Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Entering the NBA season, many around the league were excited to see how the Orlando Magic would come out of the gates. After all, this team dealt with a ton of injuries last season, but still found ways to win games, showing the overall toughness of the roster.

*PREDICTION*

Over the offseason, the Magic traded for guard Desmond Bane, hoping for him to provide a real spark to the shooting of the team. However, the experiment to add a strong shooter such as Bane hasn’t worked out to plan, and he is shooting the worst career percentage from distance in his career.

Bane is shooting 36.2 percent from beyond the arc, which is a decent percentage, but his career numbers come in at 40.5 percent. The Magic as a whole struggles from deep, and it has been a consistent problem over the last few seasons.

This Magic team needs more offense if it is going to actually compete with the other elite teams in the NBA. Orlando has been viewed as a contender for the last few years, but they just haven’t been able to get over the hump.

As the NBA trade deadline nears, we could see Orlando look to capitalize on the wide-open Eastern Conference. This team has a lot of talent across the board, being led by stars Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, but they may be a piece away from true title contention.

One name that could solve a lot of problems for the Magic is veteran guard Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks. Thompson has been on the trade block this year, and with Dallas struggling, we could see him on the move.

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Why Orlando Magic Should Trade For Klay Thompson

With how open the Eastern Conference has been this season, the Magic need to make some sort of move. Adding Thompson to the mix could give this team a massive boost, helping to give more spacing to this offense.

The simple floor spacing that having Thompson on the floor could help unlock both Wagner and Banchero, allowing them to play more natural styles. Even at his age, Thompson remains a strong 3-point shooter, and he is exactly what this team needs to push them over the top.

There are times during the season that the Magic have struggled to score the ball, and Thompson would at least give them another option. The veteran guard has the ability to go nuclear on the floor, helping to spread defenses out for the others to create.

At this point in his career, Thompson isn’t the best defender, but he can still hold his own to a certain extent, and the Magic have multiple physical guys on the roster to help. Overall, the Orlando defense has slipped from last season’s success, but this move would be about bringing in a championship-level player to this roster.

The leadership of Thompson in the locker room could be paramount, and he knows exactly what it takes to get the job done in terms of winning a title. If the Magic are serious about winning this year, adding a sniper from deep has to be the priority, and maybe we could see Orlando go on a potential NBA Finals run.

Klay Thompson Contract and 2025-26 Stats

Thompson is on the books for one more season after 2025-26, being scheduled to make $17.4 next year.

In 45 games for the Mavericks this season, Thompson has averaged 11.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks per contest. The veteran is also shooting 38.0 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

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