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Pacers Eyeing Aaron Gordon As Potential Target

June 28th, 2018 at 12:24pm CST by Luke Adams

The Pacers project have a chunk of cap room available this summer, and one player the team has its eye on is Magic power forward Aaron Gordon, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).

Gordon, 22, received a qualifying offer from the Magic earlier this week, ensuring that he’ll become a restricted free agent on Sunday. That move gives Orlando the right of first refusal on Gordon, so if the Pacers signed the young forward to a lucrative offer sheet, the Magic would have the opportunity to match it.

In comments to reporters, Gordon has suggested he’ll be seeking a maximum-salary contract this offseason, though he has also said that he’d like to remain in Orlando. For their part, the Magic have said they’re “hopeful” of reaching an agreement with Gordon. However, an offer from a team with significant cap room like the Pacers could present an interesting decision for the Magic.

It’s not clear yet exactly how much space Indiana will have available once the new league year begins, since the team has several non-guaranteed or partially guaranteed contracts on its books, and Thaddeus Young still has a player-option decision to make. However, the club should be able to clear $20MM+ without sacrificing important pieces.

Gordon enjoyed a career year for the Magic in 2017/18, averaging 17.6 PPG and 7.9 RPG in 58 games. He’d be an interesting long-term fit in Indiana, where the Pacers have two young centers – Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis – in their frontcourt along with the veteran Young.

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Jamel Artis Not Receiving QO From Magic

June 28th, 2018 at 8:02am CST by Dana Gauruder
  • The Magic will not make a qualifying offer to Jamel Artis, Sportando tweets. The 6’7” Artis, who went undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2017, saw action in 15 games and averaged 5.1 PPG, 2.5 RPG and 1.2 APG in 18.6 MPG. Artis will be on the Cavaliers‘ Summer League squad, Dave McMenamin of ESPN tweets.
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Free Agent Rumors: Favors, LaVine, Curry, Hezonja

June 27th, 2018 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz forward Derrick Favors has set up a few free agent meetings, Eric Woodyard of the Deseret News tweets. Favors is happy in Utah but wants to go through the free-agent process to determine his best course of action, Woodyard adds. Favors, 26, averaged 12.7 PPG and 7.2 RPG last season. Jazz GM Dennis Lindsey said recently he’d like to keep the team’s core intact. The Wizards, Bucks and Warriors have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Favors.

In other developments involving players heading to free agency:

  • At least one Western Conference team is preparing to make a run at Bulls restricted free agent guard Zach LaVine, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports. Johnson anticipates the Bulls would prefer to re-sign LaVine in the $14-16MM range annually but might balk if he receives an offer sheet worth $20MM or more per year.
  • Mavericks guard Seth Curry has been medically cleared after missing last season with a left tibia fracture, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Curry, an unrestricted free agent, has been engaged in full basketball-related activities for a month, Wojnarowski adds. Curry had a breakout season with Dallas the previous year, averaging 12.8 PPG and 2.7 APG while starting 42 of 70 games.
  • The Nets are interested in Magic forward Mario Hezonja, Brian Lewis of the New York Post hears. Hezonja has not lived up to his billing after being the No. 5 pick of the 2015 draft but the Nets think highly of him and aren’t afraid of reclamation projects, Lewis continues. Hezonja, who averaged 9.6 PPG last season, is an unrestricted free agent after Orlando declined to pick up his fourth-year option last year. Brooklyn has pursued top-level restricted free agents in recent years but is unlikely to do so this summer because the front office would like to create room for two max players next summer, Lewis adds.
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Southeast Notes: Magic, Wizards, Hornets

June 27th, 2018 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

Unlike a handful of other rebuilding clubs, the Magic won’t have cap room available this summer. However, president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman tells Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel that the club will have its full mid-level exception available. As Weltman observes, even without any cap space, that full MLE puts the Magic in a better position than many teams round the NBA.

“I think there are dozen or so teams that are facing the tax this year,” Weltman said. “The league is very compressed financially this summer. We’re certainly not in an elite flexibility position, but I don’t think we’re at the other end of the spectrum, either. We’re probably somewhere in the middle.”

While Weltman didn’t offer any real specifics on the Magic’s free agent targets, he said that the team is “hopeful” it can reach an agreement with Aaron Gordon, and added that the front office will talk to Mario Hezonja‘s representatives to see if a deal can be made on that front.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

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Free Agent Rumors: Gordon, Cousins, George, Favors

June 27th, 2018 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Having stated in the past that he hopes to land a maximum-salary contract as a free agent, Aaron Gordon reiterated that stance this week, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. However, Gordon also said that he’d prefer to simply negotiate a deal with the Magic rather than having to procure an offer sheet from another team.

“Hopefully we just get it wrapped up with Orlando,” Gordon said. “That would be fantastic.”

For what it’s worth, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders hears from league sources that the odds of Gordon landing a max deal this summer seem remote. As Kyler observes, two potential suitors for Gordon – the Suns and Kings – addressed their frontcourt with the top two picks in the draft and may be less inclined to be aggressive in pursuing the Magic power forward.

Here are a few more free agent notes and rumors, with the new NBA league year right around the corner…

  • Kyler’s latest article also includes some items on DeMarcus Cousins, Chris Paul, and Paul George, along with a couple other top free agents. According to Kyler, there’s a sense that Cousins may get a contract like Joel Embiid did last year — Embiid’s extension included guarantee triggers and exit language in the event that he has recurring injury issues. Meanwhile, Kyler also confirms that the Lakers and Thunder are the strong frontrunners in the George sweepstakes.
  • In conversations with Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune and Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Derrick Favors said that he’d like to remain with the Jazz, but admitted that he’s looking forward to testing his value on the open market. Per Spears, Favors is also into the idea of visiting teams in free agency. “I don’t think you get a really good feel over the phone,” Favors said. “I’d rather be face-to-face in a meeting, ask questions and kind of figure stuff out.”
  • Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com explores whether the Sixers might be an ideal on-court fit for LeBron James, while Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer outlines how Philadelphia could plausibly sign James as a free agent and acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade.
  • Free agent shooting guard Chris Babb, who spent last season with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban, has received a workout invite from the Clippers, per international basketball reporter David Pick (Twitter link).
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Magic Fill Out Coaching Staff

June 26th, 2018 at 9:56am CST by Arthur Hill
  • The Magic have officially hired the coaching staff that will work under Steve Clifford, the team announced this morning in a pair of tweets. As expected, the assistant coaches are Mike Batiste, Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel and Bruce Kreutzer, who all worked with Clifford in Charlotte, along with Tyrone Corbin, who spent the past two seasons in Phoenix.
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Magic Waive Shelvin Mack

June 25th, 2018 at 2:49pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic are waiving veteran point guard Shelvin Mack before his salary becomes fully guaranteed for 2018/19, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The team has confirmed the move in a press release.

Mack, who inked a two-year, $12MM with Orlando during the 2017 offseason, appeared in 69 games for the Magic, averaging 6.9 PPG, 3.9 APG, and 2.4 RPG as a backup to Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin.

Mack’s modest production and his non-guaranteed contract made him a candidate to be cut this offseason. His $6MM salary for 2018/19 is reportedly partially guaranteed for just $1MM, so the Magic will have the option of keeping that full $1MM charge on their cap for next season or stretching it across three years.

According to Basketball Insiders’ data, Mack’s contract called for his 2018/19 salary to become guaranteed if he remained under contract for more than four days after the 2018 NBA draft, which is why Orlando is making its decision now. Assuming Mack clears waivers, as expected, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent and will be able to sign anywhere.

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Aaron Gordon Receives Qualifying Offer From Magic

June 25th, 2018 at 2:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have tendered a qualifying offer to power forward Aaron Gordon, officially putting him on track for restricted free agency, per RealGM’s NBA transactions log.

Players eligible for restricted free agency don’t become RFAs by default. A team must extend a qualifying offer to the player in order to make him restricted. That offer essentially functions as a one-year contract offer that the player can accept at any time. If the player signs his qualifying offer rather than inking an offer sheet with another team or a longer-term deal with his own club, he’d put himself in line for unrestricted free agency in a year.

In Gordon’s case, his qualifying offer is worth $7,260,330. However, he’s considered one of the top restricted free agents on the market and will likely attract a sizable offer sheet if Orlando doesn’t negotiate a new deal with him directly, so I wouldn’t expect him to sign his QO.

Gordon, 22, posted new career highs in PPG (17.6), RPG (7.9), APG (2.3), and 3PG (2.0) in 2017/18, with a shooting line of .434/.336/.698 in 58 games.

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Tyrone Corbin To Join Magic’s Coaching Staff

June 23rd, 2018 at 6:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

Tyrone Corbin will be the next addition to Steve Clifford’s coaching staff in Orlando, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.

Corbin had been with the Suns for the past two years and was promoted to lead assistant under Jay Triano when Earl Watson was fired in October. Corbin began his coaching career with the Jazz in 2004 and later became head coach in Utah, compiling a 112-146 record in a little more than three seasons. He also had a brief stint as head coach of the Kings, posting a 7-21 mark in 2014/15.

Before turning to coaching, the 55-year-old had a 16-year playing career that included time with nine NBA franchises.

Corbin will be the fifth assistant named by Clifford since he was hired as Magic head coach in late May. The others — Mike Batiste, Pat Delany, Steve Hetzel and Bruce Kreutzer — all worked with him in Charlotte.

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