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Magic Notes: Fultz, Bamba, Augustin, Gordon

October 6th, 2019 at 10:23am CST by Arthur Hill

In his first game with the Magic, Markelle Fultz showed off some of the skills that made him the top pick in the 2017 draft, writes Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. Playing for the first time since last November, Fultz had six points, four assists, two rebounds and an electrifying dunk in a win over the Spurs.

“It was really just a blessing,” Fultz said. “I give a lot of praise to the man up top, God. It’s all I can say. It was my first time out there in a long time and I’m just happy I was able to step out on the floor and compete.”

Orlando acquired Fultz from the Sixers in February after a frustrating season and a half in Philadelphia that was marked by physical issues and a jump shot that went haywire. His latest ailment, diagnosed as thoracic outlet syndrome, had kept him sidelined since last November 19. He received full medical clearance before camp opened and was determined to play in the preseason opener.

“It means the world to me just to see him out there,” teammate Mohamed Bamba said. “I asked him, ‘How you feeling?’ and he’s like, ‘I feel great. The game’s coming slower and it’s coming easier to me by the minute.’ It felt good to see him out there having fun.”

There’s more this morning from Orlando:

  • Bamba was also happy to be back on the court Saturday after missing the final 30 games of last season and the team’s playoff run with a foot injury, Parry notes in a separate story. After an 18-point, six-rebound and three-block performance, Bamba is optimistic about his sophomore campaign. “I had a lot of time to think about the upcoming season,” he said. “It’s just a preseason game and it doesn’t necessarily prove anything, but it felt good to get out there and just run with the guys.”
  • Coach Steve Clifford plans to use Fultz and D.J. Augustin together in the backcourt, Parry relays in another piece. Even though they’re both listed as point guards, Clifford believes Fultz’s ability to defend bigger players will make the combination work. “They’re both super-skilled,” he said. “They both play with a point guard mentality and then you’ve got two really good pick-and-roll players.”
  • Clifford also plans to play Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac together at center and power forward, tweets Dave DuFour of The Athletic.
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Eastern Notes: Isaac, Giannis, Nets, Heat, Lowry

September 30th, 2019 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

Magic forward Jonathan Isaac gets lead billing this year in Zach Lowe’s annual ESPN.com column on his six most intriguing players of the upcoming season. As Lowe details, Isaac has put on about 15-20 pounds this offseason as he looks to bulk up his thin frame a little, and the team has high hopes for him going forward, particularly on the defensive end.

According to Lowe, it’s “hard to overstate” how much Orlando loves Isaac. In fact, sources tell Lowe that the Magic have “batted away” any and all trade inquiries on the former No. 6 overall pick. The front office views Isaac as a standard-bearer for the culture that the team is trying to create, Lowe adds.

As we look forward to seeing whether a breakout year is coming for Isaac, here’s more from around the Eastern Conference:

  • In an in-depth story for ESPN.com, Tim Bontemps examines the two possible long-term paths for the Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who will be eligible for a super-max contract extension next summer. Antetokounmpo’s decision on whether to re-up with the Bucks or explore other options will have a massive impact not just on basketball in Milwaukee but on the entire NBA.
  • The role of Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson in the team’s successful foray into free agency this summer shouldn’t be overlooked, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post, who points out that both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant praised Atkinson in their initial comments to the media last week.
  • Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald offers a pair of hypothetical trade scenarios that could see the Heat add Chris Paul and Bradley Beal to their roster. Although Jackson’s suggestions would certainly appeal to Miami, there has been no indication that the Wizards will move Beal or that the Thunder will meet the Heat’s demands in a CP3 trade.
  • While Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Marc Gasol figure to be mainstays in the Raptors‘ starting lineups, head coach Nick Nurse may shuffle through players for the other two spots, as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca tweets. Meanwhile, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca explores whether it makes sense for the Raptors and Lowry to work out an extension sooner rather than later.
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Magic Exercise 2020/21 Options On Fultz, Isaac, Bamba

September 16th, 2019 at 2:14pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have exercised their rookie scale team options for the 2020/21 season on a trio of young players, the team announced today in a press release. Orlando picked up its fourth-year options on Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac, along with its third-year option on Mohamed Bamba.

The decisions on Isaac and Bamba don’t come as a surprise. Isaac had a promising sophomore season, averaging 9.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, and 1.3 BPG while playing a key part in Orlando’s second-half defensive surge. His cap hit for the 2020/21 season will be $7,362,566.

Bamba, meanwhile, didn’t get a chance to play much in his rookie season after being selected sixth overall in the 2018 draft, as a tibia fracture sidelined him for most of the second half. However, third-year options are rarely turned down and Bamba’s $5,969,040 cap charge for ’20/21 is a very reasonable price as the Magic continue to see what they have in the young center.

The most notable decision here is the one on Fultz, whose fourth-year option is much pricier ($12,288,697) since he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2017. The young point guard still hasn’t appeared in a single game for the Magic since being acquired in a deadline deal last February. However, exercising his option signals that the team likes the progress he has made in his recovery from thoracic outlet syndrome.

Fultz is now the only Magic point guard under contract beyond this season. D.J. Augustin is in the final year of his contract, while Michael Carter-Williams is on a one-year deal.

In total, the option decisions increase the Magic’s projected 2020/21 team salary by over $25MM, reducing the team’s chances of creating any cap room next summer. Orlando now has more than $101MM in guaranteed money on its books for ’20/21, which doesn’t include Evan Fournier‘s $17.15MM player option. The cap is projected to come in at $116MM.

Teams have until October 31 to exercise rookie scale team options for 2020/21. Our tracker can be found right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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Southeast Notes: Winslow, Chalmers, Isaac, Wall

August 21st, 2019 at 9:39am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Heat will need to use Justise Winslow at either point guard or power forward to optimize their other main wing options, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines in his latest mailbag. Putting Winslow at the ‘one’ or ‘four’ would allow coach Erik Spoelstra to play rookie Tyler Herro and Dion Waiters more often with the team’s top player, Jimmy Butler. If Winslow ends up playing regularly at small forward, Spoelstra would have to choose between Herro and Waiters as a mainstay in the rotation, Winderman adds.

We have more from the Southeast Division:

  • A reunion between the Heat and point guard Mario Chalmers is unlikely at this point, Winderman writes in another mailbag post. Chalmers, 33, is aiming for an NBA comeback after playing in Italy last season. However, even if the Heat are interested, they’d have to release Kendrick Nunn in order to create a roster spot for Chalmers since the team is hard-capped, Winderman notes.
  • Entering his third season, Magic forward Jonathan Isaac is brimming with optimism over his team’s future after it reached the playoffs last season. Isaac likes the team’s continuity after it re-signed key free agents Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross, as he told John Denton of the team’s website. “We’re all hyped up for the season,’” he said. “And I’m sure as guys get together and start playing again, we’ll have more of those talks about, ‘Hey, we can go even farther than we did last (season).'”
  • The Wizards are closely monitoring John Wall‘s rehab process as he works his way back from a ruptured Achilles, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reports. They are even providing owner Ted Leonsis with daily progress reports. “I used to start my day reading the Washington Post. Now I start my day reading [and watching] my daily John Wall exercise video,” Leonsis told Hughes.
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Jonathan Isaac Talks USA Select Team, Weight Gain, Upcoming Season

August 15th, 2019 at 7:55pm CST by clarkcrum

After an improved sophomore season in which the upstart Magic made the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, Jonathan Isaac has spent this summer trying to improve his game to another level as he readies himself for his third season. The 21-year-old forward recently sat down with Josh Robbins of The Athletic to discuss a variety of topics, including his experience with the USA Select Team this summer.

“It was fantastic… USA Basketball, the NBA, they do a fantastic job with all their events,” Isaac said. “I thought the Select Team was just another thing that they do really well. Just to be able to hang out with guys that we played against all year, get to know them a little better, practice with them — it was just fun. It was fun to learn. It was fun to compete.”

Since the end of the 2018/19 season, Isaac has increased the weight on his long, lanky frame from a mere 209 pounds to 234 pounds. It remains unclear whether Isaac will be able to keep 25 pounds of extra weight on during a marathon NBA season, but he liked the way his new body felt while scrimmaging against Team USA.

“Just being able to have a little more size on me down in the paint is going to help a lot,” he said. “I’m going to continue to finish out the summer working hard. I feel good right now. I feel good about where I’m at game-wise, body-wise, everything.”

Isaac also spoke on the expectations he has for the 2019/20 season after a successful 2018/19 campaign in Orlando. The roster remains intact and head coach Steve Clifford is now in his second season at the helm.

“I think we’re going to have a fantastic year… I just want the fans to be excited about it because I know we are,” Isaac said. “Going into our second season with Coach Cliff and everything that happened in that first year, just riding that into the next season, I think, is going to be great. I’m just looking forward to it, looking forward to having fun.”

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Team USA Updates: Millsap, Plumlee, Harrell, Select Team

July 25th, 2019 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has issued a press release announcing a series of updates relating to the team it’s putting together for the 2019 World Cup in China, as well as the training camp that will take place in August before that event. Here are the highlights of that announcement:

More withdrawals:

Nuggets big man Paul Millsap has joined the ever-growing list of players from Team USA’s initial 20-man roster who have decided not to participate in this year’s World Cup. As expected, Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love has also withdrawn from Team USA’s 2019 roster.

Millsap and Love join Bradley Beal, Anthony Davis, Eric Gordon, James Harden, Tobias Harris, Damian Lillard, and CJ McCollum among the original invitees who have removed their names from World Cup consideration.

New invitees:

Team USA confirmed that Thaddeus Young, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle, and Jaylen Brown will join the training camp roster for next month, as previous reports indicated.

In addition to those four players, two big men will join the roster as well, with Clippers center Montrezl Harrell and Nuggets center Mason Plumlee have received invitations from USA Basketball. Assuming the remaining 11 players from the original 20-man roster remain committed, that would bring the roster back up to 17.

[UPDATE: Harrell may turn down his invitation]

Those 11 other players are Harrison Barnes, Andre Drummond, Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez, Kyle Lowry, Khris Middleton, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, P.J. Tucker, Myles Turner, and Kemba Walker.

Select Team:

For the first time, USA Basketball confirmed the players who will make up the Select Team at next month’s training camp in Las Vegas. The members of the 13-man Select Team will practice and scrimmage with Team USA’s training camp invitees, and will be coached by Jeff Van Gundy.

It’s possible that a player could be elevated from the Select Team to the primary roster and eventually find his way onto the 12-man squad that will play in China, but that’s probably a long shot.

The 13 players who will play for the Select Team are as follows:

  1. Jarrett Allen (Nets)
  2. Marvin Bagley III (Kings)
  3. Mikal Bridges (Suns)
  4. Jalen Brunson (Mavericks)
  5. John Collins (Hawks)
  6. Pat Connaughton (Bucks)
  7. De’Aaron Fox (Kings)
  8. Joe Harris (Nets)
  9. Jonathan Isaac (Magic)
  10. Mitchell Robinson (Knicks)
  11. Landry Shamet (Clippers)
  12. Derrick White (Spurs)
  13. Trae Young (Hawks)

Team USA’s training camp will take place during the week of August 5, while the World Cup itself is scheduled to run from August 31 to September 15.

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Magic Notes: DSJ, Isaac, Gordon, Vucevic

January 24th, 2019 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

It’s unclear how serious the Dennis Smith Jr. trade talks between the Magic and Mavericks have gotten, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. However, at least one rival NBA front office official believes Smith would make a lot of sense as a target for Orlando.

“Their priority should be a starting point guard,” the official said of the Magic. “Those guys don’t grow on trees, and Dennis Smith is pretty alluring because when are you going to get (a starting point guard otherwise)?”

As Robbins observes, there will be a couple intriguing point guard prospects – Murray State’s Ja Morant and Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland – near the top of the draft, but it’s not clear if the Magic will pick high enough to have a shot at either one — and the point guard class isn’t particularly strong after those two. Currently, Orlando ranks seventh in our 2018/19 Reverse Standings.

Robbins doesn’t go too in-depth on potential free agent targets for the Magic, but suggests it seems “unrealistic” that the team will land a marquee point guard in free agency. Most of 2019’s top free agent point guards are either restricted free agents (like D’Angelo Russell and Terry Rozier) or aren’t expected to consider Orlando (Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker).

Here’s more on the Magic from Robbins:

  • Within his discussion of the DSJ rumors, Robbins notes that the Mavericks were interested in Jonathan Isaac in 2017, but Orlando remains “strongly disinclined to give him up.” The Magic also haven’t shown any signs that they’re willing to trade Aaron Gordon, sources tell Robbins.
  • Exploring the possibility of a Nikola Vucevic trade, Robbins wonders what sort of impact a Vooch trade would have on the long-term development of Isaac, Gordon, and Mohamed Bamba. Robbins also questions whether the Magic would trade Vucevic in a deal for a first-round pick that falls outside of the lottery and wouldn’t necessarily change the club’s long-term outlook significantly.
  • In a separate story on the Magic, Robbins posits that the franchise hasn’t found a “star-quality player” to replace Dwight Howard since losing him back in 2012. Head coach Steve Clifford drew attention to the star-shaped hole on Orlando’s roster after Wednesday’s loss to Brooklyn, pointing out that the Magic don’t have a player who can be relied upon to score a basket or make a play in crunch time. “It’s the most important thing that you can have in any NBA game: a guy that can go get a shot or create help so his teammate gets a shot,” Clifford said. “It’s the No. 1 thing that you want.”
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Southeast Notes: Huerter, Beal, Prince, Isaac

January 13th, 2019 at 5:35pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

The Hawks are in the early stages of a rebuild. Having brought in a new coaching staff and with a new focus on player development, it has been very encouraging for the team to see Kevin Huerter break out in recent weeks. After slowly adjusting to the NBA, Huerter has received more playing time as of late and has been productive in his role. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic details Huerter’s recent stretch of play and what it means for the Hawks’ future.

For the season, Huerter is averaging 8.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while knocking down 38% of his 3-pointers. However, in January the 20-year-old guard is averaging 15 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game while playing 38 minutes per contest.

As Huerter continues to develop alongside Trae Young and John Collins, it’s clear that the Hawks have quality young talent to grow and develop for years to come.

There’s more from the Southeast division:

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Magic Exercise 2019/20 Option On Jonathan Isaac

September 27th, 2018 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have picked up their third-year team option on Jonathan Isaac‘s rookie contract, the team announced today in a press release. The option covers the 2019/20 season.

Isaac, who will turn 21 next Wednesday, appeared in just 27 games for the Magic in his rookie season, with his playing time limited by injuries and lineup decisions. However, the former sixth overall pick is considered a key part of Orlando’s long-term future, having been the first player drafted by the team’s current management group.

By exercising Isaac’s option, the Magic lock him in for the 2019/20 season with a $5.81MM cap charge. The young power forward also has a fourth-year option worth $7.36MM for 2020/21 — the club will have to make a decision on that option next fall before Isaac becomes extension-eligible in the summer of 2020.

Isaac’s was the only 2019/20 option the Magic had to make a decision on. The full list of rookie scale options decisions for ’19/20 can be found right here.

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Southeast Notes: Gordon, Isaac, Wizards

September 16th, 2018 at 5:21pm CST by Austin Kent

The Magic have a pile of intriguing, raw projects on board but the only way that those will help them win games this season is if the best among them – 22-year-old Aaron Gordon – takes the next step in his development.

As John Denton of the team’s official site writes, the Magic desperately need Gordon to take another big leap. He had a fantastic start to the 2017/18 season but didn’t finish as strong down the stretch.  They’ll also need him to prove that he can hold up over the course of a full season.

Sharing forward responsibilities with Gordon is sophomore Jonathan Isaac. The club, Denton writes, would be delighted if the 20-year-old could simply establish himself as a defensive force that runs the floor.

There’s more out of the Southeast tonight:

  • The Wizards may be the front runners to win their division, a Basketball Insiders panel concludes, but they’ll need the team to stay healthy and avoid any chemistry concerns. It will be on head coach Scott Brooks to balance all the skill sets and personalities on the payroll.
  • The Hornets will once again find themselves in NBA purgatory as it it’s still unclear whether the franchise aims to rebuild or make a desperate attempt to be competitive. Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders suspects that the next few months should shed light on what general manager Mitch Kupchak might be thinking.
  • Get a complete breakdown of the players whose draft rights are held by teams in the Southeast Division… but Magic fans, don’t hold your breath for that Fran Vazquez signing. We also have lists for the other five divisions.
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