture. That was said throughout the season and it still holds true after the team's final game. The talent is there, but the lack of experience is hindering the Magic from closing out games, which became a familiar plague by season's end.

Orlando's roster lacks playoff experience and the presence of a player that can push its young starting five to the next level. Perhaps an offseason acquisition could help the team snap its three-year postseason drought.

Take the Oklahoma City Thunder. During the early Durant-Westbrook-Harden years, Oklahoma City was a fringe playoff team prior to acquiring Kendrick Perkins via trade. The move, as well as the maturation of the team's core nucleus, propelled the Thunder to becoming an annual Western Conference contender and five consecutive playoff appearances.

In the East, the Magic find themselves in a similar situation to the Toronto Raptors teams of years past, just ask DeMar Derozan. Like many of Orlando's players, the 25-year-old guard spent his first few seasons as a rising star on several Raptors squads that fell short of the playoffs. Now, Derozan is a franchise player on a team making back-to-back playoff appearances.

"I can see it because I had to go through the phases a lot of these young players are going through," Derozan said following Toronto's 101-99 win at Orlando on April 10. "Being in a situation like this, understanding how to win, what you have to do to win and getting better. It all starts from here and they have a lot of great talent and young guys."

Similar to Derozan, the Magic have a potential star at shooting guard in Oladipo. The veteran praised the second-year guard and is optimistic of Oladipo's chances of reaching superstardom.

"He's very skilled," Derozan said. "He's an athletic guard, he's able to score, knock down shots. Once he puts everything together and he gets a taste of winning, I think it's going to help his career a lot."

Despite a poor record, Orlando proved to be a tough test for many of the NBA's best teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, who finished atop the Eastern Conference standings. The Magic earned a victory against Atlanta on Dec. 13, but fell short in the team's three other matchups.

Still, they earned the respect of Hawks shooting guard Kyle Korver, who praised the young team following a March 25 win at the Amway Center.

"They have a bunch of solid players," Korver said. "They've got a bunch of guys who it feels like are far from their potential. They have a lot of room to grow and I think they really talk about development here and they have guys who aren't even close to their ceilings. I think they have them playing really hard and they always give us fits, we always have a hard time with Orlando so I think there's a lot to be excited about here."

Teammate Jeff Teague was also impressed by the Magic's potential, particularly Elfird Payton, who he matched up against at point guard.

"He's a competitor," Teague said. "He plays really hard and is a scrappy guy. With more time and more games under him he's going to be a really good player."

Orlando's core nucleus has the potential to be one of the best starting lineups in the NBA with time and the right supporting cast. The biggest problem -- as fans know all too well -- is preventing players from leaving.

With Harris expected to test free agency, a lucrative deal and the opportunity to "win now" may be enticing. However, the Magic brass must do all it can to keep its core group intact while adding a winning presence to the roster.

Orlando's coaching search will be a major factor in the team's success in 2015-16 and the coming years. The new hire could inherit one of the most talented young teams in the NBA with a projected top-five lottery pick and added depth.

With the right hire, the Magic have the talent to be a surprise team in an open Eastern Conference. It's easy to feel pessimistic after three consecutive losing seasons, but things should be brighter in Central Florida during the coming years if the team manages to stay together and reach its full potential.