The Magic and Andrew Nicholson are unlikely to reach a deal on an extension by tonight’s 11pm Central deadline, as TNT’s David Aldridge hears (Twitter link). That’s not at all surprising, since little, if any chatter about an extension existed over the summer, as our rumors page for Nicholson suggests. He, like Evan Fournier, whom the Magic are also reportedly unlikely to extend, is poised for restricted free agency in July.
Nicholson, 25, has only seen four minutes of playing time in the regular season so far. His minutes per game have declined each season since his rookie year, when he averaged 7.8 points in 16.7 minutes per game and made 28 starts for the Magic. Orlando drafted him 19th overall in 2012, making him one of many young players in which the team invested for its post-Dwight Howard era, but others have passed him by in the rotation.
Orlando doesn’t have a ton of flexibility heading into the summer of 2016, when many teams will be able to lavish free agents with lucrative deals under a projected $89MM cap that some apparently think will skyrocket to $95MM. The Magic already have more than $60.5MM in commitments to nine players.