Welcome to the inaugural edition of eDraft’s NBA Season Preview. We turn our attention on to the Southeast Division, covering everyone from the pretenders to the contenders. Today we take a look at the Magic. This team lost their star this summer, what did they get in return?

Key additions: Arron Afflalo (Trade), Al Harrington (Trade), Moe
Harkless (15th overall, from Sixers), Andrew Nicholson (19th overall),
Gustavo Ayon (Trade), Christian Eyenga (Trade), Josh McRoberts
(Trade), Nikola Vucevic (Trade), Kyle O’Quinn (49th overall)

For as bad as this past summer was for the Magic the upcoming season will prove to be even worse. Or rather it will just be a manifestation of what transpired this summer. If you didn’t already know, Dwight Howard is gone to L.A. and the Orlando Magic is a franchise in disarray.

To be clear, the eternally petulant Howard had to, by all accounts, be traded. If the cards are played right then the return on a superstar can be substantial, and a team can actually improve by shipping off a disgruntled player. Just ask the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, the Magic got fleeced this summer, getting the equivalent of pennies on the dollar for their former star center, and as a result Orlando should be the worst team in the league this season and into the foreseeable future.

So if Howard will no longer be wearing the cartoonish Magic uniforms, who will? We have before us a motley crew, a collection of odd fitting pieces, prospects that time forgot and some rather unseemly contracts. Starting at the point guard slot is Jameer Nelson, who re-signed with the Magic this summer, probably to the detriment of both parties. Nelson is expensive, so the Magic don’t get the flexibility they need, and the Magic are awful and will likely leave Nelson, a classy veteran who deserves better, depressed. But perhaps money can buy happiness.

The shooting guard position is the one bright spot on this team with both Arron Afflalo and J.J. Redick getting splitting minutes there. Afflalo (15PPG-2.4APG-3.2RPG) came over in the Howard trade and is a potential All-Star. Redick can shoot (41 3P%). Or at least he could shoot when defenses collapsed on his talented teammates leaving him open for three pointers. It’s not clear if Redick can be effective on a team where he will be a focal point for the opposition. Still, he’s tradable and would be an exciting player for a team with title dreams.

Al Harrington can flat out score (two seasons 20+ PPG, 14.2 PPG last season). He was also good enough at one point in his career to have his own sneaker line, The Protégé, albeit with Kmart. Still, for some reason his offensive skills have been undervalued throughout his career: perhaps its his somewhat one-dimensional game or his hefty contract. Whatever the case may be Harrington finds himself involved in an unusually large number of trades. Looking at it from bright side lots of teams are willing to trade for him, and that’s got to take some of the sting off. What the Magic will do with him Glen Davis, Hedo Turkoglu, Quentin Richardson and Moe Harkless at the forward positions is anybody’s guess. Perhaps Harrington will once again be moving teams before the season is out.

Glen Davis and Nikola Vucevic will split time at the center: neither will make Magic fans forget Howard, or Brook Lopez or Andrew Bynum or any of the other players who would have played center for this squad had management not Jezzed it up (to get the reference watch Peep Show on Netflix. And then watch it over and over again every night like I do, especially if you are an Orlando fan—it will cheer you up.)  The reputation of new GM Rob Hennigan is that he is smart and understands how Moneyball works. It will be an act of some consideration if he can right this ship.

Reason for optimism: This team will lose more games than any other team this year and will be in good position for the first pick in the draft.

Reason for despair: This team may lose more games than any other team in league history.

Projected record: 17-65