Orlando Magic

Aaron Gordon is reportedly making his return to the NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, the Orlando Magic forward has committed to the 2020 contest.

Gordon participated in the event in 2016 and 2017. He lost a classic battle with Zach LaVine in 2016, though some consider it the most controversial result in dunk contest history. Glenn Robinson III beat out Gordon in 2017.

He joins Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard and Miami Heat forward Derrick Jones Jr. among the participants. One more player will be named to the event, set to take place Feb. 15 in Chicago.

Gordon has been publicly talking about doing the 2020 dunk contest since last summer. He tweeted last July he had a dream about participating in Chicago and told TMZ Sports he wanted to compete against LaVine and Zion Williamson.

"I think so, it's starting to look like that. It's something I want to do, so we'll see how it goes, man," Gordon said. "It's really up to the NBA, but we're gonna do it."

Eric Woodyard of ESPN reported LaVine has been invited to the contest but has not yet committed. LaVine is reportedly more likely to enter the event if he's selected as an Eastern Conference All-Star. Reserves will be revealed Thursday night, so we may get a better idea of the likelihood of his participation then.

If LaVine enters, this year's contest will have three of the most memorable contestants in the event's history. Howard ascended to superstardom when he won the 2008 dunk contest and came back the following year in a loss to Nate Robinson. 

LaVine would be participating for a chance to tie Robinson with the most dunk contest victories in NBA history (three). 

The NBA has reportedly granted a disabled player exception to the Orlando Magic as forward Al-Farouq Aminu recovers from meniscus surgery, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium (via Josh Robbins of The Athletic).

Robbins noted the DPE is different from the medical hardship exception, meaning the Magic can sign a replacement player with Aminu sidelined for a significant amount of time.

Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports pointed out the Magic also applied for the DPE for Jonathan Isaac because of the big man's knee injury, but there's no news on the application for Isaac, which could mean he may not miss the rest of the season.

Aminu has not played since a Nov. 29 loss to the Toronto Raptors. He's averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest in 18 games this season, his first with the Magic.

The swingman has played for the Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Magic as a secondary scorer who can hit from three-point range, battle for rebounds and challenge shots defensively with his wingspan.

The Magic signed the veteran to a three-year deal this past offseason, adding postseason experience to a team that was looking to contend.

Orlando has remained in the playoff picture without him and sits in the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference at 21-23. It will now have the chance to add some help before the stretch run given the NBA's ruling.

Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic reported Thursday the Orlando Magic have applied for two disabled player exceptions in regards to injured forwards Jonathan Isaac and Al-Farouq Aminu.

As Charania noted, the applications "project season-ending losses."

Isaac suffered a severe left knee sprain and bone bruise Jan. 1 against the Washington Wizards. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the next day that the team was expected to reevaluate the third-year pro in two months.

A torn right meniscus has kept Aminu out since Nov. 29. Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel reported on Wednesday that the forward would be out indefinitely and receive a reevaluation in "about 12 weeks."

Larry Coon described what a DPE is in his CBA FAQ:

"This exception allows a team which is over the cap to replace a disabled player who will be out for the remainder of that season (it can also be granted in the event of a player's death). This exception is granted by the league, based on an application from the team and a determination by an NBA-designated physician or Fitness to Play panel...that the player is substantially more likely than not to be unable to play through the following June 15."

And ESPN's Bobby Marks explained what it means as it pertains to the Magic's two applications:

Issac, 22, has averaged career highs with 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals in 29.7 minutes per game. He's ranked 10th among 94 qualified power forwards in defensive real plus-minus, per ESPN.com.

The Magic picked Isaac with the sixth overall selection in the 2017 draft.

Aminu, 29, averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game. He signed a three-year, $29.16 million contract with the Magic last offseason after four years with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The 18-20 Magic are seventh in the Eastern Conference despite a litany of injuries to starters and rotation players. Of note, All-Star center Nikola Vucevic has missed 11 of the Magic's 38 games, and Aaron Gordon has sat for five.

Still, Orlando is safely in the Eastern Conference playoff picture as the season nears its midpoint.

Away from the shadow that loomed over him in Philadelphia, Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz is beginning to show why he was the No. 1 overall pick three years ago.

Fultz says the change of scenery—along with finally being healthy after shoulder injuries nearly derailed his career—has helped him "play freely."

"I'm still the No. 1 pick," he told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. "That will never change. But I took care of the injury. I can play freely. I can do what I want. I can do what I love most. Every game I'm improving. Every game I'm feeling better. It helps when you see the ball going in. That just makes it even better."

Fultz is averaging 11.3 points, 4.5 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game and has already appeared in more games this season (37) than he did in two seasons with Philadelphia (33). While those are hardly world-beating numbers, he is light-years ahead of the seemingly broken player he was when the Sixers offloaded him last year.

Fultz credited the Magic with being patient in his rehab from thoracic outlet syndrome, building him up slowly over the course of the summer. He's playing with a sense of confidence he never displayed with the Sixers, who traded a 2019 first-rounder to the Boston Celtics in order to swap spots and select him in 2017. The picks they dealt turned into Jayson Tatum and Romeo Langford.

In two years with the Sixers, Fultz struggled so mightily with his shooting that some wondered if it was a hurdle he'd never get over.

"The thing is, it didn't really bother me," he said of the criticism. "If I saw something negative, most of the time I laughed at it. Because it's just not true. People say some crazy stuff. I read somewhere that I got into a motorcycle accident. I cracked jokes with my friends about this stuff. People just don't know. I was [injured]. That's it."

While Magic have made him more comfortable, Fultz is still a work in progress as a jump shooter (25.4 percent from three). Regardless, his story is one of the best of this NBA season.

Markelle Fultz enjoyed a career night as the Orlando Magic beat the Brooklyn Nets 101-89 on Monday night.

Fultz had a game-high 25 points, which was a career high for the third-year guard as well. He was particularly excellent in the fourth quarter as Orlando pulled away and scored 12 points over the final 12 minutes.

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Following a brutal start to his NBA career, a change of scenery appears to have helped the 2017 No. 1 overall pick.

Some of the same issues remain. Fultz was shooting 24.2 percent from three-point range prior to the Nets game but was also averaging 11.0 points, 4.4 assists and 1.2 steals. Monday's victory encapsulated how he looks like a different player from his days with the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Magic gambled on Fultz as their long-term answer at the point when the acquired him from Philadelphia. At the time, bringing him on and assuming the nearly $12.3 million he's owed in 2020-21 looked somewhat risky.

However, the 21-year-old is steadily providing the scoring and playmaking Orlando has desperately lacked at point guard in recent seasons.

The Orlando Magic announced Thursday forward Jonathan Isaac will be out indefinitely and re-evaluated in eight-to-10 weeks after suffering a knee injury in Wednesday's game against the Washington Wizards.

Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, he's been diagnosed with a "severe sprain" and bone contusion, although the MRI still provided positive results. 

"While this is certainly disappointing news, there was no damage to his ACL, MCL and PCL ligaments," president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a statement. "All signs point to a complete recovery and this should not impact his future growth."

Isaac suffered the injury attacking the basket in the first quarter and was stretchered into the locker room.

Despite the apparent severity, he was reportedly walking around and bending his knee after the game, John Denton of the team's official site reported.

It's clear he will now miss time, but he should be back on the floor this season.

The 22-year-old has continued to improve throughout his three years in the NBA and was playing at a high level prior to the injury. Isaac is currently averaging 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, all of which would be career highs.

He has improved on the offensive end both in efficiency and aggressiveness, but his true impact comes defensively as both a rim-protector and disrupter in the middle of the floor.

Per Basketball Reference, the 2017 No. 6 overall pick ranks ninth in the NBA in defensive win shares.

Terrence Ross should see more playing time with Isaac out, but Orlando will certainly suffer on both ends of the court.

Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac was stretchered off the floor after suffering a left knee injury early in the first quarter against the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.

The Magic announced that Isaac suffered a hyperextended left knee and will have an MRI on Thursday.

Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel described the play in which the injury occurred.

Isaac, 22, entered Wednesday averaging career highs of 12.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.

He also began the Wizards game ranked sixth in defensive real plus-minus among 98 qualified power forwards, per ESPN.com.

John Denton of OrlandoMagic.com provided more insight into Isaac's defensive dominance this year.

Isaac's improvement hasn't gone unnoticed around the league, with Candace Buckner of the Washington Post quoting head coach Scott Brooks on the topic.

"You see the work that he's putting in is paying off," Brooks said pregame.

Isaac had even shown better play in recent days, amassing at least 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals in three of his last four games. He started the Wizards game well, too, thanks to an early bucket, rebound and steal in just two minutes before exiting.

Amile Jefferson is a candidate to help fill Isaac's minutes until he returns. The second-year pro has played just 27 minutes this season, scoring six points on 3-of-5 shooting and grabbing seven rebounds. He replaced Isaac in the lineup Wednesday.

Al-Farouq Aminu replaced an injured Isaac for two games in November, but he is out with a torn meniscus.

The Orlando Magic announced forward Aaron Gordon will miss Monday's game against the Atlanta Hawks because of a sore left Achilles.

This has been a difficult season for Gordon thus far. He missed three games because of a sprained ankle suffered in the second quarter of a 113-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Nov. 20.

Even before that ankle injury, Gordon's game seemed to have regressed. The 24-year-old had a 40.4 shooting percentage and 29.2 three-point percentage in his first 29 games.

Gordon's 13.2 points per game is his lowest average since 2016-17 (12.7).

Losing Gordon from the starting lineup once again forces head coach Steve Clifford to rely on his depth to keep the team afloat in its quest for a second straight playoff berth. Jonathan Isaac will likely see increased playing time, with Amile Jefferson available off the bench.

The Orlando Magic cleared $16.7 million off their books after the NBA removed ex-center Timofey Mozgov's salary from the team's ledger, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

A career-ending injury/illness application was applied to Mozgov, whom the Magic used the stretch-and-waive provision on in July.

The 33-year-old averaged 6.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in eight NBA seasons, with his most recent action occurring with the Brooklyn Nets in 2017-18.

The Nets traded Mozgov in July 2018 to the Charlotte Hornets, who dealt him to the Orlando Magic one day later.

However, the Russian never played for Orlando. A knee injury kept him off the court in 2018-19, and the Magic waived him in July.

Mozgov now plays for BC Khimki of the VT United League, which is largely comprised of Russian teams.

A few sources explained what the clearing-out meant for Orlando.

Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports touched on its impact for the 2020-21 season:

"If Timofey Mozgov returns to play, the money will be put back on Orlando's cap sheet," Smith also tweeted. "But for it to be removed, there is a belief that Mozgov won't ever play again."

Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily explained the stretch provision and how it applied to the Magic in Mozgov's case.

"Cutting him was not a big issue for the Magic," Rossman-Reich wrote. "It was the need to stay under that luxury-tax line of $132.6 million that motivated this move, potentially foregoing an interesting trade chip even in a summer without a ton of free agents."

He then pointed out the 2021 season in which the Magic are living on the edge of the reported $141 million luxury-tax level (reported by Charania).

"For the 2021 season, the Magic have $101.6 million in guaranteed salary committed (including Mozgov’s $5.6 million) according to Basketball Insiders," Rossman-Reich wrote. "With Evan Fournier likely to take his $17.2 million player option, the Magic are likely to have $118.7 million committed to next year. Their big free agents are D.J. Augustin, Wesley Iwundu (restricted) and a team option on Melvin Frazier‘s third years."

As for this season, the Magic are off to a slow 6-10 start. However, they currently hold the eighth and final playoff spot in a top-heavy Eastern Conference where the best four teams are 12-4 or better.

Orlando Magic power forward Aaron Gordon suffered a right ankle contusion and is out indefinitely.

Josh Robbins of The Athletic reported the news, noting his return date depends on his progress after treatment. An MRI revealed the extent of the injury suffered in Thursday's loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Gordon enjoyed a second straight strong campaign for the Magic last season. He averaged 16.0 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists in 78 appearances, which is more in line with what the organization expected when it selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft.

The 24-year-old University of Arizona product was sidelined several times because of injuries throughout his fourth NBA campaign two years ago, though. He dealt with a concussion and had issues with his left ankle, right calf and hip. He bounced back to play 78 games last season.

If the latest ailment keeps him out of the lineup, Jonathan Isaac figures to slide over to receive the lion's share of the playing time at the 4. It could also lead to an increase in minutes for Al-Farouq Aminu, Mohamed Bamba and Khem Birch as part of the team's frontcourt rotation.

Ultimately, the Magic (6-8) are beginning to acquire a lot of promising young talent as part of their rebuilding effort, and Gordon is at the center of that core. Any type of long-term absence would be a major setback as the team attempts to rise up the standings in the Eastern Conference.