ORLANDO, Fla. — Dating back to the earliest days of the Orlando Magic, team officials always portrayed the franchise as a top destination for free agents.



Orlando’s warm winters and Florida’s absence of state income taxes should give the Magic an edge over most other teams if considerations such as market size, coaching and the chance to win are comparable. No wonder why, then, the Magic were able to sign high-demand free agents such as Horace Grant, Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill through the years. The team had an attractive destination to sell to those stars.



And yet, the Magic are almost never mentioned these days when top free-agent destinations are listed. With free agency set to begin on Sunday, the Brooklyn Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks and even the Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings receive more buzz as potential landing spots than the Magic do.



So why have the Magic dropped off the...