Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Magic Promote Anthony Parker To GM

July 5th, 2023 at 9:15am CST by Luke Adams

Former NBA wing Anthony Parker is receiving a promotion and will become the Magic‘s new general manager, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Veteran executive John Hammond previously held that GM role in Orlando under president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. However, Hammond has decided to transition to a senior advisory role, according to Wojnarowski. Hammond, who is 68, wanted to move into a position where he didn’t have to be a daily presence, adds Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link).

A first-round pick in the 1997 NBA draft and the older brother of longtime WNBA star Candace Parker, Anthony Parker appeared in nearly 500 regular season games across nine NBA seasons. He played in Philadelphia and Cleveland from 1997-2000 before spending several years in Israel and Italy. He returned to the NBA in 2006 and was with the Raptors for three years, then with the Cavaliers for three more.

After retiring as a player, Parker was a scout for the Magic from 2012-17. He became the general manager of the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League team, in 2017 and was promoted to become the Magic’s assistant GM in 2021.

According to Wojnarowski, Parker has been a “sought-after” executive during much of his tenure in Orlando, but opted to remain with the Magic and prepare for eventually becoming a senior member of the front office.

In addition to promoting Parker, the Magic are elevating associate GM Pete D’Alessandro to executive vice president of basketball operations, sources tell Wojnarowski. D’Alessandro, who previously held the GM title in Sacramento, has been in Orlando since 2017.

The Magic have issued a press release (via Twitter) confirming the front office changes.

Magic Waive Bol Bol

July 4th, 2023 at 3:55pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have waived forward/center Bol Bol, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

Bol had been on an expiring contract, with a non-guaranteed $2.2MM salary for 2023/24. That money was originally on track to become guaranteed if the big man remained on the roster through June 30, but he and the team agreed to push back the deadline.

The new guarantee date was Tuesday, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks, so Orlando decided to cut Bol before locking in his $2.2MM for the coming season.

Bol’s unique skill for his slender 7’2″ frame – including an ability to handle the ball – has long intrigued teams and fans, but he was limited to 53 games in Denver during his first three NBA seasons due to injuries. He enjoyed his best NBA season in 2022/23, staying on the floor for 70 games and averaging 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 21.5 minutes per night.

While Bol’s overall numbers were solid, it was a tale of two seasons for the former second-round pick. He put up 11.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with an impressive .584/.361/.740 shooting line in his first 41 appearances. In his final 29 games, he scored double-digit points just three times and had averages of 5.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG, and 0.7 BPG on .447/.098/.806 shooting.

It sounds like the Magic determined after the season that Bol wasn’t part of their plans going forward. According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link), Orlando was exploring trading him around the time of the draft. The Suns and Mavericks were two teams mentioned as possible landing spots, though it’s not clear if either would still have interest, Fischer says.

A team would require $2.2MM in cap room or a trade exception that could cover that amount in order to place a waiver claim on Bol. If he’s not claimed, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday.

The roster move gets Orlando down to 15 players on standard contracts for 2023/24.

Magic Sign Anthony Black, Jett Howard To Rookie Deals

July 1st, 2023 at 12:36pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have officially signed rookie lottery picks Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the team has announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Based on the 2023/24 rookie scale, Black’s first-year salary is expected to be worth about $7.25MM, while Howard’s will be approximately $5MM. The first two years of both contracts will be guaranteed, while the Magic will hold team options on the third and fourth seasons.

The Magic selected Black, an SEC All-Freshman shooting guard out of Arkansas, with the sixth pick in last month’s draft. During his lone NCAA season, the 6’7″ swingman averaged 12.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.9 APG, 2.1 SPG and 0.6 BPG.

Howard, a 6’8″ wing out of Michigan, was drafted with the No. 11 selection. The 2022/23 All-Big Ten honoree averaged 14.2 PPG on .414/.368/.800 shooting splits, along with 2.8 RPG, 2.0 APG and 0.7 BPG, while a Wolverine under father and head coach Juwan Howard.

Joe Ingles Signs Two-Year Contract With Magic

June 30th, 2023 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 7: Ingles has officially signed with the Magic, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).

JUNE 30: Free agent swingman Joe Ingles is joining the Magic on a two-year, $22MM contract, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

TNT and Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes reported earlier (Twitter link) that the two sides were close to an agreement. Similar to the deals Orlando reached with Gary Harris and Mohamed Bamba last offseason, the Magic will hold an option on the second year of Ingles’ contract, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today tweets. Harris had his 2023/24 salary guaranteed by the Magic earlier in the day.

He’ll add a veteran presence off the bench at the wing positions in Orlando.

Ingles spent last season with the Bucks, seeing action in 46 games off the bench. He averaged 6.9 points, 3.3 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 22.7 minutes. He also saw action in five postseason games.

Ingles tore the ACL in his left knee the previous season while playing for the Jazz. Ingles, 35, played regularly for eight seasons in Utah.

Eastern Notes: Dinwiddie, Bol, Pistons, Harris, Heat, Maxey

June 30th, 2023 at 4:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spencer Dinwiddie is eligible for an extension later this offseason and there’s support within the Nets organization to add years to his current contract, according to Ian Begley of SNY.TV.

Dinwiddie is entering his walk year with a cap hit of $20,357,143. After being reacquired from Dallas last season, Dinwiddie started 26 regular-season games and averaged 16.5 points and 9.1 assists in 35.3 minutes.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Magic have pushed back their decision regarding Bol Bol‘s contract, Jamie Seh of WKMG-TV tweets. Bol has a non-guaranteed $2.2MM salary for next season and the original deadline to guarantee his deal was Friday. If they don’t guarantee his contract, he’ll end up on waivers.
By trading for Joe Harris and his expiring contract rather than pursuing a high-level free agent, the Pistons are protecting the cap space for next summer while avoiding a potentially bad contract, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic. Handing a huge offer sheet to restricted free agent Cameron Johnson, as had been anticipated, would have meant overpaying for a role player. They could easily have $60MM in cap space to play with next summer for a better free agent market. Detroit won’t give up a player to the Nets in the trade for Harris, who will provide shooting and wing depth.
Agent Mark Bartelstein said Harris has spoken with Pistons GM Troy Weaver, coach Monty Williams and executive Arn Tellem, Mark Medina tweets. According to Bartelstein, the Pistons have wanted Harris “for a couple of years” and “he’ll have a great role there.”
The Heat only have veteran’s minimum contracts to offer to free agents, Barry Jackson of Miami Herald tweets. The cap-strapped Heat don’t have a trade lined up to clear enough cap space to use exceptions within league cap rules.
While the Sixers aren’t expected to pursue a rookie scale extension with Tyrese Maxey, they haven’t made him available in trade discussions, Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice tweets.

Free Agent Rumors: Lopez, Rockets, DiVincenzo, Warriors, Saric, Mavs, Gordon, FVV, More

June 30th, 2023 at 3:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks center Brook Lopez is expected to be offered a two-year contract worth approximately $40MM from the Rockets, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reports.

Houston, which has the most cap space this summer, has a meeting lined up with Lopez. The veteran center’s free agent decision is expected to come down to remaining in Milwaukee or joining the Rockets. The Rockets have a 20-year-old center in Alperen Sengun, a 2021 first-rounder, but Lopez could serve as a mentor to Houston’s youthful big men while stabilizing its defense and stretching the floor offensively.

We have more free agent news:

Warriors guard Donte DiVincenzo has four meetings lined up on Friday and Saturday, Steve Popper of Newsday tweets. DiVincenzo entered the market when he declined his $4.7MM option. The Knicks, Timberwolves, Pelicans, Pistons, Rockets, Magic, and Bulls have all been mentioned as potential pursuers for DiVincenzo, who could command the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception. The Warriors can only offer a four-year, $23.2MM deal due to cap restrictions since they only held his Non-Bird rights.
The Warriors are likely to land unrestricted free agent Dario Saric, according to Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link). Golden State is looking for a stretch four with a high basketball IQ and solid all-around skills. The 29-year-old Saric would also fit the team’s win-now approach. Saric, who tore his ACL during the 2021 playoffs, appeared in a total of 57 regular-season games with the Suns and Thunder this past season. The Warriors are generally seeking to sign swingmen and frontcourt players who shoot well on veteran’s minimum contracts, ESPN’s Marc J. Spears tweets.
Celtics restricted free agent Grant Williams will likely have to be patient to find an interested bidder, according to Fischer. Though the Celtics have acquired Kristaps Porzingis, it’s not out of the question Boston could match an offer sheet for Williams, who reportedly will have difficulty finding an offer above the non-taypayer mid-level exception.
The Mavericks has been linked to various wings and forwards, including Williams, Jae Crowder, Eric Gordon, and Malik Beasley, Fischer adds. League executives who have spoken to Yahoo Sports believe Gordon, who will enter the market after the Clippers decided not to guarantee his contract, could command the full mid-level or close to it.
Raptors guard Fred VanVleet is meeting with Toronto’s brass at the start of free agency and there’s optimism within the organization they can keep him in the fold, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca tweets. According to Grange, a four-year deal averaging $30MM might be enough to convince VanVleet, who declined a $22.8MM option in order to enter free agency, to re-sign.

Magic Guarantee 2023/24 Salaries For Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris

June 30th, 2023 at 1:29pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have decided to retain point guard Markelle Fultz and veteran wing Gary Harris through their respective salary guarantee dates, reports Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (subscription required).

Fultz’s $17MM salary for 2023/24 had only been partially guaranteed for $2MM, while Harris’ $13MM cap hit was non-guaranteed. The Magic had to waive the two players today to avoid fully guaranteeing their ’23/24 salaries, but have apparently opted not to do so.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 draft, Fultz started all 60 games he played for the Magic in 2022/23 after being limited to just 26 total appearances across the two prior seasons due to an ACL tear. Fultz enjoyed his best NBA season this past year, establishing new career highs in points (14.0), assists (5.7), and rebounds (3.9) per game while also shooting a career-best 51.4% from the field, including 31.0% on threes.

Harris, meanwhile, appeared in 48 games for Orlando last season, starting 42 of them and averaging 24.7 minutes per night. The 28-year-old made a career-high 43.1% of his three-point attempts, providing some much-needed floor spacing for a Magic team that ranked 25th in the NBA in three-pointers.

With Fultz and Harris on the books for next season, Orlando’s cap flexibility will be reduced. However, according to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Magic isn’t planning to be a major player on the free agent market anyway.

It sounds like the team will focus on lower-cost free agents rather than trying to make a significant splash. Fischer hears from sources that veteran forward Joe Ingles is one candidate to sign with the Magic on a contract worth more than the minimum.

Latest On Gabe Vincent, Max Strus

June 30th, 2023 at 11:01am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agent guard Gabe Vincent isn’t satisfied with the Heat‘s contract offer and will likely leave the team unless it improves, sources tell Barry Jackson and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.

Jackson and Chiang report that Miami proposed a deal worth slightly more than the three-year, $20.6MM contract Caleb Martin signed last summer. Vincent was reportedly expecting a lot more after taking over as the Heat’s starting point guard and helping them reach the NBA Finals. Team president Pat Riley traveled to Los Angeles this week to meet with Vincent and urge him to re-sign, according to the authors.

Backcourt partner Max Strus seems certain to get a better deal that what the Heat can offer, according to Jackson and Chiang, who report that a three-team sign-and-trade swap has been discussed that would send Strus to the Cavaliers. They don’t identify who else would be involved, but Miami would receive a trade exception and a second-round pick in return. The Pacers, Pistons and Magic have also been identified as potential destinations for Strus.

Re-signing Vincent or Strus would be expensive for the Heat, who already have $179.3MM committed for next season, which is above the projected $165MM luxury tax line. The authors note that giving either player a new deal starting at $12MM would add more than $30MM to the team’s tax bill.

Marc Stein confirms in his latest Substack column that Cleveland is a legitimate threat to add Strus. Stein, who reported this week that Indiana was considering a three-year, $48MM offer for the 27-year-old shooting guard, has since been told that there are multiple suitors for Strus and that Indiana may not be his most likely destination. Cleveland is working to upgrade its outside shooting, Stein adds.

The Raptors could be an option for Vincent if Fred VanVleet signs with the Rockets, suggests Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link). Sources tell Grange that Vincent isn’t expected to return to the Heat and that an offer worth the full $12.4MM non-taxpayer mid-level exception should be enough to land him.

Scotto’s Latest: DiVincenzo, VanVleet, Poeltl, Lakers, Niang, Gallinari, More

June 29th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Luke Adams

Donte DiVincenzo is expected to be a popular target on the free agent market, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, who identifies the Knicks, Timberwolves, Pistons, Pelicans, Rockets, Magic, and Bulls as teams that have interest in the veteran swingman. After settling for a $4.5MM salary in his last foray into free agency a year ago, DiVincenzo could get offers in the neighborhood of the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.4MM) this time around, says Scotto.

Here are a few more highlights from Scotto’s latest round-up of news and rumors from around the NBA:

The Raptors are hoping to re-sign Fred VanVleet on a three-year deal in the range of $90-100MM, says Scotto. The team is also looking to bring back center Jakob Poeltl, but may face serious competition from the Rockets on both players. Although Brook Lopez has been considered Houston’s primary target at center, there’s a belief that Lopez would prefer to return to the Bucks as long as their offer is in the same ballpark as Houston’s, Scotto explains. That could prompt Houston to pivot to Poeltl, who is also expected to receive from the Spurs, as previously reported.
While the Lakers would like to re-sign Dennis Schröder, they’re keeping an eye on several other free agent point guards, including Shake Milton, Cory Joseph, and Jevon Carter, says Scotto. In addition to the Bucks and Lakers, Carter is expected to receive interest from the Timberwolves and Suns, among others, Scotto adds.
Scotto is the second reporter to link Georges Niang to the Cavaliers today, noting that Cleveland offered a pair of second-round picks for him at the trade deadline. The Sixers, Bulls, and Spurs are a few of the other clubs expected to express interest in Niang, league sources tell HoopsHype.
Despite a report indicating that the Wizards are likely to buy out Danilo Gallinari, the two sides haven’t had any discussions about that possibility yet, per Scotto, who writes that the veteran forward is comfortable with the idea of opening the season in D.C.
According to Scotto, former NBA wing Glenn Robinson III is attempting a comeback, having signed with agent Keith Kreiter and scheduled workouts with a handful of NBA teams in Las Vegas last month. A career 37.3% three-point shooter, Robinson has been out of the league for the last two seasons.
Vin Bhavnani and Mike Batiste are expected to join the Raptors as assistants on Darko Rajakovic‘s new coaching staff, Scotto reports. Bhavnani is a former Thunder assistant, while Batiste was on Stephen Silas‘ staff in Houston last season.

Magic Exercise Option On Bitadze, Decline Two Others

June 29th, 2023 at 4:40pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The Magic have exercised their team option on reserve center Goga Bitadze for the 2023/24 season, while turning down their options on veteran point guard Michael Carter-Williams and combo forward Admiral Schofield, the club has announced in a press release (Twitter link).

Bitadze’s team option is worth $2,066,585. Carter-Williams would have earned $3.1MM next year, while Schofield’s option was worth $2MM.

Bitadze, still just 23, joined the Magic midway through 2022/23 after spending his prior three-and-a-half NBA seasons with the Pacers. He carved out a role as a valuable bench option for a super-sized young Orlando club after being waived by Indiana.

Across his 17 healthy contests for Orlando, the 6’11” big man averaged 5.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.2 APG and 0.9 BPG in just 15.0 MPG.

Though Orlando finished outside of the postseason picture with a 34-48 record last year, the rebuilding team is loaded with intriguing lottery talent among its starters, including the two picks the Magic added in last week’s draft, former Arkansas guard Anthony Black and ex-Michigan swingman Jett Howard. Bitadze makes sense for the timeline of the team as a young, cost-efficient option off the bench with plenty of upside left.

Carter-Williams, the 2013/14 Rookie of the Year, returned to the Magic in February after the club waived him during the 2021/22 season, as he was recovering from a left ankle surgery. He appeared in just four games during this most recent stint with Orlando, averaging 4.3 PPG, 1.8 APG and 1.3 RPG in 11 MPG. It remains to be seen if the well-traveled 31-year-old will get another league opportunity.

The 6’5″ Schofield has spent two of his three NBA seasons thus far with the Magic. In 37 games last year, he averaged 4.2 PPG on .451/.324/.913 shooting splits.