- The status of Magic forward Jonathan Isaac for the rest of the 2019/20 season remains up in the air, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). A serious knee injury paused Isaac’s third season on January 1st. Isaac, one of the team’s most promising young players, ran on an Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill earlier this week. This marked the first time he had run at all since the injury.
While Michael Jordan was no longer the dominant MVP that he was in Chicago days, his stint with the Wizards showcased that he still had game, as I detailed on Heavy.com. Jordan became the oldest player (38) to score over 50 points in a game during year one in Washington and became the only player 40 or older to score over 40 in a game during his final season in the league.
Jordan made the All-Star Game during each of his two seasons in Washington but his individual success didn’t translate to the win column, as the club missed the playoffs on both occasions.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Mohamed Bamba has been in the league for two years and the jury remains out on him. One scout tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic that the Magic center’s effort remains a concern. “But the question with Mo, and I think there’s no secret, is there are games when he plays with very low energy,” the scout said. “He just doesn’t seem to be able to turn it up to the level that he needs to consistently and play with a certain amount of energy for a sustained amount of time.”
- Chris Kirschner of The Athletic examines the best draft strategy for the Hawks. The club has been aggressive over the past two drafts, moving around in the top 10 during each event. If Atlanta lands in the top five, as the team is currently projected to do, it may be best served staying put.
- In a separate piece, Kirschner examines Atlanta’s salary cap situation. The Hawks are expected to have the most salary cap room in the NBA when the offseason arrives.
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
The Magic entered the 2019/20 season looking to build on its strong finish the previous year, but have ended up taking a slight step back instead, entering the hiatus with a 30-35 record after winning 42 games in 2018/19.
With Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Terrence Ross still earning eight-figure salaries for multiple years beyond this season, and Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz expected to eventually be locked up too, the Magic may not be in position to make major changes to their roster within the next year or two unless they do so on the trade market.
Here’s where things stand for the Magic financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Nikola Vucevic ($26,000,000)
- Aaron Gordon ($18,136,364)
- Terrence Ross ($13,500,000)
- Markelle Fultz ($12,288,697)
- Al-Farouq Aminu ($9,720,900)
- Jonathan Isaac ($7,362,566)
- Mohamed Bamba ($5,969,040)
- Khem Birch ($3,000,000)
- Total: $95,977,567
Player Options
- Evan Fournier ($17,150,000)
- James Ennis ($2,130,023)
- Total: $19,280,023
Team Options
- Melvin Frazier ($1,663,861)
- Total: $1,663,861
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- None
Restricted Free Agents
- Wesley Iwundu ($2,023,150 qualifying offer / $2,023,150 cap hold): Bird rights
- Gary Clark ($1,820,524 qualifying offer / $1,820,524 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- B.J. Johnson (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Vic Law (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $6,735,068
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- D.J. Augustin ($13,775,000): Bird rights
- Jerian Grant ($5,014,697): Bird rights 1
- No. 15 overall pick ($3,285,120)
- Chuma Okeke ($3,121,080) 2
- Michael Carter-Williams ($1,620,564): Early Bird rights
- Arron Afflalo ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 1
- Marreese Speights ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 1
- Total: $30,057,589
Offseason Cap Outlook
Assuming they plan to keep their first-round pick and sign Okeke in 2020, the Magic will have more than $102MM in guaranteed money committed to 10 players. That should put the club in position to either re-sign Fournier or accommodate his $17MM player option without approaching tax territory.
Letting Fournier walk would theoretically give the Magic even more flexibility, but probably wouldn’t result in any cap room. It would make more sense for Orlando to operate as an over-the-cap team in that scenario in order to retain its full mid-level and bi-annual exceptions.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 3
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 3
Footnotes
- The cap holds for Grant, Afflalo, and Speights remain on the Magic’s books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- The 16th overall pick in 2019, Okeke has yet to sign his rookie scale contract. He’ll be eligible to sign in 2020/21 for the same amount as the No. 16 pick in the 2020 draft.
- These are projected values. If the Magic’s team salary continues to increase, it’s possible they’d be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
After pushing back their target date a couple times, the Magic are moving forward with reopening their practice facility today, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. As we detailed on Wednesday, the team had been waiting on coronavirus test results for a number of asymptomatic players and staffers.
With the Magic set to allow their players to conduct voluntary individual workouts starting Thursday, they’ll become the 11th NBA team to do so, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Reynolds identifies Portland, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Denver, Atlanta, Indiana, Sacramento, Toronto, and Utah as the first 10 teams to reopen their facilities.
We’ve covered all those teams’ decisions in recent days except for the Bucks, who slipped through the cracks. They announced on Monday (via Twitter) that they’d be reopening their building on a limited basis.
The Magic were the first team to secure written authorization from a local health authority – along with approval from the NBA – to test asymptomatic players for COVID-19, which means they’re able to be more proactive than other teams in screening who’s entering their building. Most clubs, for now, are conducting basic health and temperature checks on those entering their facilities.
Here’s more on the Magic:
- After recently polling NBA scouts on Jonathan Isaac‘s outlook going forward, Josh Robbins of The Athletic has done the same for Markelle Fultz, one of Orlando’s other young building blocks. Unsurprisingly, Fultz’s shot-making ability is the primary concern among those evaluators. “Right now, I think he’s more of a backup, which is perfect for him,” one scout said. “The shooting, unless that gets a lot better, he’s a backup. He’s with a good coach who values what he does. He defends. He’s an athletic presence. He can get to the rim. But for him to be a starter and a guy you pay that kind of money to, you’ve got to make shots.”
- Given the Magic’s limited projected cap flexibility and the fact that they likely won’t have a lottery pick, Robbins says in a mailbag for The Athletic that he thinks the most realistic way for the team to make a splash in the 2020 offseason is to do so on the trade market.
- Within the same mailbag, Robbins also confirms that 2019 first-rounder Chuma Okeke won’t be joining the Magic if the season resumes, since he’ll have to wait until the 2020/21 league year begins to sign his rookie contract. Okeke, who was recovering from an ACL tear when he was drafted last June, essentially took a redshirt year in the G League.
- The Magic will be the next team up in our Salary Cap Preview series for ’20/21 — keep an eye out for that story to be published later today.
After initially targeting Tuesday as the date for the potential reopening of their practice facility, the Magic delayed that target date to Wednesday, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
While there’s a chance that the team hits that target date and opens its facility today, Orlando is still waiting on coronavirus test results for some of its asymptomatic players and staffers, according to Robbins, who tweets that the Magic are in a “holding pattern” for the time being.
Although their plans remain fluid, the Magic appear likely to allow players to conduct individual workouts at their facility soon, something the Hawks did earlier this week.
After previously being advised by the NBA not to test asymptomatic players for COVID-19, teams have now been informed by the league that they’ll be permitted to administer those tests — as long as they’re in areas where testing is readily available to at-risk health care workers, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Magic, for instance, have been granted written authorization from the Orange County Department of Health – as well as approval from the NBA – to test their players and staffers for the coronavirus, whether or not they’re exhibiting symptoms, a spokesperson confirmed. A Magic official told Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link) today that May 12 is the most likely target date for the team to reopen its practice facility.
“We have been assured we are not taking any tests from healthcare workers, first responders, or anyone whether they are experiencing symptoms or asymptomatic,” the Magic told Woj in a statement (Twitter link). “As we’ve been told, the general public in our community can go to numerous locations to receive a coronavirus test.”
The Lakers and Clippers are among the other clubs that are expected to receive permission soon from the NBA and local health authorities to conduct coronavirus tests on players entering their facilities, according to Wojnarowski.
Although the NBA is allowing teams to reopen their practice facilities, the league has been reluctant to ramp up testing for its players and staffers yet. When the NBA suspended its season in March, multiple teams were able to conduct immediate tests on dozens of asymptomatic players and staffers, drawing criticism from politicians who were dealing with local shortages.
The NBA doesn’t want to create the impression that the league is receiving preferential treatment, which is why any teams in municipalities with testing shortages still won’t be permitted to test asymptomatic players for now.
However, if an increasing number of teams get the go-ahead to move forward with testing asymptomatic individuals, that will represent a crucial step forward for the NBA. If the league wants to resume its 2019/20 season, it will need access to thousands – and potentially tens of thousands – of tests to regularly administer them to players, staffers, and other officials.
As long as those tests still aren’t readily available for asymptomatic people in many areas of the country, it would be a bad look for the NBA to procure them in massive quantities. But if and when shortages are no longer a concern, that would no longer be a roadblock for a potential return to play.
MAY 7: Vazquez has officially announced his retirement, as detailed in a press release from his team, Basket Zaragoza. He’ll officially end his playing career at the end of the current season, whether or not it can be resumed.
MAY 5: Spanish big man Fran Vazquez has decided to call it a career, according to reports from Spanish-language outlets Encestando.es and Heraldo.es (hat tip to HoopsHype). Vazquez is currently under contract with Basket Zaragoza in Spain, but reportedly won’t continue playing beyond this season.
A EuroLeague veteran, Vazquez is likely best known to NBA fans for being selected 11th overall in the 2005 draft by the Magic. Despite being a lottery pick, Vazquez opted to remain overseas when he was drafted — and for the rest of his professional career. Orlando has held Vazquez’s draft rights for nearly 15 years, but never got the opportunity to sign him to an NBA contract.
Instead, Vazquez thrived for a number of teams in Spain for the last decade-and-a-half, spending much of his career with FC Barcelona and Unicaja. The center, who turned 37 last Friday, won a EuroLeague championship in 2010 and three Spanish League titles – in 2009, 2011, and 2012 – with Barcelona.
Since the current iteration of the EuroLeague was launched in 2000/01, Vazquez is the league’s overall leader in blocked shots, with 249. He’s also the all-time leader in total blocks in the Spanish League.
While we’ve known for years that Vazquez was almost certainly never going to come stateside, his retirement will officially close the book on that possibility. For now, the Magic continue to hold his NBA rights, but the team will likely end up renouncing them at some point down the road.
Jonathan Isaac suffered a severe left knee sprain on January 1 while playing the Wizards in Washington, D.C. and suddenly, a player who was enjoying a breakout season had even more question marks.
The 22-year-old, who is expected to make a full recovery, will be eligible for a rookie-scale extension during the 2020 offseason and there are varying opinions on his value in the league, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports.
“Before he got hurt, I thought he was the best defensive player in the league,” one NBA scout told Robbins. “His ability to defend multiple positions, his size, his length, quickness, understanding of what was going on and how to guard people, recovery, instincts — I think he has a potential to be a premier defensive player in the league. I just think the sky’s the limit for him.”
The Magic will try to lock him up long-term, but it’s unclear how much they are willing to pay the former No. 6 overall pick. Isaac only played 27 games during his rookie season. He managed to participate in 75 games during the 2018/19 campaign before his knee woes limited him to just 32 this season.
“The durability remains a huge issue,” a second NBA scout said. “His scoring and shooting still is problematic. He’s not a No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 (option on offense), and that’s what they drafted him to be at sixth in the draft. He’s another guy who was somewhat over-drafted. He’s young and all that, but to me, you’ve got to have a scoring and shooting component.”
Magic assistant coach Mike Batiste shot down a rumor that he’s returning to Europe to coach Greece’s Panathinaikos, Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Batiste, who was a star player for the EuroLeague team, said on Greek radio’s ERA Sport he’s staying in Orlando. “No one has contacted me, these are rumors. I have a two-year contract and I will honor it, when I’m done with that I don’t know what will happen,” Batiste said.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The Basketball Hall of Fame remains hopeful in can hold the induction ceremony for this year’s class as scheduled in late August, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. This year’s class has nine inductees, including the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
- Australia NBL MVP and former NBA player Bryce Cotton has opted out of his deal with the Perth Wildcats, Olgun Uluc of ESPN reports. The NBL and its players agreed to a tiered system of pay cuts and the highest-salaried players are having their pay cut in half. The agreement allowed players to opt out of their contracts before May 4, with the Wildcats holding Cotton’s domestic rights. Cotton, who appeared in 23 NBA games before heading to Australia, is being pursued by European teams Panathinaikos and Asvel, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Jimma Gatwech had his name pulled from the NBA draft, but will pursue other pro opportunities in 2020/21, Evan Daniels of 247Sports tweets. Gatwech, 19, spend the past year at CORE4 Academy in Atlanta.
The Knicks are bringing back general manager Scott Perry for another season, but the fate of his staff won’t be determined until this summer, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Perry and the team had a May 1 deadline on their mutual option, so new president of basketball operations Leon Rose had to make a decision this week. However, Perry’s staff all have contracts that run through August, so Rose will take more time to evaluate each of them.
Those staff members include personnel director Harold Ellis, assistant GM Gerald Madkins, scout Fred Cofield and capologist Michael Arcieri, and Berman notes that none of them are guaranteed to remain with the team. He adds that Perry will have input into Rose’s future hires for the scouting department.
Perry has a long relationship with NBA mogul William Wesley, who Berman believes is providing behind-the-scenes advice to Rose. Perry’s new contract runs for one season, and he will likely get the chance to earn a longer deal based on his decisions going forward.
There’s more from New York:
- Keeping Perry around will provide continuity for the Knicks heading into the draft and the offseason, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Perry has spent the past three years with the organization and worked closely with former team president Steve Mills before he was fired in early February.
- The decision to dismiss Mills right before the trade deadline probably postponed plans to trade Dennis Smith Jr., Ian Begley of SNY.tv states in a mailbag column. A source tells Begley that some people in the organization thought it was a “near certainty” Smith was going to be moved. Begley believes injuries and the death of a family member led to Smith’s regression this year and suggests he might be better off with another team, possibly the Magic, who reportedly expressed interest before the deadline.
- Begley expects Spurs assistant Becky Hammon and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy to get consideration in the upcoming coaching search. Several agents and coaches told Begley they believe Rose will hire Tom Thibodeau if he doesn’t keep interim coach Mike Miller in place. Begley adds that Kentucky’s John Calipari shouldn’t be dismissed as a candidate, even though he has stated that he’s not interested in the job.