Pre-Season NBA Power Rankings

38. <p>When the Orlando Magic traded guard Victor Oladipo, forward Ersan Ilyasova and the rights to power forward Domantas Sabonis for Serge Ibaka. The Magic hope that the arrival of Ibaka can help them implement a tighter defense this season.</p> <p>The Orlando Magic are another team that seems to be stuck in limbo.  The roster is very solid, and will win some games, but the loss in free agency was simply compensated for in their own signings and draft, with little indication of real progress.  The magic has a need of that “elite” player to fashion the team around, and perhaps this will be the year that Nikola Vucevic breaks the 20 points per game barrier.  If that does not happen, working on creating more turnovers (steals and rebounds) would be the alternative.</p> <p>Neither plan seems to be in play for this year, and so the Magic are anything but.  It’s simply “second verse, same as the first”.</p> <p><strong>Key Losses:</strong> Dewayne Dedmon<br /> <strong>Key Gains:</strong> Serge Ibaka, Jeff Green<br /> <strong>Key Statistic</strong>: Turnovers<br /> <strong>NBA Power Rankings:</strong> 21st</p>. (36-46). Previous: . Orlando Magic. 21. team