The NBA offseason officially began Wednesday with the NBA Draft. Teams began tinkering with their roster with the ticking clock of the Draft and adding players to the roster. Deadlines create movement and even the Draft has already created some significant movement in the league—Mikal Bridges moved across the island to the New York Knicks.
Most of the questions concerning the Orlando Magic center on free agency though. The team barely had room for its two rookies last year. And the Magic are expected to be fairly active in free agency.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman acknowledged Monday the team is working on two tracks. Nobody yet knows how the Magic’s draft picks may influence their summer plans. Or even if they would.
But the Magic are ultimately very satisfied it seems with their selection of Colorado forward Tristan da Silva. He checked off all of their boxes. And there seems to be a fit for him overall.
But da Silva is not the big prize this offseason. There is still a lot of work to do this summer.
One thing is known though, the Magic have some decisions to make before they get to free agency. And they will have major impacts on the team and what they can do.
As noted repeatedly, the Magic have between $30-$50 million in cap room. Much of that leeway comes from decisions they must make on non-guarantees and team options on their books this year.
Those decisions will influence what the Magic will do and what they can do this offseason. And those decisions are not always straightforward because of how the cap works out. Even declining options in some instances does not mean the team is getting rid of that player.
Jeff Weltman will be very busy in the run-up to June 30 at 6 p.m. when these deadlines pass and teams can contact free agents officially.
For now Weltman is expectedly staying mum on any ongoing negotiations with his own free agents — particularly the extensions Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. But here is what the Magic should do with their own free agents as they get closer and closer to decision day.
What the Orlando Magic should do with their own free agents
Mo Wagner—$8 Million Team Option
In one sense, the decision for Mo Wagner is a straightforward one.
He had a career season for the Orlando Magic last year, averaging 10.9 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game as the team’s backup center. He shot 60.1 percent from the floor and was one of the most efficient scorers around the basket and inside the arc in the league.
No player has embraced the opportunity with the Magic and ingrained himself into what the team is building quite like Wagner has.
Bringing him back is a no-brainer. And there is probably no scenario where Wagner is not back in a Magic uniform barring something unforeseeably crazy happening.
Getting Wagner back though could happen in a roundabout way.
In order for the Magic to maximize their cap room, declining the team option for Mo Wagner and Joe Ingles would free up $19 million in cap room. That is essentially the difference between the $30 million and $50 million in cap room the Magic have.
Because the Magic are using cap room to sign free agents, they have access to the Room Mid-Level Exception worth $8 million. This mechanism allows for teams that use cap room to sign free agents the ability to sign players to an extra $8 million to go over the salary cap.
Essentially, the Magic could decline the team option for Wagner and then bring him back on a new deal worth the same amount. They can have their cap space cake and eat it too.
This is what most people are expecting to happen. The question is whether the Magic know they will need this room.
The Magic have to decide on Wagner’s option on June 29 (the deadline for most of these decisions). That will sort of be the Magic’s Groundhog Day.
If the Magic pick up the team option on Wagner, then expect a quieter and more moderate summer. If they decline that team option, expect the Magic to be working on at least one major contract in free agency.
In either case, it is set up for Wagner to return to Orlando one way or the other.
Prediction: Magic decline team option, re-sign Wagner using Room MLE
Markelle Fultz—Unrestricted Free Agent
Gary Harris—Unrestricted Free Agent
The Orlando Magic are expected to make changes to the roster this year.
If there has been a criticism of Jeff Weltman, it is that he has been too patient with his roster and he has valued continuity too much. He is not someone who looks to make major upheavals to the roster—minus the deals in 2021 that kickstarted this rebuild and reshaped the Magic’s roster at the trade deadline.
That does not seem to be the case this year. Everyone anticipates the Magic will add at least one starter-level player. There is change coming.
And it feels like the team has simply outgrown the patience it takes for Markelle Fultz to get himself all the way back from the various injuries that plagued him early in his career. And it feels like the Magic simply need more from Gary Harris.
Fultz struggled last year with injuries, dealing with knee tendinitis early in the year—and perhaps a small fracture in that knee—that sapped much of the lift he had seemed to regain from the end of the 2023 season.
Fultz averaged only 7.8 points per game and 2.8 assists per game. His injuries became so bad that Fultz reverted back to his hesitancy to shoot threes taking only 18 threes total all year.
Harris had a fairly average season for him. But his struggles to hit threes in the Playoffs not only highlighted the Magic’s need for another attacker in the backcourt but also the need for more 3-point shooting in general.
Harris averaged 6.9 points per game and shot 37.1 percent from three on 3.8 3-point attempts per game. Every team has a fifth starter who is going to have a lower usage rate. But it constantly felt like the Magic needed more from Harris.
It is hard to let a good shooter go. But the Magic value positional and role versatility and Harris was just too one dimensional for the team.
Knowing how much the Magic value continuity, it is not impossible to see the Magic bring either player back. But it is hard to believe they have earned second cracks at their 2024 salaries of $17 million (Fultz) and $13 million (Harris). It is taking them off their books that is going to give the Magic the bulk of their cap room to play with this offseason.
And the Magic need to create a pathway for Anthony Black and Jett Howard to get more consistent playing time.
It is hard to imagine the Magic bringing either back. Orlando needs an upgrade at the position no matter what they bring to the locker room.
Prediction: Markelle Fultz and Gary Harris leave the team in free agency
Joe Ingles—$11 Million Team Option
It is still not clear what the Orlando Magic’s free agency strategy is. Reporting and the rumor mill are suggesting the Magic are not looking to drop a big sack with a dollar sign on it on the table and let the cash spill out.
It feels like the Magic are trying to maintain maximum cap flexibility to move nimbly as their payroll expands with the upcoming extensions for Jalen Suggs, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. The team is not looking to let their payroll get too far out of control.
It is why the speculation surrounding the Magic is to offer big-money deals on a short two-year deal. Exactly like the deal the Indiana Pacers signed Bruce Brown last summer (two years, $45 million) and flipped into Pascal Siakam. And exactly like the deal the Magic gave Joe Ingles last year.
Orlando gave Ingles an above-market two-year, $22-million deal. The price tag caught everyone by surprise, but the team option gave them a quick out. They spent money with the ability to pivot quickly.
That seems to be the strategy the Magic are hoping to employ with free agency. They are seeking more deals like the one they gave Ingles.
It is just unlikely that Ingles will be the one signing said deal.
Ingles gave the Magic everything they could have hoped for. He was a good veteran presence in the locker room for the Magic averaging 4.4 points per game and shooting 43.5 percent from the floor. Orlando valued his passing and his shooting but it was also clear Ingles was slowing down.
The Magic’s selection of Tristan da Silva in the first round though likely means Joe Ingles’ spot on the roster is taken. It feels like da Silva will replace the 17.2 minutes per game Ingles played last year. Da Silva is also a versatile forward with some shooting ability.
At this point, it feels safe to say the Magic want that extra $11 million for free agency. What was a 50/50 proposition to keep Ingles available to use in trades or as a veteran now feels like a certainty. The team will decline his option.
Prediction: Magic decline Ingles’ team option
Jonathan Isaac: $17.4 million guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2025
Caleb Houstan: $2 million guaranteed on June 30, 2024
The Orlando Magic have two players with non-guaranteed contracts that they will be at least pondering what to do with this offseason. That pondering will not last particularly long. Both Jonathan Isaac and Caleb Houstan should return to the Magic next year without any issues.
Isaac’s guarantee date is not until January (the deadline when all contracts become fully guaranteed for the year). He is in the last year of his four-year deal and finaly seems healthy to take advantage of that time.
Isaac is still an important member of the team. He averaged 6.8 points per game and provided his typical otherworldly defensive impact (he averaged 1.9 stocks per game). This summer will be Isaac’s first fully healthy summer since 2019. That should allow him to improve.
At this point, the Magic are heavily invested in Isaac and the rest of the league knows how valuable Isaac can be. In most mock trades of any significance, they ask for Isaac. That still feels like a non-starter.
Keeping Isaac is a no-doubt decision.
Caleb Houstan might have a bit more of a debate. But that debate should end quickly too.
Houstan got his first taste of meaningful minutes last year, averaging 4.3 points per game and shooting 37.3 percent from three with a 56.3 percent effective field goal percentage. He got important minutes for the team when they were dealing with their illness in January and averaged 8.0 points per game and shot 36.7 percent from three in 21.9 minutes per game.
Houstan showed tons of promise last year with that first taste of real playing time. He is just 21 years old and still has plenty of room for growth—the team loves calling him “The Machine” for his work habits and work ethic.
Houstan’s guaranteed salary is small enough that it w
not significantly cut into the Magic’s cap room. Keeping Houstan is a simple decision too.
Prediction: Magic guarantee both contracts to start the season
Chuma Okeke: Restricted Free Agent (Pending $7.4 million qualifying offer)
The Orlando Magic’s final internal free agency decision comes with Chuma Okeke.
The Magic’s 2019 first-round pick has had a tough go in his career. He entered the league after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He needed a year to recover from that injury and just as he was about to start playing 5-on-5 and get some run with the Lakeland Magic, COVID shut down the league.
He showed promise early in his career as a mid-range shooter and post-up threat, but the Magic under coach Jamahl Mosley boxed him in as a catch-and-shoot threat. That has not really worked out—and further knee injuries (although nothing major) slowed him down further, halting momentum when he got the chance.
The idea of Okeke was a good one. He is a smart, versatile defender and a capable shooter. But he was not able to build the consistency necessary to stay in the rotation. He has struggled to find a consistent role throughout his career.
He averaged a career-worst 2.3 points per game, appearing in 47 games and averaging just 9.2 minutes per game. He had some big shooting games where he hit a bunch of threes—like his big game against the New York Knicks in January.
But it feels like the Magic have already moved on. And they are likely to want to free up the roster space for new players. There are a finite number of roster spots and so for new players to come in, some have to leave.
The Magic are not likely to offer Okeke a qualifying offer, turning him loose to unrestricted free agency. Orlando would not want to risk Okeke signing his $7.4 million qualifying offer to return to the team. He is not likely to get that much in open free agency.
Okeke just never quite worked out.
Prediction: Magic let Okeke walk
