End of an era: Orlando Magic will end Orlando Pro Summer League after 14 years

The Magic will instead play in the Las Vegas Summer League

Next year, there will be a shakeup to the NBA's summer league schedule. 

Ending a decade-plus run, the Orlando Magic will no longer play host to the Orlando Pro Summer League. Instead, the team will play in Las Vegas. Via the Orlando Sentinel:

The Orlando Magic will not hold their annual summer league in Orlando next year and will participate instead in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, team officials told the Orlando Sentinel.

The decision is a radical departure for the Magic, who ran and managed their own summer league in Central Florida 14 times since 2002.

Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said the decision was made in part because, "the pendulum is swinging towards teams playing in Vegas."

"It's a level of competition and a level of exposure when more or less every team in the league is there and you're playing in front of 20,000 people as opposed to playing in a gym with a few hundred people. So it better prepares you for what NBA life is really about with the crowds, the pressure, the travel — a lot of what you're going to have to confront. Obviously, it's not a true test of an NBA season, but it's a little taste."

"We want to do what's right for the team, for our players," Weltman said. "But that being said, when the large portion of the league is there [in Las Vegas], it does kind of create an environment where you want your young guys to be a part of what the league is about. So there is that added component."

Eight teams played in the Orlando league last summer. The ending of the Orlando circuit leaves only two summer leagues: the main Las Vegas league, and the much smaller Utah edition. This decision by the Magic will not affect fans in Orlando; the games were closed to the public.