Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Re-Sign Gary Clark To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 23: The Magic have officially re-signed Clark, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Magic have agreed to a new two-year contract with free agent forward Gary Clark, bringing him back for a second straight season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The agreement is worth $4.1MM, Wojnarowski adds, which suggests it’ll be worth slightly more than the minimum. The second year of the contract will include a team option, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

Orlando tipped its hand that it wanted to bring back Clark but extending him a $1.82MM qualifying offer, which made him a restricted free agent.

The Magic signed Clark after the Rockets waived him in early January. Clark, 25, appeared in 24 games for Orlando, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 14.8 MPG. Clark, who turned 26 earlier this week, played a total of 69 games with Houston after going undrafted out of Cincinnati.

Magic Re-Sign Michael Carter-Williams

November 21st, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24, 12:02pm: The Magic have officially announced their new deal with Carter-Williams.

NOVEMBER 21, 11:32am: It’s a two-year deal for Carter-Williams, with no player or team option on the second year, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It’s believed to be worth in the range of $3MM per year, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

NOVEMBER 21, 8:00am: Free agent point guard Michael Carter-Williams has agreed to a deal to return to the Magic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Terms of the contract agreement aren’t yet known.

Initially acquired by Orlando for the stretch run in 2018/19, Carter-Williams re-signed with the club last summer and came off the bench in 45 games during the ’19/20 campaign. He averaged 7.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.1 SPG in 18.5 minutes per contest.

With veteran guard D.J. Augustin unlikely to return to Orlando, there may be a path to a larger role in 2020/21 for Carter-Williams, a former Rookie of the Year, though that will depend on what other moves the Magic make this offseason.

The Magic have now made deals with two of their own free agents, agreeing to bring back both Carter-Williams and James Ennis. The team is also adding Dwayne Bacon on a two-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jon Teske, Magic Agree To Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 10:54am CST by marksuleymanov

The Magic have agreed to a deal with Michigan big man Jon Teske, according to the Medina Gazette. The terms of the contract are unknown but it’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 deal.

Teske, 23, is coming off his senior season with Michigan in which he posted his best numbers to date. The 7’1″, 265-pound Teske averaged 11.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG as a senior. For his collegiate career, the Medina, Ohio, native averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG while making over half of his shot attempts (50.1%).

“It’s the best fit for me right now as a player,” Teske said of joining the Magic. “A couple other teams were interested, but for me to showcase my talents and play within my skills, it’s a big advantage going there.”

If Teske’s pact turns out to be an Exhibit 10, it will be a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary contract. The deal allows a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

Magic To Sign Karim Mane To Two-Way Contract

November 21st, 2020 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Karim Mane announced (via Twitter) on Friday night that he’ll be joining the Magic as a free agent. According to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (via Twitter), Mane will get a two-way contract from Orlando.

Mane, a Canadian guard who spent the last few seasons playing for Vanier College in Quebec, declared for the draft as an early entrant this year after weighing the possibility of joining a U.S. program.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes, a breakout showing at last year’s FIBA U19 World Championship improved Mane’s NBA stock and he would have participated in this year’s Nike Hoop Summit had the event not been canceled. Givony, who ranks Mane sixth among undrafted prospects, praises the youngster’s physical tools and athleticism.

B.J. Johnson and Vic Law finished the 2019/20 season on two-way contracts with Orlando, but neither player received a qualifying offer this week, so it looks like the Magic will probably turn over both of their two-way slots.

Magic Sign Dwayne Bacon To Two-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 5:47pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 24: The Magic have made it official with Bacon, issuing a press release to formally announce his deal.

NOVEMBER 20: The Magic are signing free agent guard Dwayne Bacon to a two-year deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The agreement includes a team option in the second season, with all indications being that Bacon will sign for the minimum salary exception, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Bacon spent last season with the Hornets, who declined to extend him a qualifying offer this week. He averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 17.6 in 39 games, shooting just 35% from the floor.

Bacon, 25, was the No. 40 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s spent the past three seasons with Charlotte, appearing in a total of 135 games. The move to Orlando will reunite him with former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford.

Orlando finished with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference last season at 33-40. The team sports a young nucleus that includes Aaron Gordon, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba, along with veterans such as Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.

Eastern Notes: Pistons, Ariza, Raptors, Hornets, Magic

November 20th, 2020 at 3:34pm CST by Luke Adams

When the Pistons eventually officially acquire forward Trevor Ariza, who is being dealt from Portland to Houston to Detroit, the expectation is that he’ll have his full $12.8MM salary guaranteed, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM.

Ariza’s salary was initially only partially guaranteed for $1.8MM, but as cap expert Albert Nahmad explains (via Twitter), his salary guarantee deadline will come and go before the Pistons are able to officially acquire him. As a result, the Rockets will create a $12.8MM traded player exception in the transaction.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Nashville was in the mix for the Raptors as a temporary home late into the decision process, but the team opted for Florida for a few reasons, including the lack of a state income tax, per Blake Murphy and Eric Koreen of The Athletic. There’s also a brand-new hotel next to Amalie Arena in Tampa with ballrooms that could be used as makeshift practice spaces, according to The Athletic’s duo.
Undrafted Kentucky forward Kahlil Whitney is considering signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Hornets, according to Adam Zagoria of Forbes (Twitter link). Whitney declared for the draft this year after a single season of college ball.
Amid rumors that point guard D.J. Augustin is drawing interest from Phoenix and Milwaukee, Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel says (via Twitter) that a return to the Magic is very unlikely for Augustin, given the team’s cap constraints and Wednesday’s Cole Anthony pick.

Rockets, Magic Discussed Russell Westbrook Trade

November 20th, 2020 at 10:17am CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets talked to the Magic about a deal involving Russell Westbrook, but the teams weren’t able to make any progress, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. The trade would have included a package from Orlando with Aaron Gordon as the centerpiece.

Houston has been searching for a taker for Westbrook, who reportedly asked to be dealt after one season with the team. Rumors have focused on the Knicks, Hornets and Wizards, but the Rockets have seen a limited market for the former MVP. His contract, with $132MM remaining over three seasons, has been an impediment, along with his age and history of injuries.

The Magic have been exploring deals involving Gordon, who has two years left on his contract at about $34.5MM. The 25-year-old is an explosive dunker, but hasn’t developed into the player Orlando was expecting when it drafted him fourth overall in 2014. His scoring average dipped for the second straight season in 2019/20, falling to 14.4 PPG, and he shot just 43.7% from the field.

Magic To Give Clark Qualifying Offer, Let Iwundu, Frazier Walk

November 19th, 2020 at 3:35pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic will extend a $1.82MM qualifying offer to forward Gary Clark, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

They will not extend a $2MM qualifying offer to swingman Wesley Iwundu and they’ll also decline their $1.66MM option on guard Melvin Frazier Jr. Both players will head into unrestricted free agency, while Clark will be restricted.

Orlando signed Clark after the Rockets waived him in early January. Clark, 25, appeared in 24 games for Orlando, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 14.8 MPG.

The decision on Iwundu, a second-round pick in 2017, is somewhat surprising. He started 21 of 52 games last season, averaging 5.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 18.3 MPG. It signals that Orlando felt it could get a rotation upgrade elsewhere.

Orlando’s decision on Frazier didn’t raise eyebrows. A 2018 second-round pick, Frazier never cracked the rotation, appearing in just 29 games over two seasons.

Magic Trade No. 45 Pick To Bucks

November 18th, 2020 at 2:26pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have traded their No. 45 pick in today’s draft to the Bucks in exchange for two future second-rounders, the team’s official PR account tweets.

One of the second-rounders headed to Orlando is a Pacers pick and will be conveyed in either 2022, 2023, or 2024. The other is the Bucks’ second-round pick in 2026. Should MVP forward Giannis Antetokounmpo opt to depart Milwaukee next summer, that pick could end up landing fairly high in the second round.

The Pacers owe their 2021 second-round pick to the Nets, but it has 45-60 protection in both ’21 and ’22, meaning it may not change hands until it becomes unprotected in 2023. The Magic will get a Pacers second-rounder one year after the Nets get theirs.

The Bucks appear to be interested in adding second-round picks this year because, due to a CBA quirk, those picks will only count for $898K against both the luxury tax and hard cap if they sign for the minimum. Undrafted rookie free agents, meanwhile, would count for $898K against the cap but about $1.62MM against the luxury tax.

These small savings are imperative for Milwaukee since the Bucks will lack much wiggle room after their Jrue Holiday and Bogdan Bogdanovic trades are finalized and will likely surpass the luxury tax line, approaching their hard cap.

The Magic also hold the No. 15 selection in today’s draft, while the Bucks also have the No. 60 pick. There are conflicting reports on whether or not Milwaukee will also receive the No. 42 pick from New Orleans in the Holiday deal, which is not yet official.

Luke Adams contributed to this report.

Magic Entering Draft In Need Of Offensive Spark

November 18th, 2020 at 12:29pm CST by JD Shaw

The Magic are entering the draft in need of an offensive spark, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Orlando owns the No. 15 selection this year and recently signed 2019 first-round pick Chuma Okeke, who missed the season due to torn ACL rehab. The team also owns the No. 45 pick in the second round of the event.