Before last year’s trade deadline, the Magic dealt Nikola Vucevic for two first-round picks, Aaron Gordon for another first-round pick and Evan Fournier for two second-round picks – the last of which will come in 2027.
The executives who engineered that pivot into rebuilding – president Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond – might even get to use those picks themselves.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
The Orlando Magic have extended the contracts of President Jeff Weltman and GM John Hammond through the 2025-2026 seasons, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 10, 2022
Weltman and Hammond took over Orlando’s front office 2017, mostly inheriting the core of teams that made the playoffs with a combined losing record and barely put up fights in the first round in 2019 and 2020. The Magic regressed last season. Hence, the pivot into rebuilding.
So, that’s a lot of job security without ever building a winner.
The Magic have a reasonable start on their next era: Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. Mo Bamba, Jonathan Isaac and those extra future picks. Weltman and Hammond are taking the team a smart direction.
Slowly.
Which is nice for keeping their prestigious jobs.