- Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman spoke to Josh Robbins of The Athletic about the club’s offseason moves and decisions, and the plans for the 14th and 15th spots on the regular season roster. Weltman was evasive when he discussed those final roster spots, but hinted that the team may not carry a 15th man to start the season.
- In a separate story for The Athletic, Robbins notes that things feel a little different this year in training camp for the Magic. After a six-year playoff drought, the club made it back to the postseason last spring, and expectations have increased as a result.
- Magic guard Markelle Fultz plans to play in the team’s preseason opener on Saturday, Josh Robbins of The Athletic tweets. Fultz appeared in 19 games with the Sixers last season but has yet to make his Orlando debut. The No. 1 overall pick in 2017 was traded to the Magic in February.
Magic forward Jonathan Isaac gets lead billing this year in Zach Lowe’s annual ESPN.com column on his six most intriguing players of the upcoming season. As Lowe details, Isaac has put on about 15-20 pounds this offseason as he looks to bulk up his thin frame a little, and the team has high hopes for him going forward, particularly on the defensive end.
According to Lowe, it’s “hard to overstate” how much Orlando loves Isaac. In fact, sources tell Lowe that the Magic have “batted away” any and all trade inquiries on the former No. 6 overall pick. The front office views Isaac as a standard-bearer for the culture that the team is trying to create, Lowe adds.
The Magic have signed free agent guard B.J. Johnson, the team announced today in a press release. According to Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter), it’s an Exhibit 10 contract for Johnson, who inked a similar deal with the club last fall.
After going undrafted out of La Salle in 2018, Johnson was with the Magic for training camp and the preseason, then spent most of his first professional season playing for the Lakeland Magic, Orlando’s G League affiliate. He averaged 15.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.4 SPG with a shooting line of .476/.444/.841 in 39 NBAGL games.
Johnson also had brief NBA auditions in 2018/19 with the Hawks, who signed him to a pair of 10-day contracts in March, and the Kings, who signed him for the final week of the regular season. The 23-year-old appeared in seven total regular season games for the two clubs, with Sacramento waiving him in July.
The Magic now have a full 20-man offseason roster, including just 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts. Although the team probably won’t carry a 15th man due to tax concerns, the 14th roster spot is up for grabs. Johnson could be in the mix for that spot, but seems more likely to eventually return to Lakeland, where he’d earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $50K if he spends two months with the club.
- Magic guard and former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz has joined Roc Nation Sports, the 21-year-old announced on his own Twitter account.
- Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer identifies seven players on probable playoff teams who could take a leap during the 2019/20 season and help solidify their respective teams as legit contenders. Aaron Gordon (Magic), Josh Richardson (Sixers), and Anfernee Simons (Trail Blazers) are among the breakout candidates on O’Connor’s list.
The Magic will begin their training camp next Tuesday, and point guard Markelle Fultz is expected to be a full participant, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said today, per Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Fultz, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft, last played in an NBA game in November 2018 and hasn’t suited up for a single game for the Magic since being acquired by the team at last season’s deadline. While Fultz is hesitant to say that his health issues – diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome – are completely healed, he has recovered to the point where he shouldn’t face any restrictions in camp, writes Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
While Fultz is healthy enough to participate in training camp, it’s not clear whether he’ll suit up for Orlando’s preseason games or if he’ll be able to play regular minutes to start the season. That may depend on how he looks in camp.
“We’re going to remain patient,” Weltman said, per Reynolds. “We’re not going to put expectations or timelines on his development. He hasn’t played basketball in a year. He’s played 33 games total in his career. So it’s going to unfold the way it unfolds.”
[RELATED: Magic exercise 2020/21 option on Markelle Fultz]
As Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel relays (via Twitter), Fultz couldn’t point to a specific point when he felt as if he was back to normal, but he kept seeing more shots go on with less pain as he shot them, which was a turning point. With his game coming back, the 21-year-old is confident that he can make an impact on the court for the Magic.
“I was the No. 1 pick for a reason,” Fultz said today, according to Reynolds. “I knew that I work hard and what I can do on the basketball court. That’s all that matters.”
SEPTEMBER 24: The Magic have officially signed Humphries, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log. The club now has 19 players under contract, leaving one opening on its 20-man offseason roster.
JULY 24: The Magic and big man Isaac Humphries have agreed upon an Exhibit 10 deal, reports Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia. Humphries, an Australian native, became an unrestricted free agent this summer when the Hawks opted not to extend him a qualifying offer.
Humphries only played five games for Atlanta last season after being signed in April, but he averaged 11.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 1.1 BPG in 46 games (21.8 MPG) for the Hawks’ G League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, before signing his rest-of-season deal with the Hawks.
Humphries appears to be the first player to receive an Exhibit 10 deal from the Magic so far this summer, but Orlando did recently come to terms with Josh Magette and Amile Jefferson for the club’s open two-way spots.
Accordingly, it’s unlikely that Humphries will make his way onto the Magic roster for the 2019/20 season. Instead, he’ll probably end up playing for the team’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic.
4:44pm: Okeke will sign a G League contract to play for the Magic’s affiliate in Lakeland, according to Charania and Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
9:41am: Chuma Okeke has long been the only 2019 first-round pick who has yet to sign his rookie scale contract, and now we know why. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter), Okeke won’t sign his rookie deal with the Magic until the 2020 offseason.
[RELATED: 2019 NBA Draft Pick Signings]
As Charania explains (via Twitter), the Magic intend to redshirt Okeke during his first professional season as he continue to recover from the ACL injury he suffered during this year’s NCAA tournament while playing for Auburn.
Postponing Okeke’s first NBA contract by a year could be a win-win for both Orlando and the young forward, who was the 16th overall pick in this year’s draft. Although he won’t earn an NBA salary in 2019/20, the 21-year-old projects to sign a rookie contract worth an extra $1MM or so in 2020 due to the rising value of the league’s rookie scale, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
When he signs in 2020, Okeke will earn the same salary as the 16th pick in the 2020 draft — the exact amount will depend on how much the cap increases, but based on the latest projection, his starting salary should be about $3.32MM.
Meanwhile, the Magic are currently just $3.8MM below the luxury tax line and would’ve been right up against that threshold if they’d signed Okeke to a rookie contract worth 120% of his rookie scale amount. He would’ve earned about $3.1MM in 2019/20 in that scenario. The franchise will now have him under control for an extra year as well, as his four-year rookie contract will run through the 2023/24 season. The rest of the 2019 first-rounders will hit restricted free agency during the summer of ’23.
[RELATED: Rookie Scale Salaries For 2019 First Round Picks]
It’s not clear whether Okeke will remain unsigned or if he’ll sign a G League contract for the 2019/20 season. A G League contract might make sense for both sides, since it would allow him to rehab within the organization while at least earning a modest salary. In either scenario, the Magic will retain his NBA rights.
The move will also open up an extra spot on the Magic’s 15-man regular season roster for the coming season. The team is currently carrying 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so there should be one one or two openings available heading into training camp.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
With NBA training camps right around the corner, several more teams filled their 20-man offseason rosters this week. The Hornets did so on Monday, with the Mavericks, Pistons, Raptors, and Hawks following suit over the next few days. Those clubs join a list of 16 total teams that don’t have any openings on their offseason rosters.
Of course, every NBA team with a full 20-man roster is carrying multiple players who have non-guaranteed contracts, so it’s not as if any of them would be hamstrung if they really want to sign another player. But for now at least, it appears as if those 16 teams have their 20-man squads set for when camps get underway at the end of the month.
That leaves 14 clubs that still have open roster spots, as our tracker shows. Here’s a breakdown of those teams, along with my speculation on whether we can expect them to make moves within the next week or two:
19 players under contract:
- Golden State Warriors
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Sacramento Kings
- Washington Wizards
None of these teams are carrying 15 players on fully guaranteed contracts, so it’s possible they’ll still add a veteran player who could earn a regular season roster spot. But it’s more likely that they’ll each sign another young player who could end up in the G League, since all four teams have their own NBAGL affiliates. The Wizards, who need to add some point guard depth, are said to be eyeing Chris Chiozza for their final spot.
18 players under contract:
- Boston Celtics
- Denver Nuggets
- Houston Rockets
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Orlando Magic
- Phoenix Suns
- Portland Trail Blazers
While it’s not official yet, the Celtics essentially have a full roster. Kaiser Gates and Yante Maten have both reportedly agreed to Exhibit 10 contracts with the Celtics, but have yet to finalize them. Once they’re under contract, Boston’s 20-man roster will be full.
The Magic could also have a full 20-man roster if and when they complete their reported agreement with Isaac Humphries and sign first-round pick Chuma Okeke. The Pelicans, meanwhile, reportedly reached deals with undrafted rookies Jalen Adams, Javon Bess, and Aubrey Dawkins, but there’s only room for two of them on the roster, so unless New Orleans plans to waive a player, the team won’t be signing all three.
The Rockets are signing Thabo Sefolosha and would have room for one more camp invitee, while I’d expect the Suns to invite two more young players to camp with them.
The Nuggets and Trail Blazers don’t have their own G League affiliates, so they may not fill out their rosters unless they just need healthy bodies for camp.
17 players under contract:
- Brooklyn Nets
- Chicago Bulls
- Oklahoma City Thunder
All three of these teams have their own G League affiliates and should fill out their camp rosters with young players who can play for the Long Island Nets, Windy City Bulls, or OKC Blue. Of course, rumors continue to swirl that the Nets are eyeing Carmelo Anthony, but I wouldn’t expect the Bulls or Thunder to be seeking any veteran help.