Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Jodie Meeks Out Indefinitely With Thumb Injury

January 25th, 2017 at 10:31am CST by Dana Gauruder

JANUARY 25: After the Magic conducted a follow-up exam on Meeks’ injury, the team determined that surgery was necessary, according to a press release. GM Rob Hennigan announced that Meeks underwent that procedure on Tuesday and will be sidelined indefinitely — his return will depend on how he responds to rehab, per the team.

JANUARY 19: Magic shooting guard Jodie Meeks will be out an estimated 4-to-6 weeks after an MRI revealed two sprained ligaments in his right thumb, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets. He will not need surgery, Robbins adds.

Meeks suffered the injury in a 118-98 loss to the Pelicans on Wednesday.

This is another injury setback for Meeks, who has been sidelined by a variety of ailments in recent seasons. Signed by the Pistons to a three-year, $18.8MM contract prior to the 2014/15 season, Meeks missed the first 22 games of that campaign because of a back injury. Last season, he fractured his right foot in the second game of the season and wound up making just one appearance the rest of the way.

The Magic acquired Meeks in June for a conditional second-round pick. He underwent foot surgery the following month, delaying his Magic debut until December 2nd.

Meeks, who earned nine starts in recent weeks, is averaging 8.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 24 games. He has given Orlando a boost on the perimeter, making 40.4% of his 3-point attempts. Meeks is one of the league’s premier spot-up shooters when healthy, as his 37.5% career average from long range attests.

Orlando’s other top option at shooting guard, Evan Fournier, is dealing with heel and foot issues. Meeks’ injury could lead to additional playing time for 2015 lottery pick Mario Hezonja. C.J. Wilcox could also be in the mix.

Community Shootaround: Orlando Magic

January 24th, 2017 at 9:47pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Magic would like to turn the season around and make the playoffs and GM Rob Hennigan said the team would look to be aggressive in its attempts to improve. Hennigan said the front office was disappointed by the team’s play on the defensive end and added that he wouldn’t rule out trading anyone on the roster.

So that leads us to tonight’s topic: How would you fix the Magic if you were sitting in Rob Hennigan’s chair? What moves would you make to improve the team?

Orlando’s defense ranks in the middle of the pack, giving up 105 points per game. That’s an area which could use some help, but it’s the offense that’s in dire need of reinforcements. The Magic are scoring just 99.9 points per game, which is the sixth-worst mark in the league. They have the third-worst shooting percentage from behind the arc and they have the sixth-worst shooting percentage overall. Evan Fournier being sidelined certainly hurts the team, but the problem goes beyond missing the shooting guard’s play-making ability.

The team fell to the Bulls tonight to bring its record to 18-29 on the season. Orlando is 5.5 games behind Chicago for the eighth seed in the conference. However, the team is also just 7.5 games ahead of the Nets for the worst record in the East. The Magic could rally and make a run at the eighth seed, but they could easily fall in the standings and end up with another high-end lottery pick.

Be the GM in tonight’s shootaround. Let us know what moves you would make to get the team into the playoffs in the comment section below. We look forward to what you have to say!

Magic GM Encouraged by Payton, Biyombo

January 24th, 2017 at 8:24pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Magic GM Rob Hennigan is “encouraged and excited” about the play of Elfrid Payton this season, as he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. “I think especially over the last few weeks he appears to be gaining a level of aggressiveness and comfort at the position that I think bodes well for our team,” Hennigan said. “I think, like anyone on our team, our goal is to improve. Our goal is to get better. And we need to explore any means necessary to do that. But certainly with E.P.’s play and his work ethic and our belief in how good he can become he’s certainly an integral part of our team and very, very valuable to us.”
Hennigan said free agent addition Bismack Biyombo has brought the Magic exactly what they were looking for when they signed the big man, as Robbins passes along in the same piece. “I think Biz has brought to our team exactly what we anticipated: his toughness, his energy, his spirit, his ability to be a paint presence defensively. Like most of our players, we think his best basketball is still ahead of him based on his age and his work ethic,” Hennigan said.

Magic GM Talks Roster, Trade Possibilities, Ibaka’s Future

January 23rd, 2017 at 11:04pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Magic have lost 10 of their last 13 games and GM Rob Hennigan said that Orlando will be evaluating all opportunities with an eye on getting the team into the playoffs, as he tells Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel.

“The simple answer to that is we need to explore every and all option to improve the team, and so we’re going to be aggressive,” Hennigan said about the possibility of making a trade. “We’re going to be active in our discussions and in the opportunities we seek out. So we’re going to look to be active. I’m not sure it’s a ‘necessity,’ but it’s certainly something that’s in our best interests to explore.”

Hennigan tells Robbins that he’s aware of the league’s small-ball trend and it plays a factor in the transactions he makes. However, his goal was to construct a team that was versatile enough to play against any lineup.

“We built this team to be a defensive-minded team. And we also built this team to have the flexibility to play multiple ways.” Hennigan said. “And while that hasn’t necessarily manifested itself throughout the season, we feel like our vision and our philosophy now and going forward will be to construct a team that can play big, that can play small and vary from opponent to opponent.

“I think certainly — absent an elite player that becomes available — we need to continue to try to add more shooting and shot-making and basketball IQ to the team wherever we can find it. But we need to continue to place an emphasis on rim protection as well because of the way the game’s officiated nowadays.”

He added that the front office is “extremely disappointed and frustrated” with the team’s defensive performance this season. Orlando signed Bismack Biyombo and traded for Serge Ibaka during the offseason with the goal of improving its defense. At times, the duo has been able to elevate the team’s play, though the defense has struggled overall. Ibaka will be a free agent at the end of the season and Robbins asked the GM if he intended to re-sign the big man.

“We don’t comment on those things publicly,” Hennigan replied. “We value Serge a great deal. He’s been really good for us, and he’s certainly someone that we hope is in our future.”

Hennigan said he wouldn’t rule out trading anyone, including Ibaka, and reiterated that the franchise needs to be aggressive when looking for upgrades. That pertains to the roster, as a shake-up in the coaching staff is highly unlikely.

“[Frank Vogel] and I are joined at the hip when it comes to decisions we want to make to improve the team, and we’ll continue to work very closely together with that approach. But overall he’s been really, really good, and we’re lucky to have him,” Hennigan said.

The GM admitted that he feels pressure from the organization to turn the season around, but he said that he’s focused on doing the best he can with the resources he has. The Magic are 18-28 on the season and they currently own the 12th-best record in the Eastern Conference.

NBADL Expects To Add Multiple Teams In 2017/18

January 23rd, 2017 at 8:59am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA D-League is close to finalizing the addition of multiple teams for the 2017/18 season, league president Malcolm Turner tells Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. The NBADL is expected to make an announcement on expansion within the next few weeks, perhaps before this year’s NBA All-Star Game, with the league likely to add at least two new teams.

For now, there has been no definitive word on which cities or NBA teams may be involved in the latest round of D-League expansion, but as of this season, there are only eight NBA clubs without an affiliate, so the possibilities are limited.

The Magic have an agreement in place to buy their current affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, and move the team to Lakeland, Florida. According to Howard-Cooper, there’s speculation that Erie could retain a D-League team, with the Hawks replacing the Magic as the club’s NBA affiliate. Atlanta has an affiliate of its own lined up, but that team isn’t expected to begin play until the 2019/20 season.

According to Howard-Cooper, the Wizards and Bucks are among the other NBA teams currently without affiliates that could have an NBADL team in 2017/18. The Clippers have also explored some Southern California venues, but aren’t expected to be ready to launch a D-League team by next season, Howard-Cooper writes.

Meanwhile, the D-League may also change how it runs its annual showcase event, which took place in Mississauga, Ontario last week. The D-League’s showcase serves as an opportunity for NBA and international scouts to assess the league’s talent in one place without having to travel to scout individual teams and games. Per Howard-Cooper, the league would like to either hold the showcase in the same place every year, or establish a rotation of three or four locations for the event.

“I couldn’t tell you specifically where, but I do think we would like to explore, A, whether or not there is such a thing as a permanent home for Showcase or, B, are there two or three venues that we can have in a rotation to different parts of the country, different parks of North America,” Turner said. “Those are a couple scenarios that we would like to spend a little bit of time understanding.”

Magic Notes: Fournier, Hardaway, Gordon

January 22nd, 2017 at 10:58pm CST by Austin Kent

Fifth-year guard Evan Fournier has spent the past week and a half recovering from a foot injury that he believes he may have made worse by attempting to rush back too early, writes John Denton of the Magic’s official website.

“It’s a fine line and [Fournier’s desire to return] probably does work against him,” Magic head coach Frank Vogel said. “We want this to be put behind him. We don’t want him to play a couple and then have to sit another two weeks, play a couple and have to sit. Hopefully when we get him back this time it’s behind him.”

In 36 games for the Magic, Fournier has led the team in scoring with 17.0 points per game. Over the summer, Fournier signed a five-year, $85MM deal.

There’s more out of Orlando:

After signing a 10-day contract with the Magic, Anthony Brown expects to bring energy and floor spacing to the frontcourt heavy roster. Brown spoke with Basketball Insiders on Sunday.
Former Magic star Penny Hardaway wishes he never left Orlando, says Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Hardaway was honored by the team on Friday night and inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame. “Every time I watch the footage, man, I just get tears in my eyes because there’s always that what if if we would have all stayed together,” Hardaway said. Earlier this month the trade that sent Penny Hardaway to the Suns was featured in Hoops Rumors Retro piece.
The Magic added frontcourt help over the summer that significantly impacted Aaron Gordon, writes Dylan Hughes of 16 Wins A Ring, but the third-year forward has thrived this year at small forward. Hughes cites Gordon’s improved three-point shot as one of the biggest reasons he’s been able to play well out of position, but says that the dunk contest runner-up would benefit from being able to play his own position as Jabari Parker has with the Bucks.

Magic Sign Anthony Brown To 10-Day Deal

January 22nd, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Milo Taibi

JANUARY 22: The signing is official, according to a tweet from the team.

JANUARY 20: The Orlando Magic are lining up a 10-day contract for Anthony Brown, reports Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). Currently playing for the Erie BayHawks at the D-League showcase in Ontario, Brown would be the first player to receive a call-up from the four-day scouting event.

Brown, 24, has played in parts of two NBA seasons with the Lakers and Pelicans. The former Stanford Cardinal appeared in nine games with New Orleans earlier this season, totaling 34 points and 26 rebounds. Brown has excelled in the D-League, averaging 21.7 points through 15 games with the BayHawks.

Brown is a logical fit with the Magic, whose struggles on offense this season have been well-documented. Brown would provide depth at the two and three, where Orlando is missing Evan Fournier and Jodie Meeks due to injury. The team also has an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move would be required.

Mario Hezonja Earning Additional Minutes

January 20th, 2017 at 9:10pm CST by Milo Taibi

The playoffs appear to be an afterthought for the Magic, Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders writes. While the Magic expected to be an imposing defensive team, they’ve recently dropped out of the Top 20 in league-wide defense. With an ugly 17-27 mark at the halfway point of the season, coach Frank Vogel is shaking up his rotations, including giving 21-year-old Mario Hezonja additional court time.

Magic Offered Heat Vucevic For Dragic

January 20th, 2017 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Orlando tried to pick up Miami point guard Goran Dragic, offering center Nikola Vucevic and a future first-rounder in return, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Miami rejected the offer as the Heat already have Hassan Whiteside manning the middle on a maximum deal he signed in July. Still, it confirms persistent rumors that Orlando has interest in acquiring Dragic.

The Heat don’t seem to be interested in dealing Dragic before the February 23rd deadline, Stein adds. The 30-year-old still has three seasons and more than $54MM left on his contract. Vucevic, who has been in and out of the starting lineup this season, is signed for two more years at $25MM.

Non-NBA Transactions: Marble, Orton, Forbes

January 17th, 2017 at 2:19pm CST by Luke Adams

Former Magic guard Devyn Marble is headed to Italy, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando, who passes along word that the 24-year-old has signed with Aquila Basket Trento. The Italian club made it official, announcing the move in a press release.

A second-round pick in 2014, Marble was part of the deal that sent Arron Afflalo to Denver — Marble headed to the Magic along with Evan Fournier. In 44 NBA games over the course of two seasons in Orlando, Marbles averaged a modest 2.2 PPG and 1.6 RPG in 10.4 minutes per contest. He was more productive in 20 career D-League games for the Erie BayHawks, averaging 14.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG.

An offseason deal last summer sent Marble from the Magic to the Clippers, who subsequently waived him. The former Iowa Hawkeye signed a deal with a team in Greece, but a contract dispute made him a free agent again last month.

Here are a few more recent non-NBA moves involving former NBA players:

Greek team G.S. Kymis has announced the signing of former NBA center Daniel Orton, per Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. A first-round pick (29th overall) in the 2010 draft, Orton played in 51 total contests for Orlando, Oklahoma City, and Philadelphia, but his last NBA game was over three years ago.
Brooklyn’s D-League affiliate, has waived Gary Forbes, according to a press release issued today by the team. Forbes, who appeared in 111 total NBA games for Denver and Toronto, was the Long Island Nets‘ first pick in last year’s NBADL expansion draft.
Ramon Galloway, who was in camp with the Magic this past fall, has been waived from Orlando’s D-League affiliate, the Erie BayHawks, the club announced (Twitter link via Chris Reichert of The Step Back).