Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

And-Ones: Howard, Waiters, Johnson, Pacers

November 12th, 2014 at 4:22pm CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard makes several candid comments in an EPIX.com documentary about his departure from the Magic, his year with the Lakers, and the 2013 back injury that one of his surgeons believes had a decent chance to end his career, notes Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Howard also delved into his relationship with Kobe Bryant.

“Before I got to the Lakers, I would talk to him [and] he would really help me out on the [down] low about how to become everything that I said I wanted to be. And I looked up to him and I looked up to everything he, as a basketball player, stood for,” Howard said, as Stein transcribes. “… [By the end of that season] I just felt so hurt and disappointed in the fact that the guy that I was expecting to be somebody who was gonna pass the torch, somebody to say, ‘Dwight, I’ll take you under my wing and I’ll show you how to get it done’ … it was none of that.”

Howard remains a fascinating figure even as his long-term deal with the Rockets has quieted the rumors that surrounded him. Here’s more from around the league:

The Cavs shopped Dion Waiters this past August but found no takers, according to Bradford Doolittle of ESPN.com, who writes in an Insider-only piece. That conflicts with a report from early August that indicated the Cavs weren’t trying to trade the shooting guard.
Ivan Johnson has drawn offers from NBA teams and clubs overseas, a source tells HoopsHype’s David Alarcón (Twitter link and translation). He plans to make a decision about whom to sign with in the next couple of weeks, Alarcón adds.
Frank Vogel believes Lance Stephenson would have chosen to re-sign with the Pacers if he’d known Paul George would suffer his broken leg, as Vogel tells Ian Thomsen of NBA.com. “I think he probably — and we probably — would have approached it differently,” Vogel said. “The money would have to have been right, and we would’ve had to figure that out. But he would have had much more incentive to stay.”

Tobias Harris Interested In Joining Knicks

November 12th, 2014 at 8:57am CST by Chuck Myron

Tobias Harris has keen interest in signing with the Knicks next summer, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Harris is set for restricted free agency after the Magic failed to sign him to a rookie scale extension before last month’s deadline. Berman’s source points to the relationship that Harris, a Long Island native, has with Carmelo Anthony after the two worked out several times this past summer at Anthony’s gym in New York. Both Anthony and Harris are clients of the Creative Artists Agency.

An October report indicated that Harris would receive an “upgrade” in his shoe deal with Nike if he were to join a large-market team, though the NBA doesn’t permit players to receive any financial bonuses in their endorsement deals based on the teams that they play for. However, those contracts can give players a bump based on the number of national television appearances that their teams make.

The Magic have reportedly informed Harris’ camp that they’re likely to match any offers for the combo forward, who turns 23 in July. The same dispatch indicated that the Magic were eyeing salaries of around $9MM earlier this fall. Magic GM Rob Hennigan has said that he can’t imagine not keeping the former 19th overall pick, and Harris said at about the same time that he would like to stay in Orlando.

It’s unclear if the Knicks have strong interest in Harris. They have about $32.7MM in commitments for 2015/16, though that doesn’t count a nearly $6.34MM player option for J.R. Smith.

Eastern Notes: Cavs, Patterson, Wade

November 11th, 2014 at 8:40pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Nate Duncan of Basketball Insiders runs down some possible options the Cavs have to fortify their struggling roster. Given Cleveland’s proximity to the luxury tax line, their spending flexibility is somewhat limited, so Duncan isn’t convinced that extending Anderson Varejao was the right decision.

Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Earlier this week I ran down the highest paid players in the NBA and Kobe Bryant topped the list with his salary of $23.5MM for 2014/15. Chris Johnson of SI.com took a look at this same topic, but factored in taxes (city/state/Federal), NBPA fees, as well as the cuts that the players’ agents receive. According to Johnson’s new calculations the player who is actually taking home the most cash this season is the Nets‘ Joe Johnson.
Patrick Patterson said that he was “very tempted” to sign with the Magic this past summer, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports reports (Twitter link). Orlando’s pitch tried to sell Patterson on an opportunity to be a starter, but in the end the forward wanted to play for a contending team, something re-signing with the Raptors gave him a much better chance at this season, notes Lewenberg.
Miami’s Dwyane Wade is much happier this season despite the Heat having lost LeBron James to the Cavs via free agency this past summer, Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald writes. This isn’t because of any issues Wade had with James, but now Wade gets to have the ball in his hands more often, notes Goodman, something that makes Wade more comfortable as a player.

Charlie Adams contributed to this post.

Offseason In Review: Orlando Magic

November 11th, 2014 at 6:11pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Hoops Rumors is in the process of looking back at each team’s offseason, from the end of the playoffs in June right up until opening night. Trades, free agent signings, draft picks, contract extensions, option decisions, camp invitees, and more will be covered, as we examine the moves each franchise made over the last several months.

Signings

Channing Frye: Four years, $32MM. Signed via cap room.
Ben Gordon: Two years, $9MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is non-guaranteed.
Luke Ridnour: Two years, $5.5MM. Signed via cap room. Second year is non-guaranteed.

Extensions

Nikola Vucevic: Four years, $48MM (plus incentives)

Trades

Acquired 2014 pick No. 10 from the Sixers in exchange for 2014 pick No. 12, Orlando’s 2015 second-round pick, and Philadelphia’s 2017 first-round pick that the Sixers had given up in a previous trade.
Acquired Evan Fournier and 2014 pick No. 56 from the Nuggets in exchange for Arron Afflalo.
Acquired Anthony Randolph, the more favorable of Chicago’s and Portland’s 2015 second-round picks, the more favorable of Chicago’s and Portland’s 2016 second-round picks, and cash from the Bulls in exchange for the rights to Milovan Rakovic. Randolph was subsequently waived.

Waiver Claims

Willie Green: Claimed from the Clippers. One year, $1.448MM remaining.

Draft Picks

Aaron Gordon (Round 1, 4th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Elfrid Payton (Round 1, 10th overall). Signed via rookie exception to rookie scale contract.
Devyn Marble (2013, Round 2, 50th overall). Signed via cap room for three years, $2.71MM. Second and third years are non-guaranteed.

Camp Invitees

Kadeem Batts
Drew Crawford
Seth Curry
Peyton Siva

Departing Players

Rookie Contract Option Decisions

Evan Fournier (fourth year, $2,288,205) — Exercised
Maurice Harkless (fourth year, $2,894,059) — Exercised
Andrew Nicholson (fourth year, $2,380,594) — Exercised
Victor Oladipo (third year, $5,192,520) — Exercised

The Magic entered the offseason looking to continue onward with their plan of rebuilding through young, athletic talent. Orlando isn’t a realistic playoff contender for the 2014/15 campaign, despite playing in the Eastern Conference, nor do the Magic necessarily expect themselves to be in the postseason mix this season. Success this year will be measured more in player development rather than in the standings. With that mission in mind, the team’s offseason should be considered mostly a success.

Orlando began the summer by agreeing to a trade with the Nuggets that sent Arron Afflalo back to Denver for the younger, cheaper Evan Fournier and a second-rounder. I must admit at first blush that I wasn’t a fan of the deal. Afflalo had two solid seasons in Orlando in which he averaged 16.5 and 18.2 points per game, respectively. His salary was extremely reasonable at $7.5MM with a player option for the same amount in 2015/16. So, there was no real need to get him off of the books, despite Orlando having a league leading $14,705,259 in dead money against the salary cap for this season.

But at second pass the deal makes complete sense given the team’s youth movement. The 29-year-old Afflalo has probably peaked as a player, and with the Magic a year or two away from the playoffs, he wasn’t likely to be a major contributor by the time the team made it to the postseason anyway. Fournier is only 22 years old, and his skill set is similar enough to Afflalo’s that he’ll slot in nicely to Orlando’s system. So far the move has worked out rather well, with Fournier averaging 16.0 PPG compared to Afflalo’s 10.8 PPG on 38.7% shooting.

When rebuilding around younger players, one of the most important aspects of the process after development is the retention of that talent and not letting another franchise reap the rewards of your coaching staff’s hard work. To this end, the team met with mixed results.

Orlando and Nikola Vucevic reached an agreement on a four-year, $53MM contract extension that will keep the seven-footer in the Magic Kingdom through the 2018/19 season. Vucevic had a solid 2013/14 campaign but didn’t quite show the improvement from the previous season that the franchise and its fans had hoped for, though injuries certainly played a part in that result. He’s still only 24 years old and hasn’t hit his prime, and the early returns this year are very encouraging with averages of 18.6 PPG and 12.3 RPG.

On the negative side of the equation, the Magic failed to come to terms with their young forward Tobias Harris. Though the 22-year-old has said that he wants to remain in Orlando, at least one report indicated that his eye is wandering. Also not helping Orlando’s cause is that Harris is playing like he’s in a contract year, putting up 16.7 points and 8.1 rebounds through the first seven contests. Harris will become a restricted free agent this summer, so the Magic will have an opportunity to match any offer sheet Harris signs, though if another team jumps in and is willing to overpay similar to the Mavericks’ deal with Chandler Parsons, I would speculate that Orlando would let Harris walk.

This year’s NBA Draft was a boon for the franchise, and landing both Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton laid the groundwork for some exciting basketball in the seasons to come. Gordon was a bit of a surprise at the fourth overall pick since a number of mock drafts, including DraftExpress, had Gordon going somewhere between the seventh and tenth picks. But his upside was too good to ignore, and he’s shown flashes of the player he can become even though he doesn’t have a well-defined position yet.

While I like the selection of Gordon, I absolutely love the team nabbing point guard Elfrid Payton as the fruit of a draft-night swap with the Sixers. Payton is far from a finished product, and his jump shot mechanics are a major work in progress. But as a ballhandler and distributor, he’s already NBA-caliber, though his 3.0 turnovers a game will need to be improved upon. The true value of Payton though is that he will allow the team’s star player, Victor Oladipo, to return to his natural shooting guard position. While Oladipo was serviceable at the point, he and the team will be much better served long-term if Oladipo doesn’t have to wear himself out being the primary ballhandler and having to play defense against the likes of Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook on a nightly basis.

This summer wasn’t all about youth for the Magic, and that’s where the team’s strategy showed some cracks. Signing Luke Ridnour to replace the departed Jameer Nelson as backup point guard was a decent signing, though Nelson’s leadership in the locker room will be missed. The second year of Ridnour’s deal is non-guaranteed, so the team limited its risk and allowed itself some flexibility moving forward.

The other two free agents the team added are a bit more puzzling to me. While Orlando didn’t guarantee the second year of its deal with Ben Gordon, a two-year, $9MM arrangement for an oft-injured aging veteran for whom there wasn’t stiff competition is a head-scratcher. But the four-year, $32MM fully guaranteed deal they gave to Channing Frye was downright confounding.

Stretch fours are all the rage in the league nowadays, but for a young rebuilding team like Orlando, Frye is an unneeded luxury, especially with the team having drafted Aaron Gordon, and also given the ability of Harris to fill that same role. Paying that stiff a price for a relatively one-dimensional player like Frye has all the earmarks of a contract that the team will regret in a year or two. This deal looks even worse to me when compared to the two-year, $14MM contract the Hornets inked with Marvin Williams.

Things will be brighter in Orlando in the coming seasons, and the franchise did well to extend Vucevic while making the most of draft night. Top free agents don’t see Orlando as a desirable free agent destination just yet, which may help explain the gross overpay for Frye. But with Oladipo, Vucevic, Payton, and Aaron Gordon, the franchise does have an exciting young core to build around.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post. Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Eastern Notes: Waiters, Frye, Thomas, Powell

November 10th, 2014 at 6:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dion Waiters may have been moved out of the starting lineup, but Cavaliers coach David Blatt tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders that the third-year guard should think of himself as a “second starter.” “I just don’t like the term ‘bench player’ because I don’t think that’s what he is,” Blatt said. “He’s a player who plays important minutes in the game when we need them. To me, whether he begins the game [as a starter] or not is less significant. It’s about the minutes he plays and what he does in those minutes.” Still on his rookie contract, Waiters is under the Cavaliers’ control through the 2016/17 season.

Also in the Eastern Conference:

The Magic know what Channing Frye can do for them, but his new teammates don’t always know where he is, reports Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “When I’m watching film, he’s open more times than he’s receiving the basketball,” lamented Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. “That’s just guys not knowing where he’s going to be yet, not knowing how the defense is going to play him.” The growing pains are to be expected for the Magic, who brought in eight new players during the offseason. Frye, a big man with three-point range, came to Orlando as a free agent, signing for $32MM over four years.
Malcolm Thomas, who was waived Monday by the Sixers, has opted to undergo knee surgery, according to Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com. Thomas, who was playing about 14 minutes per game, suffered a left knee effusion and will be out of action for four to five weeks.
The Celtics‘ Dwight Powell has no complaints about his short stint in the D-League, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. Powell, who was recalled by the Celtics Monday, scored 29 points in a Maine Red Claws scrimmage. “It’s very important for me or any player really, to work on your skills,” Powell said. “I’m glad I was able to get down there.” Powell came to Boston this summer as part of a three-team deal with the Nets and Cavaliers. He has yet to appear in a regular-season game for the Celtics.

Southeast Notes: Oladipo, Fournier, James, Wall

November 9th, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Arthur Hill

Magic guard Victor Oladipo has donned a mask and is participating in light drills, reports Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. The second-year guard suffered a facial fracture under his right eye during an October 23rd scrimmage and underwent surgery October 25th. He has been cleared to fly and is joining the team on its current road trip, but there is no schedule for his return to the court. “The biggest thing is just getting used to it, having something on your face,” Oladipo said of his mask, adding that it felt “a little bit” weird to wear it.

Also in the Eastern Conference:

After a change of scenery, Evan Fournier is thriving in his new role for the Magic, Schmitz writes. Fournier, who was traded to Orlando along with the 56th pick of the 2014 draft for Arron Afflalo last June, isn’t trying to replace Affalo’s production. “I don’t take it that way,” Fournier said. “I’m here to play my game. That’s the only thing that matters. I’m not here to do something like Arron.”
Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel says LeBron James is asking for patience with the Cavaliers, but rarely showed it during his final season with the Heat. “By the end of his Miami Heat tenure,” Winderman writes, “all indications were LeBron James‘ patience had run out with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley/Micky Arison. He essentially left without a clarifying word to any.” Winderman charges that James’ desire to win more NBA titles to add to his legacy led the Cavaliers to trade away overall No.1 picks Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett, while adding veterans Mike Miller and James Jones.
John Wall lamented the Wizards‘ lack of a “killer instinct” after nearly letting a 22-point lead get away Saturday against the Pacers, reports Jorge Castillo of The Washington Post. The fifth-year guard, who is in the second year of a five-year, $84.79MM max extension, says the Wizards haven’t learned haven’t learned how to put teams away when they have the opportunity. “We made it a tougher game than we wanted it to be,” Wall said. “We didn’t do a great job of closing the game out, but as long as we got the win and finished four-in-five-nights 3-1, you can’t ask for a better record.”

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: McRoberts, Harris, Frye

November 6th, 2014 at 3:31pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Wizards haven’t won a division title since 1978/79, but they’re atop the Southeast Division standings today with a 4-1 record. Of course, the season is only nine days old, but Washington is looking strong so far even in the absence of Bradley Beal. Here’s more on the Wizards’ rivals in the Southeast Division:

Heat power forward Josh McRoberts said it was his intention to re-sign with Charlotte when he opted out of his contract to hit free agency last summer, observes Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Miami made a stronger recruiting effort at the start, even though Hornets owner Michael Jordan doubled back to meet with him later, McRoberts said, adding that while he felt that some within the Hornets organization, including coach Steve Clifford, wanted him back, he didn’t think everyone did. The Hornets didn’t offer him a deal similar to the four-year, $22.652MM contract he signed with the Heat until Miami already had its money on the table, sources tell Bonnell.
Tobias Harris said the Magic never negotiated on an extension for him before the October 31st deadline, as Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel notes amid a piece examining the year ahead for the forward who’s poised for restricted free agency. GM Rob Hennigan said in September that he had spoken with the Harris camp, and multiple reports indicated that talks indeed took place, if only briefly. Perhaps Harris meant that the Magic didn’t budge from their initial proposals rather than that no discussions took place, though that’s just my speculation.
A fondness for the city of Orlando, the direction of the Magic‘s youthful roster, a chance for more playing time and a recommendation from Grant Hill helped influence Channing Frye‘s decision to sign with the Magic, as Frye told Steve Aschburner of NBA.com. The presence of Harris, Frye’s cousin, didn’t hurt, either, as Aschburner examines.

Eastern Notes: Harris, Cherry, Hawks

November 4th, 2014 at 6:48pm CST by Alex Lee

We’ve already gone out West earlier tonight. Now let’s check in on the Eastern Conference, where Wizards-Knicks and Magic-Bulls highlight the Tuesday night schedule. Here is what else is going on in the East:

The Magic raised the idea of an extension with annual salaries of about $9MM in negotiations with Tobias Harris around Labor Day, but the sides never resumed negotiations, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders. Harris said that left him a “little disappointed” but with the understanding that it’s “a part of the game,” as he told Kyler. The Magic have told Harris’ camp that they’re likely to match any offer for him in restricted free agency next summer, Kyler writes.
The Cavaliers‘ two-year deal with Will Cherry, agreed to on Sunday, is non-guaranteed for the minimum this season and next, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (via Twitter). Cherry will make the prorated amount of $495,399 this season and then the full minimum of $845,059 next season, assuming he remains on the roster.
With the ownership and front office of the Hawks in disarray — not to mention the shortcomings of the other teams of note in the Atlanta area — the ability of Mike Budenholzer and his players to keep their focus on the court has been refreshing, writes Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southeast Notes: Magic, Hawks, Cobbs

November 3rd, 2014 at 12:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

It was an active year for extensions around the league as a whole, but the only two Eastern Conference players to sign rookie scale extensions in October reside in the Southeast Division, where Nikola Vucevic and Kemba Walker each wound up with four-year, $48MM deals. The Cavs were active, too, but their extension with Kyrie Irving happened back in July and the Anderson Varejao extension isn’t of the rookie scale variety. Time will tell if Vucevic and Walker prove wise investments for a pair of clubs that had the NBA’s worst records just two seasons ago, but in the meantime, here’s more news from around the Southeast Division.

The passage of the extension deadline left the Magic with some cap flexibility for next summer after they failed to reach a deal with Tobias Harris, but the free agent market doesn’t give them much chance to capitalize on it, as Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines.
Hawks executive and prospective owner Dominique Wilkins doesn’t believe the team’s racism scandal will affect its ability to attract top free agent stars, as he tells USA Today correspondent Ray Glier. “I don’t buy that,” Wilkins said. “Do they want to come in with the negativity? Of course not. But this is a great town to live in. This franchise has been to the playoffs seven straight years. This is a healing process. If it’s genuine, guys will come.”
Hornets training camp invitee Justin Cobbs is headed to play for Latvia’s VEF Riga, the team announced (Twitter link; translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). Cobbs spent camp with both the Hornets and Spain’s Laboral Kuxta in an unusual arrangement, but he failed to earn a spot with either club.

Eastern Notes: Rondo, Harris, Larkin, Butler

November 2nd, 2014 at 8:57am CST by ChrisCrouse

Whether they decide to keep him or trade him, the Celtics are convinced that Rajon Rondo is back to normal, reports Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle. Rondo, who had 4 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists Saturday in a loss to the Rockets, played in just 30 games last season because of an ACL injury. “He kind of looks like what I’d seen on film before I got here,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. “I don’t think he ever looked like that at any time last year, because he was coming back. And that’s just the way it goes with that injury. But he is back to full speed.” Rondo is in the final season of a five-year, $55MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

Tobias Harris faces a new challenge as he plays this season without certainty of his future status, writes Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. The Magic and Harris did not reach an extension agreement by the October 31st deadline. “It’s business,” Harris said. “It’s a little disappointing. But at the same time, I’ll just approach it the same way.”
Shane Larkin understands the “business deal” that led the Knicks not to pick up his third-year option, but he told Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPNNewYork.com he wants to show the team he can be part of its future. “Obviously they want to build a championship team here,” Larkin said, “and they need as much money as they can next summer to be able to bring in the big free agents that they’re looking at.” Larkin will become an unrestricted free agent this summer and can re-sign with New York, but only for up to $1,675,320, the amount of the option that was declined, The Knicks, who also decided not to offer an extension to Iman Shumpert, are expected to chase maximum-salary players next summer when the hefty contracts of Amar’e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani expire.
The Bulls‘ Jimmy Butler is headed toward restricted free agency, but he explained to Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com that doesn’t mean he’s headed out of Chicago. Friedell adds that Butler and his agent, Happy Walters, were asking for a deal similar to the $12MM a year that the Hornets gave to Kemba Walker last week. Bulls GM Gar Forman said the uncertainty looming over the salary cap with the league’s new TV deal affected the decision not to give Butler a long-term deal.

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.