Seeing as they were going nowhere as a franchise last season, the Orlando Magic decided to “clean house” on what they have been building over the years and start over. Orlando traded away All-Star center Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, and Aaron Gordon at the NBA trade deadline last year, resulting in the 2021-22 season being a massive rebuilding year for them.
While they are not going to win a ton of games, this upcoming year is going to be very critical for the Orlando Magic, not just because of all of the young players on their roster, but because they will have decisions to make about who they want to keep and who they want to let go moving forward.
Rookie Jalen Suggs joins a crowded backcourt with Cole Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Michael Carter-Williams, and R.J. Hampton. The Magic also has Jonathan Isaac returning from injury after not playing at all during the 2020-21 season.
With veterans in Gary Harris and Terrence Ross, the Magic could once again end up being busy in terms of moving talents for future assets and draft picks.
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Their veterans are definitely available via trades, but after acquiring Wendell Carter Jr. last year at the NBA trade deadline and signing Robin Lopez this offseason, could Orlando look to move on from former first-round pick Mo Bamba?
When they drafted him 6th overall in 2018, the Magic had high hopes that Bamba could be their center of the future, but things have not gone the way they had imagined.
Mo Bamba has averaged just 6.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and has shot just 47.1% from the floor in 155 games in Orlando, which is why he could very well be traded at some point during the 2021-22 season.
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While they did acquire Daniel Gafford last season, and they have Thomas Bryant returning from an ACL injury, the Wizards could be a team that looks to add Bamba should he become available.
So what would Washington have to give up to acquire the former lottery pick? Let’s take a look at the return Orlando could get for Mo Bamba in a trade with the Washington Wizards.
