Although the Magic only made one move ahead of the NBA trade deadline — Orlando sent veteran guard Tyus Jones and two second-round picks to Charlotte in exchange for cash considerations — team president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman revealed Thursday the franchise considered making other deals in hopes of improving its roster.

Ultimately, however, the Magic didn’t roll the dice on any other trades beyond moving Jones late Wednesday night.

Weltman doesn’t believe that’s a sign of complacency or due to a lack of aggression by the organization that entered Thursday’s game against Brooklyn 2-8 in its last 10 games and 8th in the East during a season that came with high expectations.

“We’re aggressive 365 days a year,” he said at the AdventHealth Training Center. “And I think we’re not afraid to make bolds as I think last summer showed. The answer to frustration isn’t just to make a move just for the sake of making a move. One thing to understand is the way that our team is set up right now with contracts and timing, for us to make a significant move means that we have to break into the core.

“That core has been excellent when it’s been on the floor together,” he added. “… So, for us to break up that core, it’s going to have to be a significant move. I will tell you, we had some substantiative talks that I thought could have gone somewhere. Obviously they did not, they didn’t materialize but it wasn’t for a lack of pushing, for a lack of urgency. Our mission is to improve this team. We’re never taking a day off from that. It’s just that we’re not going to do something just for the sake of doing it.”

To Weltman’s point, Orlando’s opening night lineup of Jalen Suggs, Desmond Bane, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr. ranked sixth league-wide in net rating (plus-18) among all five-man lineups in the league who had played at least 115 minutes together entering Thursday’s slate of games, according to NBA.com.

But for the second season in a row, the Magic have been plagued by injuries to key players.

Suggs has missed 20 games due to injury, including seven (Dec. 18-29) because of a left hip contusion and eight (Jan. 4-22) with a grade 1 right knee MCL bruise. Banchero has missed 10 games (Nov. 14-Dec. 3) due to a left groin strain. Wagner missed his eighth straight Thursday due to left high ankle sprain injury management after he already sat out 16 (Dec. 9-Jan. 11) due because of the original injury.

Even Carter missed two games due to injury: one (Nov. 23) due to a left ankle sprain and another (Jan. 11) due to a right hip strain.

Among Orlando’s opening night lineup, only Bane had been available for each of the first 49 games of the season.

“It’s concerning,” Weltman said when the Sentinel asked him how concerning it is to him that the team’s core hasn’t been able to remain healthy this season and last. “Every team has injuries, but it’s having these prolonged injuries. All I can say is, these are soft tissue injuries. What can you say? It’s the NBA and this is what happens sometimes.

“I do feel like we’re a little bit ‘Groundhog Day,’ with this season,” Weltman added. “The only thing is, I also think we’re better this year because we added Desmond Bane. So, I hate to keep saying it, but when this team has been healthy, it’s been really good.”

Still, Orlando at times this season has fallen away from its defensive identity, which in turn has stumped its offensive output.

Entering Thursday, the Magic were 16th in defensive rating (114.6) and 20th in offensive rating (113.5), which resulted in a net rating (minus-1.1) that sat 19th, according to NBA.com.

Last year, the team ended the regular season second in defensive rating league-wide (109.1) and 27th in offensive rating (108.9), which left them with a net rating (minus-0.2) that ended 17th in the NBA.

After opening this season 13-8, the Magic have gone 12-16 since Dec. 3.

“I don’t like the state of the team right now,” Weltman said. “We’re not playing well and I think it’s been a little while that we haven’t been playing well. I would imagine our fans our frustrated by the way we’re playing and I’m frustrated with them.

“I remain optimistic about the rest of the season and it’s on us to turn this thing around,” he added. “There’s still over a third of the season left and we’re right in the thick of the race. We’ve got to get it done.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com