Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Cole Anthony Set To Return For Magic

April 7th, 2021 at 1:09pm CST by Ben Stinar

Magic point guard Cole Anthony will return to action on Wednesday after missing nearly two months, the team announced today (Twitter link). Anthony had been sidelined since February 9 due to a fractured rib.

Anthony, the son of former NBA player and current broadcaster Greg Anthony, was drafted out of University of North Carolina by the Magic with the 15th overall pick last fall.

On the season, the rookie has appeared in 25 games, averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest. He hit a game-winning buzzer beater to beat the Timberwolves on January 20.

Khem Birch (illness) and Michael Carter-Williams (illness) will also return tonight after multiple missing multiple games, per Orlando’s announcement.

The Magic are currently 17-33 and hold the 14th seed in the Eastern Conference.

Magic Sign Devin Cannady To 10-Day Contract

April 6th, 2021 at 8:12am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guard Devin Cannady has signed a 10-day deal with the Magic, agent Jared Mucha of Excel Sports tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The club has issued a press release announcing the move.

Cannady, 24, went undrafted out of Princeton in 2019 and has spent the last two seasons in the G League. After playing for the Long Island Nets as a rookie, he joined the Magic for training camp in December, then suited up for Orlando’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, during the 2020/21 “bubble” season.

Cannady’s regular season numbers in 13 games (25.8 MPG) for Lakeland were relatively modest, as he averaged 11.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG. However, he knocked down 40% of his three-point attempts and played a key part in the Magic’s postseason run, scoring 22 points in the team’s NBAGL championship win to earn Finals MVP honors.

The Magic had an open spot on their 15-man roster, so no corresponding move was required to make room for Cannady. He’ll earn $61,528 during his 10 days with Orlando and should get a chance to make his NBA regular season debut sometime in the next week-and-a-half.

Carter Looking Sharp In First Three Magic Games

April 2nd, 2021 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic like what they’ve seen thus far from Wendell Carter Jr., one of the pieces acquired in the Nikola Vucevic trade with the Bulls, Josh Cohen of the team’s website writes. The retooled Magic are a surprising 2-1 on their current West Coast swing with Carter averaging 13.3 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.7 APG and 1.3 BPG in 23.0 MPG.

“He’s smart. He’s got good instincts,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “He can really move his feet. His lateral quickness I would say is exceptional. His instincts (are good) of when to attack the ball, when to drop, get back to his man and obviously he’s got a basket protection component. It’s three games but I couldn’t be more pleased with what he’s doing already.”

The Magic received a total of three first-round picks from Chicago and Denver in the Vucevic and Aaron Gordon deals. Josh Robbins of The Athletic breaks down the protections on each of those picks, including the Bulls’ 2021 first-rounder, which will be conveyed to Orlando this year unless it’s in the top four.

Looking At Magic's Draft Strategy, Young Players

March 31st, 2021 at 10:07pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Now that the Magic have fully committed to rebuilding their club through their young players and future draft assets, Josh Robbins and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic have opted to assess Orlando’s expected plans for the 2021 draft and beyond, as well as tantalizing new players R.J. Hampton and Wendell Carter Jr. Vecenie and Robbins both feel that Orlando should have perhaps pivoted to a full-tilt rebuild sooner than it did, and agree that the top-heavy 2021 draft should have several intriguing prospects for the Magic.
Magic rookie forward Chuma Okeke and new center/power forward Wendell Carter Jr. are doing their best to capitalize on rotational opportunities with Orlando, writes Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. Both players flashed some of their promise down the stretch of a surprise 103-96 win over the Clippers Tuesday.

Southeast Notes: Williams, Reddish, Zeller, Magic

March 31st, 2021 at 9:35am CST by Luke Adams

Having announced last week on Instagram that he contemplated retirement after being traded to the Hawks, Lou Williams expanded on that subject during his Tuesday media availability, explaining that it “hurts” to have been traded by the Clippers.

“I had a lot of investment there. We had some success,” Williams said, per Paul Newberry of The Associated Press. “We were gearing up for another deep run, a championship run. That was my mentality. I thought I would finish the season there.

“… (But) I don’t want to look back and say I retired prematurely, be asking myself what could have been or what I could’ve done. This is an opportunity to finish out the season with this team (Atlanta) and go from there.”

Williams was cleared to play on Tuesday night, but didn’t take the court. Having just met most of his teammates, he wanted to take a game to get his bearings before entering the fray, Newberry writes.

“I want to get an understanding of how they play,” Williams said. “See their sets, get a feel for their rotations, understand how this group of guys mesh, see where I might fit. It would be unfair to this group of guys to just throw me out there.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

The Hawks provided a minor update on Cam Reddish (Achilles) on Tuesday night, announcing in a press release that he has increased his lower limb weight room work and will add limited low level impact work. Reddish isn’t close to returning and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
After falling out of the Hornets‘ starting lineup and seeing his minutes dip, Cody Zeller resolved to try to earn back those minutes rather than sulking, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. “My high school coach used to say, ‘If you want to play more, play better,'” said Zeller, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds in just 24 minutes on Tuesday. The big man has assured head coach James Borrego that he’ll remain engaged regardless of how much playing time he gets, Bonnell adds.
With the Magic in position to get a high lottery pick in this year’s draft, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic identifies Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, and Jalen Green as the top prospects the team should target if given the opportunity. Evan Mobley has positional overlap with Wendell Carter and Mohamed Bamba, but he and Jonathan Kuminga would both be good fallback options too if Orlando gets a top-five pick and those first three prospects aren’t available, Vecenie says.

Fischer’s Latest: Mavs, Fournier, Rockets, Drummond, Gasol

March 30th, 2021 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks ended up making just one relatively modest move at the trade deadline, acquiring J.J. Redick and Nicolo Melli in a trade with New Orleans. However, according to Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report, that deal may have been a fail-safe option for Dallas as the team explored other options leading up to last Thursday afternoon.

As Fischer explains, the Mavericks also explored a trade that would have sent James Johnson and two second-round pick to Orlando in a package for Evan Fournier. The Magic ultimately chose a similar offer from Boston that allowed them to create a $17MM+ trade exception instead of taking back a matching salary like Johnson’s.

The Mavericks also spoke to the Rockets about Victor Oladipo, sources tell Fischer, but those talks didn’t gain momentum.

Here’s more from Fischer:

During the James Harden trade talks earlier in the year, the Rockets never projected much interest in hanging onto Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert as part of that deal, Fischer says. Houston didn’t view Allen as a long-term frontcourt fit alongside Christian Wood and wanted to roll the dice on Oladipo recapturing his All-NBA form, a gamble that didn’t work out.
Fischer lists the Raptors, Bulls, Mavericks, Clippers, Celtics, Heat, Hornets, Nets, Knicks, and Lakers as teams that showed some level of interest in Cavaliers center Andre Drummond before he was bought out, but none of those clubs could ultimately put together a package that matched the big man’s $28.75MM salary and also appealed to Cleveland. After he was bought out, Drummond was intrigued by the Celtics and spoke to Boston point guard (and fellow UConn alum) Kemba Walker, but ultimately decided to sign with the Lakers.
With Drummond now in Los Angeles, some executives are wondering whether the Lakers will consider buying out Marc Gasol, per Fischer. “When they get fully healthy, it’s gonna be a logjam,” one assistant GM said, referring to a frontcourt that also features big men Anthony Davis and Montrezl Harrell, along with power forwards LeBron James and Kyle Kuzma. It’s worth noting Gasol has a second guaranteed year on his contract, though it’s only worth the minimum.

NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots

March 30th, 2021 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams

A total of 46 players were traded on deadline day last Thursday, and more have been waived and signed since then, resulting in major roster upheaval around the NBA.

With the dust settling a little, it’s worth checking in on which teams across the league now have open roster spots, and which clubs will need to fill at least one of those openings soon in order to meet the minimum roster requirements.

Let’s dive in…

Teams with two open spots on their 15-man rosters:

Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Miami Heat
New Orleans Pelicans
New York Knicks
Portland Trail Blazers
Toronto Raptors

The NBA allows team to carry fewer than 14 players on standard (or 10-day) contracts for up to two weeks at a time. So these clubs are allowed to have just 13 for now, but will soon need to add a 14th, either with a 10-day signing or a rest-of-season addition.

The Warriors, Heat, Trail Blazers, and Raptors all dipped below 14 players on deadline day (March 25), so they’ll all have until next Thursday (April 8) to get back up to the required roster minimum. The Knicks will have even longer, since they just waived Terrance Ferguson and Vincent Poirier on Sunday — they’ll have to add a 14th man by April 11.

The Pelicans and Clippers, meanwhile, reduced their roster counts to 13 players on March 20 and March 22, respectively, so they’ll need to make their moves sooner. New Orleans will have to add a player by this weekend at the latest, while the Clippers will do so by next Monday.

The Pels are right up against the luxury tax line, so they’ll likely sign someone to a 10-day contract. The Clippers have enough breathing room below their hard cap to complete a rest-of-season signing if they so choose.

Teams with one open spot on their 15-man rosters:

Cleveland Cavaliers
Indiana Pacers
Los Angeles Lakers
Memphis Grizzlies
Milwaukee Bucks
Minnesota Timberwolves
Orlando Magic

A report last Thursday indicated that the Pacers were signing Oshae Brissett, but they still have completed that 10-day deal, so they have an open roster spot for now. The Bucks technically have two open roster spots as of this writing, but are expected to sign Jeff Teague to fill one of them as soon as today.

The Lakers, Grizzlies, Timberwolves, and Magic all have 14 players on standard, rest-of-season contracts, with no obligation to fill their 15th spots anytime soon. The Cavaliers currently have 14th man Quinn Cook on a 10-day contract. When his deal expires on Wednesday night, the team will dip to 13 players and will have two weeks to re-add a 14th.

Teams with open two-way contract slots:

Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Phoenix Suns
Portland Trail Blazers

The Thunder opened up one of their two-way slots when they promoted Moses Brown to the standard roster over the weekend. I’d expect them and the Timberwolves to be more interested in filling their open two-way spots than the Suns and Trail Blazers. Oklahoma City and Minnesota are lottery teams and could benefit from a look at one more young player, while Phoenix and Portland are playoff clubs that have shown no desire to add a second two-way player all season long.

Also worth mentioning:

Brooklyn Nets
Detroit Pistons
San Antonio Spurs

The Nets, Spurs, and Pistons currently have full 15-man rosters, but won’t for much longer, as all three teams have players on 10-day contracts. Alize Johnson‘s deal with Brooklyn runs through Wednesday, while Cameron Reynolds‘ with San Antonio runs through Sunday and Tyler Cook‘s with Detroit expires after next Tuesday.

Note: Our full roster count breakdown can be found right here.

Nikola Vucevic Has Emotional Message For Orlando

March 28th, 2021 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Before making his debut with the Bulls Saturday night, Nikola Vucevic offered an emotional message to Orlando, where he spent the past nine years, relays Josh Robbins of The Athletic. “Obviously, it meant a lot to me,” the All-Star center said. “Like I said, I came there as a kid and left as a man. I guess you guys know the answer with my reaction. Leaving that place after so many years obviously was hard.” Vucevic said he knew the Magic were shopping him and he wasn’t surprised when the deal with Chicago was announced.

Magic Waive Jeff Teague

March 27th, 2021 at 11:10am CST by marksuleymanov

The Magic have waived veteran point guard Jeff Teague, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Orlando acquired Teague as part of the Evan Fournier trade at the trade deadline and had reportedly informed the veteran he would be let go.

Teague, 32, signed with Boston as a free agent over the summer but did not play well during his brief stint in Beantown. In 34 games (five starts), Teague averaged just 6.9 PPG and 2.1 APG while shooting 41.5% from the field, his lowest single-season total since his rookie campaign.

A former All-Star, Teague was at one time a reliable scorer and playmaker for the Hawks but he has failed to replicate his prior success since leaving Atlanta following the 2015/16 season.

Teague is still a veteran presence with postseason experience so he figures to draw interest from at least a few teams as a depth piece for the remainder of the season.

For his career, Teague has averaged 12.3 PPG, 5.6 APG and 2.3 RPG in 805 games for the Hawks, Pacers, Timberwolves and Celtics.

Magic President Jeff Weltman Talks Trade Deadline, Future

March 27th, 2021 at 9:48am CST by marksuleymanov

As the 2020/21 NBA trade deadline came and went this past Thursday, no team saw the complexion of its roster change more than the Magic. Orlando traded three of its best players in Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, ending weeks of reports and speculation about those players’ futures.

The Magic acquired a slew of draft picks and some promising young players with upside but it made clear the team was entering a rebuilding phase. In an exclusive interview with Josh Robbins of The Athletic, Magic president Jeff Weltman explained the thinking behind Orlando’s flurry of moves entering the deadline.

Weltman spoke glowingly of the players traded but emphasized the organization believes the moves were made with the best long-term plan in mind. Check out some highlights from Weltman’s comments below:

On why the Magic went in the direction of trading so many key players:

“I think it’s hard to separate the trades. We picked a new path. We picked a new direction. Vooch, as our best player, had to be a part of that decision. All of those guys are good players, and they’ve been good players for our organization and good people. But if we were going to strike out on a good path, we needed to make those moves.”

On what led to Aaron Gordon’s trade request:

“In the storm of losses and injuries and everything that our team has been facing, I think Aaron’s frustration got the best of him. He’s a very good player, and he’s a very good person. But I just think that, as many passionate, competitive people do, he kind of wears his emotions on his sleeve sometimes. I think his frustration got the best of him.”

On how head coach Steve Clifford will handle the roster overhaul:

“I have the utmost confidence that all of his coaching abilities and talents will be applied to the new direction of the team. I can tell you right now he’s working to figure out, ‘How do I organize this team so our guys can be in a position to look good?’ That’s Steve Clifford’s number-one priority, and it always is, whether we’re playing in a playoff game or we’re playing in the first game of a new rebuilding team. Steve’s going to do what he does. He’s great at it. And I don’t think these trades have any implications otherwise.”

On whether the Magic are set for the future based off Thursday’s transactions:

“I do believe that this does raise our ceiling. If you look at the way teams are historically built, generally teams that win the title are populated by elite-level players who are acquired through elite-level draft picks. So it raises the ceiling in that respect. It also raises the ceiling that we now have multiple draft picks and cap flexibility, which will better arm us to make a swing-for-the-fences trade.”