Magic Starting 5: 'Exciting Season' Coming, Says CEO Alex Martins

"My expectation is the same as the previous 34 years," Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins said. "Teams that put it all out on the floor, play well together, play hard together, and put on a great show for our fans. It's going to be an exciting season."

Jeremy Brener | Sep 21, 2023

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Orlando Magic

1. MARTINS' EXPECTATIONS "My expectation is the same as the previous 34 years," Martins said. "Teams that put it all out on the floor, play well together, play hard together, and put on a great show for our fans. It's going to be an exciting season."

2. MAGIC UNDERRATED? "The Orlando Magic are one of the younger teams in the league, but just sorting everyone by average age doesn't quite illustrate that," Bleacher Report writes.

3. FUTURE POWER RANKINGS "Bumping the Orlando Magic into the top half of the league represents a huge vote of confidence in their young core, but the players in that group have earned it," Bleacher Report writes. "The optimism starts with Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero, who have the potential to become one of the game's very best forward duos within the next three years."

4. SUGGS POTENTIAL "In some ways, Suggs spent his first two seasons attempting to find an offensive niche that he still hasn't harnessed," Bleacher Report writes. "But peep his situation through a half-full glass, and you might change the narrative to say he's spent these campaigns cementing himself as an impact defender, which would grant him a towering ceiling if his offense ever comes around."

5. ARENAS RIPS HAKEEM “Nobody wants the Hakeem Olajuwon sky hook,” Arenas said on his Gil’s Arena podcast earlier this week. “Nobody wants none of that s–t. …You should be ashamed of yourself, charging these young whippersnappers $50,000. When you came in the league in 1984, you wasn’t even making $50,000 a game. You’re trying to make your month back through the youth! Do not charge these boys 50 f-----g grand for that bull----. He ain’t been good since the ’90s. That means all the moves from the 2000s, he don’t know. 2010s, he don’t know. 2020s, he don’t know. Who the f— you gonna do the moves on? Wembanyama?”

Published Sep 21, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.