ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic traded three second-round picks for the rights to an unprotected first-round selection from the Phoenix Suns or Washington Wizards in 2026, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced Monday.

The second-round selections dealt were the 2024 pick from the Denver Nuggets, the 2026 least-favorable pick between Orlando, the Milwaukee Bucks or the Detroit Pistons (via the L.A. Clippers), and the 2028 pick from the Boston Celtics (protected top 45).

During the next seven NBA drafts (2024-30), Orlando has eight first-round picks and 12 second-round picks. In addition, since Weltman was hired, the Magic have a history of either trading or selling off their second-round picks most of the time.

The pick swap allows the Magic to decide whether they want to use their own first-round draft pick in 2026 or give up their selection and instead draft at the spot where either the Suns or Wizards are slated to pick in the draft. In most cases, the team acquiring the pick swap would be betting that when the draft comes around that year, the team with which it is exchanging picks would have a worse record and therefore a better draft spot than it does.

The Suns already had swapped their draft pick with the Wizards' in 2026. That means Orlando would swap for the least favorable pick between Phoenix and Washington, and the Suns would receive the worst of the three picks. Presumably then, the Magic are betting on both Phoenix and Washington having better draft spots than Orlando in 2026.

Phoenix has been looking to acquire draft picks because it needs the ability to add players at low cost since trading many of its picks since the start of 2023 to acquire forward Kevin Durant and guard Bradley Beal to play beside guard Devin Booker and center Deandre Ayton. The moves also have left the Suns far over the NBA salary cap, limiting their ability to pay players significant salaries. Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, the Suns would have more than $197 million in salary obligations to those four players alone without adding anyone else to their roster.

The deal by the Magic came as the team wrapped up its 2023 Summer League in Las Vegas without a win. The Magic lost to Boston Celtics 94-77 on Saturday, to Portland  88-71 on Thursday and to the New York Knicks 82-80 Wednesday to finish 0-5. The only other team to end Summer League without a victory was the Golden State Warriors. The Magic played without returning two-way player Kevon Harris after their Summer League opener, without 2022 second-round pick Caleb Houstan after Monday's game and without 2023 first-round picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard in their final two games.

On July 11, the Magic made official their re-signing of forward/center Moe Wagner. The team did not reveal contract terms, as is its standard policy, but multiple media reports indicated the deal is for two years, $16 million. The second season is non-guaranteed, according to those reports.