The East has 278 days left! Magic Max salary renewal Ban Kairo, 287 million yuan opens the window to win the championship

Today, the Orlando Magic completed a key contract renewal. According to ESPN ace reporter Shams Charania, the Magic have reached a five-year maximum salary renewal with Paul Benkairo for a total of $287 million. Almost a year ago, on July 6, 2024, the Magic signed the next five-year contract renewal with forward Franz Wagner, which shows that the Magic have established a team building strategy with Ban Keiro and Wagner as the cornerstone of the team. I hope this young forward combination can achieve a qualitative leap in the team's first round of the playoffs with two consecutive eliminated.

From the 2020-21 season to the 2022-23 season, the Magic's record was the third worst in the league in the same period (77 wins and 159 losses), second only to the Detroit Pistons (60 wins and 176 losses) and the Houston Rockets (59 wins and 177 losses). But in the two years since, things have improved significantly, and while injuries have slowed down their pace of progress, there are many reasons to trust them to go further.

Last season, Benkairo suffered a tear of his right oblique muscle in a loss to the Chicago Bulls in October 2024, starting only 46 games throughout the season. He returned from injury in January this year and has scored career highs per game (25.9 points) and rebounds (7.5).

With the rosters of several top Eastern Conference teams including the Milwaukee Bucks, the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers, the Magic have taken the other side to keep in control of the stability of the core lineup, which shows that they are ready for ALL IN this season.

In addition to signing Kairo and Wagner, the Magic also gave away shooting guard Kentavios Caldwell Pope, point guard Kerr Anthony, four unprotected first-round picks and a future first-round pick exchange from the Memphis Grizzlies, scoring guard Waysmond Bain. The Magic's offseason operation shows that management believes that the Magic have a chance to become an Eastern Conference championship-level team in the near future.