There are massive changes in Orlando already.
Less than 24 hours after the eighth-seeded Magic were defeated by the top-seeded Pistons in Game 7 of the first round, the team fired coach Jamahl Mosley.
Mosley led the team to a 45-37 record and a playoff berth, though that was considered a disappointment considering their hopes coming into the season.
Orlando went all in before the season started when they traded for wing Desmond Bane in exchange for four unprotected first-round picks, among other assets.
Still, the announcement is at least a little surprising considering the Magic entered their first-round series as massive underdogs and gave the Pistons everything they could handle.
The Magic arguably should have won this series against the Pistons as they were up 3-1 after Game 4 and looked ripe to defeat them in Game 6, up 22 points at halftime at home.
They lost Game 6, 93-79, and were also blown out in Game 7.
Magic team president Jeff Weltman will lead the charge to find a new coach in Orlando who can get star forward Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr. to the next level.
When asked whether the team has enough to be successful in the future, Banchero had a tough answer after they were eliminated in the first round for the third straight season.
“I want to say yes, but we haven’t been out of the first round,” Banchero told reporters. “I can’t say we’re good enough to be in the Finals or Eastern Finals because the last three years we’ve had the same result.”
Mosley, who played college basketball at Colorado and overseas professionally, is still under contract and will be paid through the 2027-28 season by the Magic after he signed an extension in 2024.
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