- In his first season for the injury-ravaged Magic, swingman Dwayne Bacon has proven his worth both as a starter and a sparkplug off the bench, according to Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. “When you’re in a game at such a high level, you’re not going to make every shot, so you’ve just got to stick with it,” Bacon said. “The same intensity, same, just everything, the total ingredients to be a good shooter, you’ve got to do the same thing, each and every time.”
A number of the NBA’s top players have expressed reluctance to promote the coronavirus vaccine in league-sponsored public service announcements, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Some players are wary of receiving the vaccine themselves, apprehensions which are consistent with those in Black communities around the country, Wojnarowski notes.
There are other factors contributing to the “tepid” response to the NBA’s vaccine PSA efforts, according to Woj, who points out that many players are unenthusiastic about doing any favors on behalf of the NBA as the league puts its “largely unpopular” plans for an All-Star Game into motion.
While commissioner Adam Silver has repeatedly stated that the NBA won’t “jump the line” for the vaccine, he told general managers on a call on Tuesday that vaccinations for players could be available as soon as late March or early April, per Wojnarowski. Silver also suggested on that call that the NBA may encourage vaccinations – and participation in its PSAs – by loosening the health and safety protocols for those who receive it, sources tell ESPN.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- As has been the case in recent years, the NBA will once again have the top vote-getters for the All-Star Game become team captains and get them to draft their own rosters from the pool of 22 remaining All-Stars, Tim Bontemps of ESPN confirms. Bontemps adds that there’s a chance the “Elam Ending” format could return, given how successful it was last year, but says that hasn’t been officially decided yet.
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report identifies six young players who he believes would benefit from a change of scenery and should be on the trade block. Magic center Mohamed Bamba, Celtics guard Carsen Edwards, and a pair of Knicks (Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina) are among those on Wasserman’s list.
- In an Insider-only article for ESPN.com, Bobby Marks previews the trade deadline for all 30 NBA teams, examining each club’s most valuable assets, cap situation, and how it should be approaching the trade market.
The Magic have a full 17-man roster, with 15 players on standard contracts and a pair on two-way contracts, but should have a path to temporarily add an 18th man if they so choose.
The NBA’s hardship provision gives a team hit hard by injuries an opportunity to sign an extra player if at least four players have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to miss at least two more weeks. Once one of those injured players gets healthy, the team has to return to its usual roster limit.
The Magic have two players – Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac – out for the season due to ACL tears, and Cole Anthony will be sidelined through the All-Star break with a rib fracture. Additionally, Aaron Gordon was diagnosed on February 1 with a severe ankle sprain that was expected to keep him on the shelf for about four to six weeks.
Anthony has now missed three games, so unless the Magic anticipate Gordon will beat his projected recovery timeline and return within the next week or two, the team is eligible to apply for an extra roster spot via hardship provision.
An extra player would provide more depth to a roster that is also dealing with injuries to Evan Fournier (low back spasms), James Ennis (right groin strain), and Al-Farouq Aminu (right knee injury maintenance), all of whom are listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. New York.
It’s not clear whether or not the Magic will look to take advantage of the opportunity. The team already made one change to its roster earlier this week, signing Chasson Randle to a two-way contract to replace injured point guard Frank Mason.
If Orlando does add a player, the team may prefer to promote someone from the G League (like Randle), since players at the NBAGL’s Walt Disney World bubble are subject to a less strict quarantine and testing process than a free agent off the street would be.
- As part of the 10-18 Magic, he’s not receiving much national attention, but veteran center Nikola Vucevic is enjoying perhaps the best season of his career, as Bryan Kalbrosky of HoopsHype writes. The 30-year-old remains under contract with Orlando through 2022/23.
Magic rookie guard Cole Anthony has a non-displaced fracture of his right first rib and will not return before the All-Star break, according to a team press release.
Anthony suffered the injury a week ago against Portland. Beyond the prognosis that he can’t play until after the March 7 All-Star game, there is no timetable for his return. It will depend upon how he responds to treatment. He was originally diagnosed with a shoulder strain.
Anthony, the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, is averaging 11.0 PPG and 3.8 APG in 26.7 MPG. He’s started 17 of 25 games, entering the lineup when Markelle Fultz suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Anthony averaged 15 PPG and 5.5 APG in the four games prior to playing 14 minutes against the Trail Blazers. Michael Carter-Williams has taken over most of the point guard duties in his absence, with newly-signed two-way player Chasson Randle expected to assume a backup role following Frank Mason‘s injury and subsequent release.
3:40pm: The Magic have officially signed Randle and waived Mason, the team announced in a press release.
12:24pm: The Magic intend to sign free agent guard Chasson Randle to a two-way contract, according to Josh Robbins and Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Randle, who made his NBA debut in 2017, has appeared in 78 total games since then for the Sixers, Knicks, Wizards, and Warriors, averaging 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in 13.9 minutes per contest. He was on a 10-day contract with Golden State last March when the season was suspended, but didn’t catch on with a new NBA team for the summer restart or for the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
Randle has been playing in the G League bubble this month for the Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s affiliate. In two games (26.3 MPG), he has averaged 20.0 PPG on .556/.375/.667 shooting.
The Magic have been hit hard by injuries at the point guard position this season. After losing Markelle Fultz for the season with a torn ACL, the team recently saw Cole Anthony go down with a shoulder strain and Frank Mason suffer a strained groin. Michael Carter-Williams just returned on Friday after missing over a month due to a foot sprain and is the only healthy point guard on the roster for the time being, so Randle could get an opportunity to earn minutes immediately.
Mason currently occupies one of the Magic’s two-way contract slots and is the likeliest candidate to be cut to make room for Randle, according to Robbins. Karim Mane is Orlando’s other two-way player.
- Michael Carter-Williams provided the Magic with a boost at point guard in Friday’s victory over Sacramento, Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel writes. Despite missing the previous 19 games due to injury, Carter-Williams finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in 27 minutes of work. “I’m always ready to go play the point. I’ve been doing it my whole life,” Carter-Williams said. “Coach has me do it in practice sometimes. I’m always staying sharp in that area for moments like this, so we can go out there and not skip a beat and still be successful.”
- After a 19-game injury absence, point guard Michael Carter-Williams provided an ample boost for an injury-plagued Magic squad, per Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’m always ready to go play the point,” Carter-Williams said. “Coach has me do it in practice sometimes. I’m always staying sharp in that area for moments like this, so we can go out there and not skip a beat and still be successful.”
- Mohamed Bamba has fallen out of the Magic‘s rotation and that shouldn’t be the case, Josh Robbins of The Athletic opines. The sixth pick of the 2018 draft needs playing time to establish how much improvement he’s made since his rookie campaign and coach Steve Clifford should give the young big ample opportunities to show what he can do, Robbins adds. Robbins also takes a look at the current rotation and Clifford’s usage of reserves Gary Clark and Khem Birch.
- Already without Markelle Fultz for the rest of the season and dealing with injuries to Michael Carter-Williams and Cole Anthony, the Magic lost another point guard on Thursday when Frank Mason left the game with a groin strain, as Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel details. Mason won’t play on Friday in Sacramento, but Carter-Williams is no longer on the injury report, meaning he should be available for the first time since January 4, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic.