Trade deadline looms as Magic close trip with loss in Miami

MIAMI — Tuesday’s meeting against the Heat at Kaseya Center served as an important matchup for the Magic on multiple levels.

It wrapped up a five-game trip that was successful for Orlando, closed out the regular-season series with Miami (27-24) in a tight Eastern Conference and marked the Magic’s final game before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET NBA trade deadline.

Tuesday’s game, a 121-95 loss, might have been the last time this version of Orlando’s roster plays together.

It can be a touchy subject with any locker room.

“No,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said pregame when asked if he addressed that reality with his team.

It’s a discussion typically held between front offices and players and their agents. Not directly between players and coaches.

Whether or not the Magic (27-24) make a move before the deadline, the return of a healthy roster has naturally forced some players out of Orlando’s rotation.

Rookie Anthony Black, who started 29 games while Markelle Fultz had missed a significant amount of time with left knee tendinitis and with guard Gary Harris out, has seen his minutes diminish. Both vets have returned to action.

Black played three minutes of garbage time Tuesday while Fultz (13 points) and Harris (7 points) played from behind with Orlando, which struggled from the opening tip and trailed by as many as 24.

The same goes for reserve center Goga Bitadze, who made 31 starts in place of Wendell Carter Jr., including 20 straight after Carter fractured his left hand. Bitadze has played five minutes total in the last seven games, including three Tuesday.

Mosley acknowledged what Black and Bitadze have provided to the team while making it clear the duo, as well as Orlando’s entire bench unit, what’s ahead.

“Each one of these guys, whether they’re in the rotation or out of the rotation, I think the level of communication continues to stay the same,” Mosley said. “You’re constantly staying ready, no matter when your number is called.

“When guys were out, those guys stepped up big time. Big, big time for us. And they’ll continue to do so as these guys continue to pull for one another no matter the time of the year.”

Black, a first-round draft pick last season, and Bitadze (free-agent signing) weren’t brought in to be starters. They’re role players by definition, which means they can be in or out of the rotation at any time. When the team is fully healthy, playing time will be sparse.

But, of course, someone can get injured in a game to change the rotations. Or get into foul trouble. Or the team comes out flat and Mosley needs a spark so he shakes up the lineup.

There’s no guarantee how much Bitadze and Black, or anyone else, will play after the trade deadline.

That’s part of the job description.

“I really think these guys are always ready to go whenever their number is called,” Mosley said. “It’s a long season and we all know it. You don’t predict the things that are going to happen within an 82-game season but you ask that these guys stay ready, they stay prepared.”

Paolo Banchero (23 points) led Orlando on Tuesday, but the Heat had seven players score in double figures led by Jimmy Butler (23) who single-handedly shut down a fourth-quarter run.

The Magic return to Kia Center on Thursday after the deadline for their second and final meeting of the season with No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

Email Jason Beede at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on X, known as Twitter, at @therealBeede.