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Southeast Notes: Fultz, Wizards, McMillan, Hawks

April 27th, 2022 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

Former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz, who spent much of the 2021/22 season recovering from a torn ACL, only ended up appearing in 18 games for the Magic and found himself playing alongside mostly new teammates, given that the roster has been overhauled since he suffered that ACL tear.

However, as Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel writes, Fultz acquitted himself well in his limited action this season, shooting a career-high 47.4% from the field and averaging a career-best 5.5 APG despite logging only 20.0 minutes per contest.

According to Price, in a recent appearance on FM 96.9 The Game’s Open Mike with Mike Bianchi, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman described Fultz as “exquisitely talented in creating offense for others” and said the team believes he has a “crazy physical package of size and skills and vision.” It sounds like Orlando has big plans going forward for Fultz, who – for his part – was thrilled to feel fully healthy and comfortable during the final couple months of the season.

“I’m honestly the most excited I’ve ever been just to have a summer where I’m not really focused on rehab or recovery and I can really attack my summer head-on,” Fultz said. “I know I have a few goals I want to hit, but this is the summer I can really focus on my summer and enjoy the process.”

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

  • The Wizards will have a lottery pick this June, but they’re unlikely to use the draft to add a starting point guard, according to Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington, who says the team figures to turn to free agency or the trade market to find that player.
  • After making the Eastern Conference Finals a year ago, the Hawks were one of the first teams eliminated from this year’s playoffs. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic takes a look at what went wrong in 2021/22 for Atlanta and says that Nate McMillan‘s job security wasn’t a question as of a few days ago — it’s unclear if the way the Hawks’ season ended could change the equation at all, Kirschner writes.
  • In his offseason preview for the Hawks, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link) outlines how team ownership’s willingness to pay the luxury tax could impact Danilo Gallinari‘s future and examines the case for extending forward De’Andre Hunter before he reaches restricted free agency in 2023.
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Southeast Notes: Bamba, Wizards, Winston, Todd, Hawks

April 23rd, 2022 at 9:57am CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Magic center Mohamed Bamba, who is eligible for restricted free agency this summer, hopes to stick around in Orlando long term, writes Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel.

“I want to be here,” Bamba said of his NBA future. “I just want to make that clear. I’ll let that stuff handle itself and continue to work.”

As Price details, Bamba enjoyed his best year as a pro during the 2021/22 NBA season, averaging a career-best 10.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 1.7 BPG and 1.2 APG across a career-most 25.7 MPG as a starter alongside fellow big man Wendell Carter Jr., who was drafted one slot behind Bamba in 2018. Bamba also did a good job protecting the rim, Price notes. A career 68.5% free-throw shooter, the 7’0″ Bamba also connected on a career-best 78.1% from the charity stripe on a modest 1.0 attempts per game.

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • After a disappointing 35-47 season, the Wizards face a fascinating summer. Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) provides a thorough preview of Washington’s offseason, contending that it all starts at finding a reliable point guard to play alongside shooting guard Bradley Beal, who could decline his $36.5MM player option this summer and enter free agency. Center Thomas Bryant will also be an unrestricted free agent. Marks notes that, when it comes to assets, the team possesses 10 tradable player contracts and a lottery pick in the upcoming draft.
  • Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. intends to monitor the development of the team’s two most recent second-round selections, reserve point guard Cassius Winston and backup forward Isaiah Todd, writes Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “It’s a big offseason for those two,” Unseld said. “It’s a big offseason for all of our young guys. You’re going to have a season of ebbs and flows. Consistency is the thing we’re searching for and that’s one thing that young players at times have difficulty with… I thought Cash had some really good moments. Not a ton of sample size with the Wizards, but even with [Washington’s NBAGL affiliate the Capital City Go-Go]. Both he and Isaiah had big games and great opportunities to learn and grow.” Winston averagd 12.7 PPG and 4.6 APG as a reserve with the Go-Go, while Todd logged 12.1 PPG and 5.2 RPG for Washington’s G League club.
  • While the Hawks won Game 3 on Friday to pull to within 2-1 in their first-round series, the Heat’s performance so far is showing Atlanta what the team still needs in order to make consistently deep playoff runs, writes Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Kirschner opines that finding a great perimeter defender needs to be a top priority for the Hawks in their roster-building, as Miami All-Star small forward Jimmy Butler has largely been dominant against Atlanta wings De’Andre Hunter, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter.
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Ross Re-Signs With Former Agent

April 21st, 2022 at 6:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Earlier on Thursday, we noted that the Magic‘sTerrence Ross would welcome a trade. He has also changed his representation, rejoining CAA Sports as a client on and off the court, Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal tweets. CAA’s Aaron Mintz, who negotiated all of his previous contracts, re-signed him after Ross left Klutch Sports. Ross will be a free agent next summer.
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Magic’s Terrence Ross Would Welcome Trade

April 21st, 2022 at 10:58am CST by Luke Adams

Magic swingman Terrence Ross initially expected to be traded in March 2021 when the team moved Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. However, Ross remained in Orlando through that trade deadline and through the 2022 deadline too.

With just one year remaining on his contract with the Magic, Ross hasn’t explicitly requested a trade, but he has made it clear he’d welcome a change of scenery, according to Price. Asked if he plans to talk to the front office about wanting to be dealt, Ross told The Orlando Sentinel that the Magic are “well aware of that, so there’s no point,” adding that it’s up to the team to make that decision.

“We’re definitely in different spots,” Ross said. “I feel like I’m a part of that old regime, and they’re going in a different direction. I don’t know what they’ve got in store for me. It’s hard to say. They don’t really let me know too much about what they’re doing. I’m kind of here just along for the ride.”

Ross averaged just 23.0 minutes per game in 63 appearances for the Magic in 2021/22, which was his lowest MPG average since he joined the team in 2017. He fell out of the rotation entirely at times down the stretch as Orlando leaned further into developing its young players.

Of course, Ross’ play this season didn’t help matters — his .397 FG% and .292 3PT% were both career lows. If his three-point percentage had been more in line with his career rate (36.1%), it presumably would’ve been easier for the Magic to move him at the deadline.

Now that he’s on a relatively reasonable ($11.5MM) expiring contract, it will be interesting to see whether there’s a team willing to send the Magic an asset or two this offseason to acquire Ross and bet on a bounce-back season. For his part, the 31-year-old wing says he’d like to be part of a team that’s not going through a rebuild.

“If I was younger (or) one contract before this, it would be a different story,” Ross said during an appearance on the Outta Pocket podcast. “… But I’ve kind of already done that, I’ve been through a few rebuilds already. I’m 10 years in. Time is kind of going against me at this point, so I don’t really want to stay in another rebuild.

Ross added that he’s had fun and had “some good runs” in Orlando, but that he’s prepared to transition into a new situation, preferably on a playoff team.

“At least being on a contender and just helping a team and bringing some of the knowledge I have of being a vet,” Ross said on the Outta Pocket podcast. “Coming off the bench and get buckets.”

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Magic Happy With Season Despite Poor Record

April 13th, 2022 at 8:40am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Magic finished dead last in the East with a 22-60 record, but they were encouraged by the progress they made this season from a developmental perspective, writes Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. “I know the record doesn’t always show what’s grown and progressed, but this group of young men stayed together,” head coach Jamahl Mosley said. “There’s been a spirit on the court every single night and that’s just going to turn up another level as we walk into next year. Our guys are excited about it and the fans should be extremely excited about it because they see the way in which these young men play for one another and battle no matter what’s happening.”
  • Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman agreed with Mosley’s assessment, telling Mike Bianchi during an appearance on FM 96.9 The Game’s Open Mike that the club “accomplished a lot of our goals” in 2021/22. Dan Savage of OrlandoMagic.com passes along several more of Weltman’s comments from that interview, including his thoughts on Mohamed Bamba‘s upcoming free agency.
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Devin Cannady Contract Details

April 12th, 2022 at 8:35am CST by Luke Adams
  • The Magic used a portion of their mid-level exception to give Devin Cannady a three-year deal and a $100K rest-of-season salary on Sunday, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac. A minimum-salary contract would’ve been limited to two years and would’ve resulted in a rest-of-season salary of just $8,558. Smith adds that Cannady’s second- and third-year salaries (worth the minimum) are non-guaranteed, with a team option on the 2023/24 season.
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And-Ones: Kerr, Schofield, Lopez, Harrell, Play-In, McClung, Harrison

April 10th, 2022 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Would less be more? When it comes to the NBA schedule, Warriors coach Steve Kerr believes so. He’d like to see the NBA cut its regular season from 82 games to 72, Monte Poole of NBC Sports Bay Area writes. That would encourage coaches to play their regulars more often, instead of giving them nights off, particularly as the season winds down.

“What makes the most sense is cutting back to maybe a 72-game schedule,” Kerr said. “Take 10 games off and get more time to rest in between games. I think you’ll get buy-in from the teams to play their guys more often.”

We have more tidbits from around the basketball world:

  • Magic forward Admiral Schofield was fined $20K, while Magic center Robin Lopez and Hornets center Montrezl Harrell were fined $15K for their roles in an on-court altercation on Thursday, the NBA announced (Twitter link). All three were ejected during the fourth-quarter scuffle (video link).
  • Commissioner Adam Silver likes the way the play-in tournament has encouraged teams on the playoff bubble to remain competitive but might tweak it in future years, Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic tweets. Executive VP of basketball strategy and analytics Evan Wasch suggested the league would consider a scenario where the ninth- and 10th-place finishers in each conference would have to win a certain number of games to qualify for the play-in.
  • Guard Mac McClung was named NBA G League Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.6 PPG and 7.6 APG for the South Bay Lakers, the league tweets. The Lakers rewarded McClung with a two-way contract on Saturday.
  • Free agent guard Shaquille Harrison has been named G League Defensive Player of the Year, according to a league press release. Harrison averaged 1.93 steals per game for the Delaware Blue Coats.
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Devin Cannady Signs With Magic

April 10th, 2022 at 11:23am CST by Arthur Hill

The Magic have used their open roster spot to sign guard Devin Cannady, the team announced in a press release.

Cannady, 25, just completed a 10-day contract with Orlando that he signed in late March. He appeared in four games during that deal, averaging 8.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 27.8 minutes per night. He spent much of the season with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland, putting up 15.8 PPG in 16 games.

Cannady also played eight games for Orlando last season after signing a 10-day contract and then a two-way deal in April. He was in training camp with the team before the start of this season.

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Magic Notes: Carter Jr., Cannady, Suggs, F. Wagner, Offseason

April 6th, 2022 at 10:14pm CST by Rory Maher

Big man Wendell Carter Jr. is having the best season of his young career with the Magic, according to Mark Schindler of BasketballNews.com, who takes an in-depth look at Carter’s breakout season and interviewed him for the article. Carter is averaging career-highs of 15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists this season in 62 games (29.9 minutes per night). He boasts a shooting line of .525/.327/.691, including a career-best 61.5% on two-pointers.

Carter said the team’s coaching staff has empowered and challenged him to improve his game.

“They’ve kind of instilled in me like, ‘Man, you’re a great player. We’ve seen plenty of flashes. We know what Wendell can really be. Can we see you do this for a whole 48-minute game? Can we see you play like those little spurts we’ll see every now and then? Can you do that more often?’”

Here’s more on the Magic:

  • Devin Cannady, who signed a 10-day contract last week, is grateful for his second chance with Orlando, per Khobi Price of The Orlando Sentinel. Cannady had a 10-day and then a two-way contract with Orlando last season and appeared in eight games, but his season came to an early end in April of 2021 when he suffered a significant ankle injury and underwent surgery. “I remember what it felt like laying on that floor less than a year ago. A lot of thoughts went through my mind. I remember praying on the floor that day. A lot of late nights, early mornings, frustrations, excitements and just to be back here is a testament to the work I put in. Whether I made it back here or not, I was going to be fine, but this is where I believe I belong,” Cannady said.
  • Rookies Jalen Suggs (right ankle bone bruise) and Franz Wagner (left ankle sprain) returned for Tuesday’s win over Cleveland after absences of 10 games and one game, respectively. However, Wagner suffered a right ankle sprain in the game and didn’t return (Twitter links).
  • Bobby Marks explores the team’s options for the offseason in his guide for ESPN (Insider link). Much of Orlando’s financial flexibility is tied to Mohamed Bamba, who would be a restricted free agent this summer if the team tenders him a qualifying offer of $10.1MM.
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Checking In On Active 10-Day Contracts

April 5th, 2022 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

With just six days left in the 2021/22 season, no more standard 10-day contracts will be signed this spring.

Teams looking to fill open 15-man roster spots will do what the Pistons did with Carsen Edwards or what the Bucks are doing with Luca Vildoza, signing players to rest-of-season contracts, ideally with at least one extra non-guaranteed year tacked onto those deals.

It is possible that one or two more “10-day” contracts will be signed by teams eligible for hardship exceptions. Those clubs have full 15-man rosters but are hardship-eligible either because a player tested positive for COVID-19 or because several of their players are injured.

Those hardship 10-days, like the one the Thunder completed with Georgios Kalaitzakis on Monday, are technically just rest-of-season contracts that don’t give the team any form of Bird rights this offseason. Kalaitzakis will become a free agent immediately after the season ends, and Oklahoma City won’t be able to use the Non-Bird exception to re-sign him in the summer.

Here are the remaining active 10-day contracts, which will expire in the coming days:

The Mavericks, Thunder, and Trail Blazers have full 15-man rosters, so they won’t create any openings on their respective rosters when their current 10-day agreements expire.

However, the Jazz, Celtics, Pacers, and Magic are each using a roster spot on a 10-day player. When those contracts expire, those clubs could either bring back the same player on a rest-of-season contract or use that 15th slot on someone else. For instance, Utah might want to promote two-way player Trent Forrest to its standard roster to ensure that he’s playoff-eligible.

Nearly any free agent signed to a rest-of-season deal using a 15-man roster spot will be playoff-eligible, so the Jazz and Celtics will have plenty of options. Semi Ojeleye, Kyle Guy, Joel Ayayi, Luka Samanic, and Chris Smith are the only players who have been placed on waivers since March 1, making them ineligible for the postseason.

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