The Magic have been granted a disabled player exception by the NBA as a result of Jonathan Isaac‘s season-ending knee injury, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Isaac suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the NBA’s restart at Disney World and underwent surgery in August.
The disabled player exception is a salary cap exception designed to allow teams to add a replacement for a player who suffers a major injury. It’s worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
Since Isaac’s salary in 2020/21 is $7,362,566, Orlando’s new trade exception will be worth half that amount: $3,681,283.
The disabled player exception doesn’t give a team an extra roster spot, but it allows the club to add a player without using cap space to do so. It can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on one player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.
The Magic probably won’t be in a rush to use their DPE — using it in full would bump their team salary over the tax line. Still, it could be a useful tool at some point this season. They’re the second team to be granted a disabled player exception this season, joining the Warriors (Klay Thompson).
The 2020/21 NBA regular season will get underway on December 22, so it’s time to get serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign.
With the help of the lines from a handful of sports betting sites, including Bovada and BetOnline, we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
Of course, there are plenty of wild cards to take into account this season. For one, teams are scheduled to play 72 games instead of 82, so if you’re picking a team to win 41 games, you’re not just expecting them to be a .500 club — you’re projecting them to finish 10 games above .500. For each team’s over/under below, we’ve noted the record they’d have to achieve to finish “over” their projection, as a reminder.
It’s also worth noting that the coronavirus pandemic could cause some games to be canceled in 2020/21. We don’t want you to have to take possible cancellations into account when making your picks though, so don’t let that stop you from taking the “over.” If a team has a couple games canceled, we’ll adjust their over/under figure downward, so you’re essentially just projecting that team’s winning percentage.
Terrence Ross has missed the Magic‘s first two preseason games due to a hairline fracture in his left big toe, but he sounds just about ready to return. Ross participated in all the contact drills during Wednesday’s practices and head coach Steve Clifford thinks there’s a good chance he’ll play on Thursday, per Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitterlinks).
Evaluating the Magic‘s November roster changes, John Hollinger of The Athletic writes that the club’s “defining move this offseason was its lack of moves.” With Jonathan Isaac out for the season, Hollinger wonders if the time is right for Orlando to “soft tank” rather than vying for a back-end playoff berth that would lead to another quick postseason exit.
The Magic have exercised their fourth-year team option on center Mohamed Bamba‘s rookie scale contract, the team announced today in a press release.
Bamba’s $5.97MM salary for the coming season had already been fully guaranteed. Today’s move will ensure that his $7.57MM salary for the 2021/22 campaign is guaranteed as well. He’s now on track to become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2021 offseason — if he doesn’t sign a new deal then, he’d head to restricted free agency in ’22.
Bamba, 22, missed time in each of his two NBA seasons due to health issues. Most recently, he was sidelined for the summer restart after contracting COVID-19.
Although he says he’s no longer dealing with any coronavirus symptoms or after-effects, he’s still working on getting his conditioning back to 100%. He was cleared today to participate in full-contact work, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
In his 109 NBA regular season games so far, Bamba has averaged 5.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG, and 1.4 BPG in 15.1 minutes per contest.
December 14th, 2020 at 9:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder
The Magic will allow approximately 4,000 physical-distanced fans for regular-season games, the team announced in a press release.
Initially, there will be fewer people in the stands at Amway Center. Preseason games will only be open to family members of the Magic organization during an evaluation phase, while the first five regular-season home games are expected to be under the 4,000-fan limit in order to allow them to get accustomed to the health and safety protocols. Priority will be given to season ticket holders, followed by fans who made a season ticket deposit.
The Magic are just one of five NBA franchises — along with the Jazz, Grizzlies, Pelicans and Rockets — planning to have fans in the stands when the regular season begins next week. Orlando had previously announced its intentions to open its doors to fans but the release on Monday gives concrete details.
Protocols will include mandatory face coverings; a pre-arrival symptom and exposure survey; testing for those in close proximity to the court; deep and constant cleaning in high-traffic areas; hand sanitizer stations; and a no-bag policy. Amway Center has also implemented numerous health and sanitization upgrades.
Magic forward Aaron Gordon is starting the preseason on a minutes limit as he recovers from a hamstring injury he suffered during the restart, writes Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. Gordon played 16 minutes in Friday’s opener, all in the first half.
For the time being, only five teams – the Jazz, Pelicans, Magic, Rockets, and Grizzlies – are continuing with their plans to have some fans in arenas when the regular season begins, sources tell David Aldridge of The Athletic.
The Mavericks and Heat each confirmed today that they won’t have fans for their preseason games, per Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News (Twitter link) and Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Miami also won’t host fans for its Christmas Day game, as Chiang notes.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
The NBA intends to administer a daily point-of-care, rapid coronavirus testing system for the 2020/21 season, according to Shams Charania and Fred Katz of The Athletic (Twitterlinks). Those tests would return results within 30 minutes in teams’ home markets and within 90 minutes on the road. In the event of invalid results, the player would undergo another rapid test at least 30 minutes after the first one and could participate in team activities while awaiting the result, sources tell The Athletic.
Veteran forward Wilson Chandler is expected to leave Zhejiang Guangsha, his team in China, a source tells Sportando. Chandler, who finished the 2019/20 season with Brooklyn, signed to play in the Chinese Basketball Association in the fall. It’s unclear whether or not his reported exit is related to an NBA opportunity.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz have published their first list of the top 100 prospects for the 2021 NBA draft. Oklahoma State point guard Cade Cunningham leads the way, followed by USC’s Evan Mobley and Jalen Green of the G League Ignite.
Speaking of Green and the Ignite, they’re scheduled to scrimmage on December 15 and 17 against a group of veteran G Leaguers, according to Givony (allTwitterlinks). It’s unclear whether or not those games will be streamed, but NBA teams will get access to the film, according to Givony, who says Isaiah Briscoe, Tariq Owens, and Bryce Alford will be among the vets scrimmaging against the Ignite.
Josh Robbins of The Athletic explains why the Magic remain bullish on Markelle Fultz‘s upside and says there’s “no doubt whatsoever” that the team will exercise its fourth-year option for 2021/22 on Mohamed Bamba this month.
The Magic have until December 29 to exercise Mohamed Bamba‘s $7.57MM option for the 2021/22 season. Bamba’s development has been slowed by health issues and he has yet to be cleared for full contact, but according to Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel, “all indications are that the team values Bamba and remains committed to him.” That bodes well for his fourth-year option.
Having undergone an MRI, Magic swingman Terrence Ross has been diagnosed with a minor, non-displaced hairline fracture in his left big toe, the team announced today in a press release. Ross is continuing to participate in non-contact work during practices. According to the team, his return to full contact will depend on how his toe responds to treatment.