The Orlando Magic are in full rebuild mode heading into the 2021-22 season with more than a handful of young players under the age of 25 who will see plenty of opportunities to improve.
Sorting out the rotation will be a challenge for new head coach Jamahl Mosley, but there are plenty of promising talents on this roster to move around and see what works.
The Magic will make their season debut on the road against the San Antonio Spurs on Oct. 20.
Depth chart
| Starters | Second | Third | Fourth | |
| PG | Jalen Suggs | Cole Anthony | Michael Carter-Williams | |
| SG | Gary Harris | RJ Hampton | E'Twaun Moore | Markelle Fultz* |
| SF | Terrence Ross | Franz Wagner | Ignas Brazdeikis | Admiral Schofield |
| PF | Chuma Okeke | Moritz Wagner | Jonathan Isaac* | |
| C | Wendell Carter Jr. | Mo Bamba | Robin Lopez |
*Isaac is still recovering from a torn meniscus suffered in the 2020 NBA bubble. He is making good progress but still has no timetable for return.
*Fultz is rehabbing from a torn ACL suffered on Jan. 6 and it is unclear when he'll return to action
Key additions and subtractions
The Magic did most of the damage to their roster at last year's trade deadline, making for a fairly quiet offseason. They added two top-10 picks in the 2021 NBA Draft in No. 5 overall pick Jalen Suggs and No. 8 overall pick Franz Wagner, bringing in two more young talented players to frame their rebuild.
In free agency, their only signing was veteran center Robin Lopez and their only subtraction was Otto Porter Jr. heading to the Golden State Warriors.
Positional battles
Orlando's backcourt is fairly congested with Jalen Suggs, RJ Hampton, Michael Carter-Williams and Gary Harris all fighting for minutes. It might be safe to assume Suggs will start, but the absence of Markelle Fultz puts questions surrounding who will be his starting backcourt mate.
From there, who will be the backups? After spending a first-round pick in Anthony in 2020 and acquiring Hampton as the focal point of the trade that sent Aaron Gordon to Denver, you'd have to assume that 20-year-old tandem will be the first two guards off the bench. But Carter-Williams and Harris add a veteran presence that could be good for a young roster.
In the frontcourt, things aren't any less congested. Will top-10 pick Franz Wagner earn the start over long-time veteran Terrence Ross? Chuma Okeke will likely be the starting power forward at the beginning of the season, but will he revert to the bench once Jonathan Isaac finally returns from a torn ACL and meniscus?
Wendell Carter Jr. appears to have the starting center position locked up, but former top-five pick Mo Bamba still needs a good chunk of minutes to develop as a player.
New head coach Mosley will have to perform a balancing act to give all of these young players enough of an opportunity to improve.
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