- Magic center Bismack Biyombo has great memories of the single season he spent with the Raptors, relays Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. Biyombo helped Toronto advance to the Eastern Conference finals last season before a signing a four-year $72MM deal with Orlando in July. The 6’9″ center, who will face his former team for the first time Sunday night, said he was exchanging messages with Kyle Lowry DeMar DeRozan and other teammates all the way up to the start of free agency. “The expectation that everybody [had] was that I was going back there,” Biyombo said. “I had conversations with teammates before free agency was open. An hour before free agency was open I was still talking to all my teammates. Ten minutes before free agency opened they were still talking to me. So the expectations was high. But in the end, it was tough.”
Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from across the NBA:
- The Raptors assigned point guard Fred VanVleet and forward Bruno Caboclo to their affiliate, Raptors 905, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter links). They both played against the Oklahoma City Blue on Thursday, with VanVleet scoring nine points and dishing out 12 assists, while Caboclo had 13 points. VanVleet has seen action in six games with Toronto this season, while Caboclo has appeared in three games.
- The Magic assigned guard C.J. Wilcox and center Stephen Zimmerman to the Erie BayHawks, the team announced on its website. Wilcox has played in 10 games this season with the Magic. Zimmerman has appeared in four games this season with the Magic. He was previously assigned to Erie on November 28th.
- The Suns recalled point guard Tyler Ulis and big man Alan Williams from the Northern Arizona Suns, the team tweets. Ulis, an early second-rounder, has played in 14 games with Phoenix this season. Williams has played nine games with the NBA club.
- The Jazz assigned forward Joel Bolomboy to their affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, the team announced. This marks the fifth assignment this season for Bolomboy, who has played eight games this season with the Jazz.
- The Grizzlies assigned guard Wade Baldwin IV to their affiliate, the Iowa Energy. Baldwin, who has appeared in 20 games with Memphis, played two games for the Energy last month.
Earlier this month, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic were in the market for scoring help, and were expected to explore potential deals that could help them add a player with that skill set. Robbins didn’t specify any players or positions the Magic were eyeing, but in an ESPN TrueHoops podcast this week, Brian Windhorst reports that Orlando is “calling around looking for point guard help.”
Although Windhorst adds that the Magic are seeking scoring help in general, the focus on the point guard position is interesting. Elfrid Payton, now 22 years old, hasn’t taken significant steps forward, having averaged a modest 10.9 PPG and a career-low 5.7 APG this season. His backups, D.J. Augustin and C.J. Watson, provide decent depth, but neither player is the type that will fill up the score sheet on a given night.
- As John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com details, the Magic see several benefits to moving their D-League franchise to Lakeland and gaining complete control over it. “Our Basketball Operations department will be able to set out a plan that can utilize and interact on a daily basis with our minor-league team,” said GM Rob Hennigan.
- Magic guard C.J. Wilcox requested a D-League stint for this weekend as he recovers from an Achilles injury, sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Because the team’s Lakeland franchise won’t be ready to go until 2017/18, Wilcox will head up to Erie to report to the BayHawks.
DECEMBER 14: The Magic have officially issued a press release announcing that they have agreed to purchase the BayHawks and relocated the franchise to Lakeland for the 2017/18 season (Twitter link).
DECEMBER 13: The Magic will have a new D-League affiliate in Lakeland, Florida and the team could play there as soon as next season, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports. The franchise has a press conference scheduled on Wednesday to announce the changes.
The team is currently in the last year of a three-year agreement with the Erie BayHawks to be its D-League affiliate. The distance between Erie, PA and Orlando, FL has prevented the team from utilizing its affiliate as much as the team would like, according to Robbins. The location of the new affiliate will make it easier for the Magic to send players to the D-League and they will have more opportunities to send injured players there rehab assignments.
The BayHawks were founded in 2008 as an expansion team and they were originally affiliated with the Sixers and Cavs. Both team have since established their own independent affiliates. There is no news yet on whether Erie will continue to support a D-League team once the Magic officially make their move.
The Magic made several moves over the course of the offseason suggesting they were hopeful to compete for a playoff bid as early as this season. Five games below .500 mid-way through December, however, it’s clear that they may still have some work to do.
With December 15th fast approaching – the first day that offseason free agent signings are eligible to be traded – speculation has picked up that the club could make a move to add more offense. As discussed earlier this month, the Magic rank 29th in points per possession and could benefit from the addition of a scorer or two.
If a deal is in the cards for Orlando, could Mario Hezonja be a part of the outgoing package as implied by implied by Marc Stein? The club also holds a handful of expiring contracts that could similarly appeal to teams looking to make something happen, including summer acquisitions Serge Ibaka and Jeff Green.
Additionally, let’s not forget the criticism the franchise’s front office faced when they added Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to a reasonably healthy front court that already included Nikola Vucevic.
Does something have to give if the Magic hope to turn things around?
Weigh in for yourself in the comment section below!
- J. Michael of CSNMidAtlantic.com believes the Magic and Rockets could be logical trade partners at some point this season, since Houston’s roster is heavy on scorers and Orlando’s is heavy on defensive stoppers.
Here are Saturday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
10:59pm:
- The Magic have recalled center Stephen Zimmerman from their Erie affiliate, the team posted on its website. Zimmerman spent four games with Erie, averaging 21.8 points and 15.5 rebounds per game. He has appeared in two games with Orlando.
3:05pm:
- The Pistons have assigned Stanley Johnson, Henry Ellenson, and Michael Gbinije to the D-League, the team announced today in a press release. Ellenson and Gbinije have already spent some time in Grand Rapids this season, but it’ll be Johnson’s first D-League stint of the season. According to Vince Ellis of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link), the 2015 eighth overall pick discussed the move with Stan Van Gundy, and will return to the Pistons after playing tonight with the Drive.
- Jerian Grant and Paul Zipser have been recalled from the D-League by the Bulls, the club announced in a press release. Both players contributed to the Windy City Bulls’ victory over Canton on Friday night, with Grant making the game-winning shot. R.J. Hunter remains on assignment with the club.
- The Hawks don’t have their own D-League affiliate, but they’ve assigned DeAndre’ Bembry back to the Salt Lake City Stars, per Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal Constitution. In a one-game stint with the Stars earlier this season, Bembry poured in 16 of 22 shots and racked up 35 points.
- A day after being assigned to the D-League to practice with the Salt Lake City Stars, Joel Bolomboy has been recalled by the Jazz, according to a team release.
- The Lakers have sent rookie big man Ivica Zubac back to the D-League, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Zubac will suit up tonight for the Los Angeles D-Fenders in their game against Austin.
The Magic reportedly will look to the trade market in order to add some offense and Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that evidence is starting to suggest that Orlando may be willing to move Mario Hezonja in the right deal.
Coach Frank Vogel said the team is considering a D-League assignment for Hezonja, as Brian K. Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel relays (Twitter link). The small forward has only seen action in six of the team’s last 15 games.
In the limited minutes during his sophomore season, Hezonja has struggled to produce. He’s only scoring 12.2 points per 36 minutes and he’s shooting 30.6% from the field, a figure which includes a wintry 17.2% from behind the arc. His player efficiency rating is an abysmal 2.3.
The Magic want to win this season and Hezonja isn’t helping them right now. However, he’s still only 21 years old and rival teams may view GM Rob Hennigan’s hot seat as an opportunity to buy-low on a former top-5 pick. Trading Hezonja may be Orlando’s best option if it wants to bring back someone who can move the needle for this team.
Should the Magic deal Hezonja? If so, what should they look to get in return? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!
Ranked 29th in points per possession, the Magic will turn to the trade market for help on offense, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel.
Robbins cites a league source with knowledge of the situation, but it’s obvious to anyone who has watched the Magic that they need to find some scoring. The offseason trade for Serge Ibaka and the signing of Bismack Biyombo have helped Orlando build the NBA’s third best defense in points per possession, but a lack of offense has limited the Magic in a 9-12 start.
Robbins isn’t sure who Orlando’s front office might want to part with, but he lists four players with expiring contracts, which are usually attractive to teams hoping to cut salary. They are Ibaka, Jeff Green, Jodie Meeks and C.J. Wilcox. In addition, C.J. Watson has just a $1MM guarantee on his 2017/18 contract.
The unofficial start of the trading season is December 15th, when most of the offseason free agent signees are eligible to be dealt.
- Offseason trade acquisition, Jodie Meeks, is set to make his season debut for the Magic this evening, the team announced. The 29-year-old underwent foot surgery back in July after missing all but three games in 2015/16, and will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end.