Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jordan Bone Agrees To Two-Way Deal With Magic

November 23rd, 2020 at 6:08pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Second-year point guard Jordan Bone has agreed to a two-way contract with the Magic, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

Bone played on a similar contract with the Pistons after being drafted in the second round in 2019 but spent much of the season in the G League. He appeared in 10 games with Detroit but only averaged 5.3 MPG in those outings.

The Pistons, under new GM Troy Weaver, decided not to extend a qualifying offer to Bone. That made the former Tennessee star an unrestricted free agent.

Orlando is also reportedly using its other two-way slot on another point guard, Karim Mane.

Free Agent Rumors: Batum, Thomas, Mudiay, Ferrell, Briscoe

November 23rd, 2020 at 5:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Hornets plan to waive Nicolas Batum and use the stretch provision on his $27.1MM contract for the upcoming season in order to sign Gordon Hayward, unless they can figure out a sign-and-trade deal that would save them from stretching Batum.

Assuming he’s released, Batum shouldn’t have trouble finding a new home. His agent, Jeremy Medjana, told Basket Session that the Warriors, Jazz, Clippers, Bucks and Raptors are interested in signing him once he clears waivers (hat tip to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype). Batum, who has played for Charlotte the past five seasons, only appeared in 22 games last season.

Here are more free agency notes and rumors:

Former MVP candidate Isaiah Thomas said his latest hip procedure was a success and he’s eager to prove it, the Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reports. Thomas says he feels like his former self in workouts. “I was blowing by people,” he said. “I haven’t blown by anybody since I had a Celtics uniform on.” Thomas was waived after the Wizards traded him to the Clippers in February and remains unsigned.
Reserve point guards Emmanuel Mudiay and Yogi Ferrell are generating some interest on the free agent market, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Both players could likely be had for the veteran’s minimum.
Point guard Isaiah Briscoe hopes to return to the NBA, according to Hoops Rumors’ JD Shaw (Twitter link). Briscoe went undrafted out of Kentucky in 2017, but made it onto the Magic’s roster for the 2018/19 season. He spent the 2019/20 season in Poland playing for King Szczecin. In 39 games with Orlando, Briscoe averaged 3.5 PPG, 2.2 APG, and 1.9 RPG, across 14.3 MPG.

Alex Kirschenbaum contributed to this post.

Magic Apply For DPE To Replace Jonathan Isaac

November 22nd, 2020 at 11:44am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic are seeking a disabled player exception for Jonathan Isaac, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. If approved by the league, the DPE will be worth $3,681,283, half of Isaac’s salary for the upcoming season.

Isaac suffered a torn ACL in his left knee during the NBA’s restart at Disney World and underwent surgery in August. He is expected to miss the entire season. He was returning from a severe left knee sprain and bone bruise that had kept him out of action since January.

Any player the Orlando signs with the DPE would count toward the team’s tax bill, Robbins notes (Twitter link). That could be a consideration as the Magic are near the tax line after agreeing to free agent deals with Michael Carter-Williams, James Ennis and Dwayne Bacon.

Eastern Notes: Sixers, Celtics, Pistons, Magic

November 22nd, 2020 at 1:03am CST by Luke Adams

Joking that having son-in-law Seth Curry on the Sixers will let him see his granddaughter more often, head coach Doc Rivers said this week that it was an easy decision to acquire a sharpshooter like Curry when the team had an opportunity to make a deal with Dallas.

“One of the things we wanted to do – Elton (Brand), Daryl (Morey), and I – when we got here was create as much shooting as possible around Ben (Simmons) and Joel (Embiid),” Rivers said, per Brian Seltzer of Sixers.com. “This was a no-brainer.”

Curry wasn’t the only prolific outside shooter the 76ers acquired this week. The team also agreed to trade for Danny Green and used one of its draft picks on Arkansas’ Isaiah Joe, who averaged 3.5 made threes per game over the course of his college career.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

The Celtics and Hornets were among the teams that exhibited interest in free agent guard Avery Bradley before he signed with Miami, league sources told Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
After reaching agreements with Jeff Teague and Tristan Thompson, the Celtics project to have 16 players competing for 15 roster spots, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston, who notes (via Twitter) that one of those players – Javonte Green – is on a non-guaranteed deal. Two other Celtics had their 2020/21 salaries guaranteed today.
Rod Beard of The Detroit News takes a closer look at how Pistons general manager Troy Weaver has reshaped the team’s roster so far, explaining why the team opted to pay big money to Jerami Grant over Christian Wood and acknowledging that the Mason Plumlee signing was a bit of a “head-scratcher.”
The Magic appear to be running it back for the 2020/21 season with very few roster changes, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, who says it’s somewhat surprising that no trade involving Aaron Gordon or Evan Fournier has materialized. While team officials believe the current group can have a winning record, the front office will face criticism if the club once again finishes in the middle of the pack, failing to make any noise in the playoffs and failing to earn a high lottery pick, says Robbins.

Isaac Okoro, Cole Anthony Sign Rookie Contracts

November 21st, 2020 at 5:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Cavaliers and Magic have both signed their first-round picks, the teams announced today.

Cleveland came to terms with Auburn forward Isaac Okoro, who was the fifth overall selection. Orlando reached a deal with North Carolina guard Cole Anthony, who was taken with the 15th pick.

Neither team announced the terms of the deals, but both players are eligible to receive up to 120% of the rookie scale. That would be $6,400,920 for Okoro and $3,285,120 for Anthony.

Magic Re-Sign Gary Clark To Two-Year Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 23: The Magic have officially re-signed Clark, the team announced today in a press release.

NOVEMBER 21: The Magic have agreed to a new two-year contract with free agent forward Gary Clark, bringing him back for a second straight season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

The agreement is worth $4.1MM, Wojnarowski adds, which suggests it’ll be worth slightly more than the minimum. The second year of the contract will include a team option, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel tweets.

Orlando tipped its hand that it wanted to bring back Clark but extending him a $1.82MM qualifying offer, which made him a restricted free agent.

The Magic signed Clark after the Rockets waived him in early January. Clark, 25, appeared in 24 games for Orlando, averaging 3.6 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 14.8 MPG. Clark, who turned 26 earlier this week, played a total of 69 games with Houston after going undrafted out of Cincinnati.

Magic Re-Sign Michael Carter-Williams

November 21st, 2020 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

NOVEMBER 24, 12:02pm: The Magic have officially announced their new deal with Carter-Williams.

NOVEMBER 21, 11:32am: It’s a two-year deal for Carter-Williams, with no player or team option on the second year, tweets Josh Robbins of The Athletic. It’s believed to be worth in the range of $3MM per year, tweets Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today.

NOVEMBER 21, 8:00am: Free agent point guard Michael Carter-Williams has agreed to a deal to return to the Magic, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). Terms of the contract agreement aren’t yet known.

Initially acquired by Orlando for the stretch run in 2018/19, Carter-Williams re-signed with the club last summer and came off the bench in 45 games during the ’19/20 campaign. He averaged 7.2 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 1.1 SPG in 18.5 minutes per contest.

With veteran guard D.J. Augustin unlikely to return to Orlando, there may be a path to a larger role in 2020/21 for Carter-Williams, a former Rookie of the Year, though that will depend on what other moves the Magic make this offseason.

The Magic have now made deals with two of their own free agents, agreeing to bring back both Carter-Williams and James Ennis. The team is also adding Dwayne Bacon on a two-year deal.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Jon Teske, Magic Agree To Deal

November 21st, 2020 at 10:54am CST by marksuleymanov

The Magic have agreed to a deal with Michigan big man Jon Teske, according to the Medina Gazette. The terms of the contract are unknown but it’s likely to be an Exhibit 10 deal.

Teske, 23, is coming off his senior season with Michigan in which he posted his best numbers to date. The 7’1″, 265-pound Teske averaged 11.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG as a senior. For his collegiate career, the Medina, Ohio, native averaged 6.6 PPG and 4.8 RPG while making over half of his shot attempts (50.1%).

“It’s the best fit for me right now as a player,” Teske said of joining the Magic. “A couple other teams were interested, but for me to showcase my talents and play within my skills, it’s a big advantage going there.”

If Teske’s pact turns out to be an Exhibit 10, it will be a non-guaranteed one-year, minimum salary contract. The deal allows a bonus of up to $50K if he is waived and remains on the franchise’s G League squad for at least 60 days.

Magic To Sign Karim Mane To Two-Way Contract

November 21st, 2020 at 7:47am CST by Luke Adams

Undrafted rookie Karim Mane announced (via Twitter) on Friday night that he’ll be joining the Magic as a free agent. According to Blake Murphy of The Athletic (via Twitter), Mane will get a two-way contract from Orlando.

Mane, a Canadian guard who spent the last few seasons playing for Vanier College in Quebec, declared for the draft as an early entrant this year after weighing the possibility of joining a U.S. program.

As Jonathan Givony of ESPN writes, a breakout showing at last year’s FIBA U19 World Championship improved Mane’s NBA stock and he would have participated in this year’s Nike Hoop Summit had the event not been canceled. Givony, who ranks Mane sixth among undrafted prospects, praises the youngster’s physical tools and athleticism.

B.J. Johnson and Vic Law finished the 2019/20 season on two-way contracts with Orlando, but neither player received a qualifying offer this week, so it looks like the Magic will probably turn over both of their two-way slots.

Magic Sign Dwayne Bacon To Two-Year Deal

November 20th, 2020 at 5:47pm CST by JD Shaw

NOVEMBER 24: The Magic have made it official with Bacon, issuing a press release to formally announce his deal.

NOVEMBER 20: The Magic are signing free agent guard Dwayne Bacon to a two-year deal, according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).

The agreement includes a team option in the second season, with all indications being that Bacon will sign for the minimum salary exception, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets.

Bacon spent last season with the Hornets, who declined to extend him a qualifying offer this week. He averaged 5.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 17.6 in 39 games, shooting just 35% from the floor.

Bacon, 25, was the No. 40 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’s spent the past three seasons with Charlotte, appearing in a total of 135 games. The move to Orlando will reunite him with former Hornets head coach Steve Clifford.

Orlando finished with the eighth-best record in the Eastern Conference last season at 33-40. The team sports a young nucleus that includes Aaron Gordon, Markelle Fultz, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba, along with veterans such as Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross.