Southeast Notes: Ross, Hawks, Wolf, Maten

Magic guard Terrence Ross is about to enter the final season of a three-year, $31.5MM rookie contract extension that he signed in November, 2015. And according to Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com, Ross, 27, is intent on improving upon an injury-riddled 2017/18 season that limited him to 24 games.

“It’s always a big year any time your contract is coming to an end,” Ross explained. “You just want to go out there know that you’re 100 percent and play as well as you can, play with confidence and more importantly, help the (Magic) win.”

Regardless of his motivation, both Magic High Performance Director David Tenney and new head coach Steve Clifford appear to be satisfied with what they’re seeing out of Ross so far this offseason.

“He’s done a consistent amount of work this entire offseason, not just with (the Magic), but with his personal trainers as well,” said Tenney. “The consistency of doing stuff multiple times per week, coming here at night and doing stuff on his own, the consistent workload from the beginning of June until now, is really starting to pay off and you can see that he’s really looked a lot sharper.”

According to Savage, Ross’ conditioning and strength-training efforts are paying off on the court. In a recent pick-up game with Magic teammates and other NBA players, Ross knocked down six consecutive shots from various parts of the floor.

“Every day – he’s (even) come in on a couple of Saturdays,” Clifford said. “He’s really committed himself. I think his conditioning level is good, but his game is getting into rhythm, you can see it when he works out and you can see it when they (he and his Magic teammates) play.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

• Heat power forward Yante Maten is excited to show people what he can do after signing a two-way contract with Miami this summer, reports Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel. The 2018 SEC Player of the Year believes his ability to stretch the floor and play hard on both sides of the court will help find him success in the NBA.
• The Hornets plan to name Joe Wolf as the new head coach of their G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, per a report from Adam Johnson of 2 Ways & 10 Days. A University of North Carolina alum, Wolf spent last season serving as an assistant coach for UNC Wilmington after spending multiple years as a coach in the G League beforehand.
• The Hawks have announced a 20-year collaboration with State Farm that includes naming rights for the Hawks’ newly-renovated arena. Per principal owner Tony Ressler, “Our ownership group considers the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Club a community asset, and we are excited to have found a partner that shares our vision and has committed to working with us to expand on the community engagement and philanthropic initiatives we do that benefit the many communities that make up this great metropolitan area.”