ORLANDO, Fla.  — The Orlando Magic did not announce any deals before the NBA Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. Thursday, which would confirm their previous comments about how they like the makeup of their team.

The next opportunity they would have to acquire a player in a trade is after the season, but the decision not to make a move will give the team salary-cap flexibility and allow it to keep assets for possible deals in the offseason. Exactly how much will depend upon whether the team picks up options it has on current players on its roster.

After the Magic's shootaround Thursday morning, coach Jamahl Mosley said the trade deadline was not a factor in their preparation for Thursday night's game against the San Antonio Spurs. 

"Take care of what’s on our plate right now," Mosley said. "That’s a shootaround for San Antonio. Everything else will take care of itself."

Center Wendell Carter Jr. said the trade deadline was in the back of everyone's minds, but that they just had to remain professionals to prepare for the game. The players feel relieved once the deadline passes, said Carter, who was traded to the Magic in 2021.

This year is the first since Orlando hired Jeff Weltman as president of basketball operations in May 2017 that the Magic have not made a trade near the deadline. The deals made previously mostly have been strategic, some to acquire future assets or to deal away players whose contracts were going to expire at the end of the season.

At this year’s trade deadline, team officials were not expected to make a deal that they thought could disrupt their team chemistry and bid for a possible playoff spot. The Magic are currently 27-24 and in the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference playoff rankings. That would put them in the postseason play-in.

In 2023, the Magic sent center Mo Bamba, who was in the last year of his contract, to the Los Angeles Lakers. That was the team’s only deal, and it was part of a four-team deal that sent guard Patrick Beverley and a Denver Nuggets 2024 second-round draft pick to the Magic. Orlando later waived Beverley. In 2022, the Magic acquired forward Bol Bol and guard P.J. Dozier, a future second-round pick and cash considerations from the Boston Celtics for a 2023 second-round pick.

The big deals came in 2021, when Orlando triggered its latest makeover by trading the three players on its roster who had been the core of its team that had made the playoffs twice and lost in the first round — center Nikola Vucevic and forwards Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon. Vucevic was the first deal announced and included forward Al Farouq-Aminu. In return, the Magic acquired center Carter, forward Otto Porter Jr. and two future first-round picks. Those picks became forward Franz Wagner in 2021 and guard Jett Howard in 2023. Wagner and Carter are part of the Magic’s starting core now. Fournier was traded to the Boston Celtics for guard Jeff Teague, who was later waived, and two future second-round picks. Gordon and forward Gary Clark were sent to the Denver Nuggets for guards Gary Harris and RJ Hampton and a future first-round pick (2025).

In 2020, Orlando traded a 2020 second-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for forward James Ennis. In 2019, the Magic traded guard/forward Jonathon Simmons, a 2019 second-round draft pick and a 2020 first-round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for guard Markelle Fultz. An interesting note to that deal is that the 76ers used that 2020 first-round pick to choose guard Tyrese Maxey, who is a first-time All-Star this year.

Leaguewide, most of the big-name players who were on the trade market — former Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam and guard OG Anunoby — were dealt before the deadline day. The New York Knicks made significant changes to their team both before and after the deadline. Fifteen deals were made, and 39 players are on different teams starting Thursday.

Some players who had been rumored to be available in trades remained with their teams, including Atlanta Hawks guard Dejounte Murray and Washington Wizards guard Tyus Jones, stayed with their teams.