- Wesley Iwundu cleared the league’s concussion protocol but didn’t play in the Magic’s first seeding game due to injury, the team’s PR department tweets. The swingman is dealing with neck stiffness and soreness, an issue that cropped up during a scrimmage on Saturday.
- The Magic built a big lead against the depleted Nets and held on for a 128-118 victory on Friday. They’re eager to prove that they’re a playoff team during the eight seeding games at the Orlando campus, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. “We’re going to play meaningful games here, which is what this is all about,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said.
With teams around the NBA preparing for the possibility that the 2020 offseason could be significantly truncated, one league executive tells Sean Deveney of Forbes that “there are already a lot of conversations” going on about possible offseason trades.
“If you want to get something done, you need to make sure you have the framework in place, that you know where you stand on everything because there just won’t be time to pull the trigger on these things,” the exec said.
With that in mind, Deveney spoke to a pair of executives about potential offseason trade candidates, including Magic forward Aaron Gordon. An Eastern Conference exec suggested that Gordon, who was shopped by Orlando before the February deadline, is “probably the most likely big name to be traded.”
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As the NBA continues to work on a plan for allowing its bottom eight teams to conduct offseason workouts, Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter links) hears that the league may approve of up to three weeks of OTAs for those clubs. In that scenario, there likely wouldn’t be a separate campus created for the bottom eight teams, as had been previously explored, Popper notes.
- The NBA hopes to create a platform called “Combine HQ” that would help provide teams with profiles, stats, and interviews for the 105 draft-eligible prospects who received the most votes to be invited to the combine, a source tells Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). It remains to be seen if such a tool would supplement an actual combine or be used in place of one.
- Lottery prospect Deni Avdija has been named the Most Valuable Player of the Israeli Basketball League, making him the youngest player ever to win the award (Twitter link). The promising young forward currently ranks fifth overall on ESPN’s 2020 big board.
Magic guard Markelle Fultz is confident he’ll play effectively in the league restart. He told Josh Robbins of The Athletic and other media members that he’s actually feeling better than he did before the stoppage of play in March. “Right now I actually feel really good,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of getting those reps up in a game.”
Fultz arrived at the Orlando campus late due to a personal matter and didn’t start practicing until July 17, but played in the Magic’s scrimmage against the Nuggets on Monday.
- The Magic have limited the minutes of big man Mohamed Bamba after he added 20 pounds to his frame during the shutdown, according to Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando coach Steve Clifford wants to make sure Bamba can play at a high level while carrying the extra weight but Bamba is irritated by the plan. “It is difficult to not be frustrated because at the end of the day, you want to go out there and be able to play,” he said.
Jonathan Isaac hasn’t played for the Magic in nearly seven months, having suffered a knee injury on January 1. However, it looks like his return is imminent — the team’s performance staff and front office officials have cleared Isaac to suit up for Orlando’s scrimmage on Monday, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
The Magic are being extra cautious with Isaac, one of the franchise’s young cornerstones, so he’ll still have to make it through today’s shootaround before being given the go-ahead for the club’s evening scrimmage vs. Denver. And even if he plays, he’ll face restrictions, Robbins notes.
“It’s been a very long time since he’s played,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said of Isaac. “As always, we will take a very cautious approach, and his playing time will be placed under a very limited minute restriction as he gets reacclimated to the NBA game.”
The Magic had originally been planning to be without Isaac this summer, but the young forward has exceeded expectations, writes Robbins. If he gets through Monday’s scrimmage with no issues, he would be well positioned to contribute in the team’s seeding games and potentially the playoffs as well, which would be a nice boost for Orlando. Isaac was one of the NBA’s best defenders during the first half of the season, with averages of 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in 32 contests.
Magic forward Wesley Iwundu has been placed in the NBA’s concussion protocol, according to a tweet from the team. He was injured in Saturday’s scrimmage against the Lakers, suffering a cut above his left eye that required four stitches.
“I feel like we’re fortunate,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said (Twitter link from Josh Robbins of The Athletic). “That was right in front of us and it was scary. He really went down hard. And the way he fell, he didn’t have an ability to stop his fall. So I talked to him after the game, and I feel fortunate, like I said, that he wasn’t hurt more significantly.”
There is no set timetable for players to pass through the protocol. They must complete a series of tests to prove they no longer have concussion symptoms. Orlando, which enters the restart is in eighth place in the East, will have its first seeding game Friday against the seventh-place Nets.
Iwundu has been a valuable member of the Magic’s rotation throughout his three NBA seasons. He has appeared in 45 games this year, starting 18, and averages 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per night.
Magic guard Markelle Fultz isn’t quite healthy enough to participate in the team’s scrimmage on Saturday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. “These guys missed so much time and they weren’t able to be in a gym,” coach Steve Clifford said. “For Markelle, it’s just the situation that he was in.” Fultz’s arrival in Orlando was delayed due to a personal matter.
- Magic forward Jonathan Isaac will also sit out the scrimmage against the Lakers but he’s making progress, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. Clifford said Isaac took part in contact drills at practice and is “getting closer” to playing. Isaac has been sidelined since suffering a left knee injury on New Year’s Day.
As Magic prepare for the league restart, the franchise is taking difficult steps due to the COVID-19 related drop in revenue. It has laid off 31 full-time employees, approximately 10% of its staff, according to The Athletic’s Josh Robbins and Shams Charania. The Magic had 10 regular-season home games remaining, as well as potential playoff games, prior to the stoppage of play in March.
“This is not the fault of any specific individual that we must part with today, this decision is purely about becoming more efficient in a post COVID-19 environment, and the requirement to be more efficient in this unknown future that we find ourselves faced with,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in part in a prepared statement.
- Having been in and out of the rotation prior to the NBA’s hiatus, Gary Clark is hoping to prove this summer that he can be a dependable contributor for the Magic, as Chris Hays of The Orlando Sentinel writes. “I think my role there and now is just being a reliable player,” Clark said. “At the end of the day, put Gary on the court, he’s going to hold defensive presence and he’s going to be able to let our offensive flow (be) smooth out there.”
The Magic may have the shortest trip to the Walt Disney World complex, but their players are struggling with the same adjustment as the other 21 teams, writes Marc Stein of The New York Times. They can have things dropped off easily to help pass the time, but they are still isolated from friends and family members.
Like most of the teams in Orlando, Magic players have family concerns while they tend to basketball-related business. D.J. Augustin‘s father-in-law recently died, and Nikola Vucevic‘s parents arrived from Montenegro to help his wife, who is expecting a baby in November.
“It’s hard being away from family, period, so when I get back to my room, that’s when it’s hard,” Augustin said. But at the same time I’m here to do a job. I’m here and I’m focused and I’m trying to make the best of this opportunity.”
There’s more Magic news to pass along:
- Orlando may use an expanded rotation when the season resumes, according to John Denton of NBA.com. The Magic already had one of the league’s most productive bench units, which may be bolstered by the return of Jonathan Isaac from a knee injury. “I don’t see us, by July 31 being able to play just nine guys, especially when you are going to play eight games in 15 nights,’’ head coach Steve Clifford said. “I think there will be nights when you play 10 guys or 11 guys and everybody has to be ready. That might make it difficult to get to playing groups, which is always an important factor in our league. It will be as unique of a situation as anything that any of us have ever been involved with.’’
- The Magic will approach the eight seeding games with a goal of moving up to the seventh slot, Denton adds in a separate story. At 30-35, Orlando is a half game behind the depleted Nets, and passing them would prevent the Magic from having to face the Bucks in the first round. “I would say that’s one of our main goals right now,’’ Wesley Iwundu said. “It’s about coming out from the start really strong.”
- Markelle Fultz has passed the quarantine protocol and is expected to take part in his first practice this afternoon, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. Fultz, who didn’t travel with the team, said his arrival was delayed by a personal matter and wasn’t due to COVID-19.
Magic guard Markelle Fultz has arrived at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus and has begun his initial quarantine period, a league source told Josh Robbins of The Athletic this morning (Twitter link).
As Robbins notes, Fultz didn’t travel with the rest of the Magic when the team headed to Disney last Tuesday. Fultz’s arrival was delayed by a personal matter, unrelated to COVID-19. Once he returns a pair of negative coronavirus tests, clears quarantine, and passes a conditioning test, he’ll be able to join the Magic for practices.
Meanwhile, forward James Ennis told reporters on a Zoom call that he was the Magic player who recently tested positive for the coronavirus, Robbins tweets. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman had said last Tuesday when the club arrived at Disney that one player didn’t accompany the team due to a positive COVID-19 test.
According to Robbins, Ennis had a headache for four or five days and experienced some nausea, but is feeling good now. He has completed his quarantine period and practiced on Wednesday with the Magic for the first time since arriving at the campus.
“I’m just trying to get my wind up and my legs back under me and just get in rhythm, because our first scrimmage is next week,” Ennis said, per Robbins (Twitter link). “I want to be prepared for that.”
The Magic, who currently hold the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, will be looking to secure a playoff spot when they resume play on July 31. Their goal will be to pass the depleted Nets for the No. 7 seed, which would allow them to avoid a first-round matchup with the 53-12 Bucks.
The prospects for Magic forward Jonathan Isaac playing during the league restart are improving, Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Isaac, who hasn’t played since he injured his left knee on New Year’s Day, hasn’t been allowed in contact drills yet but he is participating in other team drills. He’s “optimistic” about returning, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link). “I have no reservations in my mind about it,” Isaac said. “If I’m ready to play and if I get the clearance, I’m ready to go.”
- Magic big man Mohamed Bamba used the time off to bulk up, he told Hays in a separate Orlando Sentinel story. “My mentality the whole entire time we were quarantined was to gain an inch every day and it really took, literally, every day going through it to get to where I am,” Bamba said. “It took changing my diet, it took intense workouts and it took leaning on the Magic’s strength and conditioning staff to provide a plan for me.”