The Magic decided to waive Khem Birch on Thursday so they can give more playing time to their two young centers, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic. The 28-year-old Birch is expected to sign with the Raptors once he clears waivers Saturday, leaving Orlando with Mo Bamba, 22, and newly-acquired Wendell Carter Jr., who will turn 22 next week, as the team’s future in the middle.
Bamba has been slowed by injuries and conditioning concerns since being selected with the sixth pick in the 2018 draft. He was averaging just 12.0 minutes per game this season as the third-string center, but he’ll get a chance to develop his game now that Birch and Nikola Vucevic are both gone.
“It’s the opportunity I’ve been looking for since being drafted, and now is the time to go out there and play and just get better,” Bamba said. “It’s been a difficult road since being drafted, but the time is now and I’m here to seize the opportunity to do more for this team.”
There’s more from Orlando:
- The Magic were reluctant to part with Birch, who was a team leader and represented one of the best moves by president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and general manager John Hammond, Robbins adds. Birch went undrafted in 2014 and played in Turkey and Greece before Weltman and Hammond convinced him to try the NBA in 2017. “He’s the guy that when you sit and watch film and you’re breaking down opponents … he’s going to be easy to respect,” coach Steve Clifford said. “He defends fours. He defends fives. He’s a great screener. Coaches constantly ask about him, and he’s a winning player.”
- Shooting guard Gary Harris appears ready to make his debut for Orlando tonight, tweets Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. Acquired from the Nuggets in the Aaron Gordon trade, Harris has been sidelined since February 17 with an adductor strain. “I’m excited. It’s been a long time coming,” Harris said. “I’ve been around the team for a little bit now, so I’m excited to finally get out there and play with the guys.” (Twitter link)
- Devin Cannady‘s efforts to reach the NBA paid off this week when he signed a 10-day contract with the Magic. “It’s been a goal of mine to get to this level,” the G League Finals MVP said. “I had a great training camp with them. I love the staff here, the coaching staff and players. I’m excited to get going and be a part of this rebuild for the next 10 days and make the most of this opportunity.” (video link from NBA.com)
If you can find someone interested enough in Bamba, deal him.
He’s 22 and carter is 22, if your rebuilding you aren’t goin to trade a center whose 22…but I think the magic would be smarter to start bamba at the 5 and carter at the 4, something about them starting the 6th and 7th pick in the 2018 draft is aesthetically pleasing to me
Yea I dont see that being a productive pairing. Bamba is Biyombo 2.0 and that’s just not worth investing in.
Do you watch basketball at all? Bamba is nothing like Bismack who is an undersized guy at 6-8 who can only rebound and block a few shots. Bamba is 7 feet tall, has three point range and much more potential
Why do people that don’t watch the Magic play insist on voicing their opinions about a subject they obviously have no clue about?
Biz and Bamba are NOTHING alike.
link to youtu.be
Raptors should have traded for Mo..
Until now, when I’ve heard that a team was reluctant to part with a guy, it meant he needed to be included in a trade. Not a guy they just released. The only reluctance was likely the type felt when doing something counterintuitive; like releasing your best player at a spot in order to have the guys behind him get more playing time.
Harris is one to watch. I assumed he had negative value at the time of the trade, which is why I think Denver made a good trade – even though they gave up both Hampton and a lightly protected 1st. If Harris can play closer to what he was a few years ago (he’s not old), it will be a good deal for the Magic as well.
You look at Bamba since Vucevic was dealt. He’s gotten consistent mins and has played well. Even had a few solid gms in the 7 gms since. They should be looking at him hard. Even showcasing him for league to move him. Be interesting to see if Magic land with
2-4 pick, if they take Mobley.
Always thought when Harris singed his contract he was becoming a solid 2way starter. Since avg those 17.5 pts a gm. He’s steadily gone down every yr. Don’t get it. Really don’t watch him, maybe a Nuggets can can tell us ??
A lot prolly has to do with emergence of Murray and MPJ Id Imagine –
It got crowded real quick in Denver
4 yrs decline though. Yeah what you say has truth. His % is also down. If I can put 17 at 23 yrs old. I’m trying to be a 20 pt scorer after that. This yr he’s at less than 10 pts a gm. A 16-18 pt scorer who plays solid D at the 2. Is a valuable piece. He should be trying for that with Magic now. Like he lost his Mojo man.
Why would you try and move on from Bamba? He’s got more upside than Carter who is smaller, injury prone and inconsistent. They could in fact start both of them
I seriously doubt ORL takes a C.
Despite what people who don’t watch the Magic think, ORL’s front office really likes Bamba. They have full control of two good young C’s for at least 4-5 years IF they want. Given both player’s injury history, and how $ for C’s usually plays out in RFA…I can see ORL keeping both.
Also, Bamba had gotten consistent minutes, when healthy.
Bamba was Clifford’s primary back up C (over Birch) every game he was healthy in his first two seasons:
(18-19) 47 g / 16.3 mpg
(19-20) 62 g / 14.2 mpg
This season, covid related issues caused Bamba to miss the offseason ramp up period, training camp, and preseason. He didn’t get cleared for full contact practice until a couple days before the season began.
That of course meant he was way behind in conditioning and it would take time to re-integrate back into the rotation.
Then he failed Covid protocol. That caused him to miss yet another 2 weeks and fall further behind. He finally got cleared by NBA to return on January 27th.
Prior to that, he was either not eligible or not healthy.
By mid February, he was getting double figure minutes.
The Vuc trade opened up a clearer path to starting C for him, but the minutes and opportunity have always been there…when healthy.
I knew his cousin La
Magic seems to be gathering players who will help them get high picks. Harris has short arms and like K.Al said keeps fading. Nuggets should have traded him earlier though they did get value for him thanks to this FO. Maybe Murray liked his support. But he looks over-Izzo’d to me, too faceless.
I never notice Carter. Bamba is not durable. Birch should be getting the run; getting the prop-up.