Orlando Magic

There is still no firm timetable in place for Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz's return to the court.

Appearing Tuesday on 96.9 The Game (h/t Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk), Magic general manager John Hammond said that Fultz will not play summer league ball: "He will not play in summer league with us. We didn't think there was any way that he was going to do that. We didn't plan on him doing that. So, probably not the place for him right now. But overall, I can just say that he's doing well."

Hammond seemed optimistic about Fultz's status but made it clear that there is no set return date in mind for the former Philadelphia 76ers No. 1 overall draft pick:

"He's working extremely hard. He's in good shape. His weight is good. His overall body-fat percentage is very good. So, if you look at him, you say, 'Wow, he looks great.' So, it's just a matter of him just continuing to get more comfortable, continuing for him to get himself in a position where he’s ready to step on the floor and help us.

"And look, we have no idea when that's going to be. We're hoping much, much sooner than later. But once again, we're trying to do this the best we can, and that's have that world of patience. We want to have patience with him and get him ready and put him on the court when he can be most productive."

Orlando acquired Fultz from Philadelphia last season, but he has yet to play in a game for the Magic, as he is working his way back from thoracic outlet syndrome and a shoulder injury.

In his two NBA campaigns, the 21-year-old Fultz has appeared in just 33 regular-season games due to injury. Last season, Fultz averaged 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in 19 contests, while shooting 41.9 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Fultz was a college star at the University of Washington thanks in large part to his great shot, but Fultz has struggled to find his shooting stroke at the professional level. Shoulder injuries may have something to do with it, but there have also been questions about whether his shooting problems are partially mental.

Whatever the case, Fultz is looking for a fresh start in Orlando after the Magic acquired him from the Sixers for Jonathon Simmons and two draft picks.

The Magic are in dire need of a point guard, as Jerian Grant is a restricted free agent and D.J. Augustin is the incumbent starter.

If and when Fultz returns from injury, he will likely have every opportunity to earn a starting job in Orlando, which is something that likely wouldn't have been possible in Philadelphia with Ben Simmons developing into one of the NBA's top young players.

There is no guarantee Fultz will return any time soon, though, which means the Magic may have to turn to a player like Ricky Rubio or Darren Collison in free agency to at least serve as a temporary starter at point guard.

The Orlando Magic provided a bit of a surprise in the first round after selecting Auburn forward Chuma Okeke with the No. 16 overall pick. 

Although he tore his ACL at the end of last season, Okeke has showed a lot of upside on the court. He averaged 12 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this past season with Auburn, also adding 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per game on defense.

His versatility was also on display while knocking down 38.9 percent of shots from the perimeter.

Here's how Okeke fits with Orlando's roster:   

Check out B/R NBA draft expert Jonathan Wasserman’s scouting profile on Okeke. 

                  

Magic Active Roster and Average Salary (Expiration Year)

Aaron Gordon, PF: $20M (2022)

D.J. Augustin, PG: $7.3M (2020)

Evan Fournier, SG: $17M (2021)

Jonathan Isaac, PF: $5M (2020)

Markelle Fultz, PG: $8.4M (2021)

Melvin Frazier, SF: $1.2M (2021)

Mohamed Bamba, C: $5.3M (2022)

Timofey Mozgov, C: $16M (2020)

Wesley Iwundu, SF: $1.3M (2020)

Chuma Okeke, SF: $1.1M (2020)

Free Agents

Amile Jefferson, PF: RFA

Jarell Martin, PF: RFA

Jerian Grant, PG: RFA

Khem Birch, C: RFA

Michael Carter-Williams, PG: UFA

Nikola Vucevic, C: UFA

Terrence Ross, SG: UFA

Troy Caupain, PG: RFA

Wesley Iwundu, SF: Team option

         

The knee is arguably the biggest concern for Okeke, who suffered the injury during the NCAA tournament, but this doesn't seem to be too big of a problem:

Orlando is going a little off the board for Chuma Okeke, who is coming off a torn ACL suffered in the NCAA tournament. This may be a redshirt season for Okeke this coming year.

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) June 21, 2019

In fairness to Orlando -- talked to two teams today who said they were valuing Chuma Okeke, exactly as if he was healthy, this is more deffer and develop for the Magic.

— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) June 21, 2019

Otherwise, there seems to be plenty of excitement surrounding the pick:

6-7, 233 pound + 20-year-old #Auburn F prospect Chuma Okeke has the size + versatile skill-set at both ends to excel at the @nba level, despite his right knee injury during the 2019 #NCAA Tournament pic.twitter.com/k2LATldLRw

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 21, 2019

Let’s goooo @chuma_okeke! Now let’s get to work!

— Mo Bamba (@TheRealMoBamba) June 21, 2019

Some believed his injury could push him to the second round of the draft, but Wasserman listed him as his No. 13 overall player in the class in his final big board.

Okeke showcased his skill set throughout the season, but his last game was arguably his most impressive.

In the Sweet 16 against North Carolina, the forward had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting including 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. He also had 11 rebounds and two steals in 25 minutes before suffering the devastating knee injury.

This performance against a talented opponent provided a glimpse of what he could do at the next level.

If he can return to full strength, he could end up being a steal for Orlando to pair with its young core of Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. 

Salary info via Spotrac.

The Orlando Magic have selected Chuma Okeke with the No. 16 pick of the 2019 NBA draft.

A torn ACL suffered in the NCAA tournament stopped his rise short. He'd been trending upward, building his case with consistent three-point shooting and standout defensive versatility. Okeke might not be healthy enough to play next season, but before he went down, his potential fit in the pros was clear.

      

Quick hitters

Size: 6'8"

Weight: 230 lbs

Wingspan: 7'0"

Pro comparison: Robert Covington

      

Offensive strengths

At 6'8", 230 pounds, Okeke has a strong, mobile body. He scored mostly working off the ball as a spot-up shooter and cutter (87th percentile) and shot at least 38.0 percent from three for the second consecutive season. He also showed some ability to attack off the dribble. He wasn't a high-usage post player, but he converted 57.9 percent of his 38 post-up shots.

      

Offensive weaknesses

Okeke's ball skills and shot creativity are limited. He attempted just 3.3 free throws per 40 minutes, a reflection on his predictability with the ball. Okeke could also improve his finishing in crowds, having shot just 18-of-45 on rolls to the basket while making one runner all season. And after he went 4-of-24 on pull-up jumpers, the scouting report will alert defense to close out hard and run him off the three-point line.

      

Defensive outlook

Per 40 minutes, Okeke averaged 2.5 steals and 1.7 blocks. He anticipates and reacts quickly. He should add value as a help defender. Aside from the defensive playmaking, Okeke should also be able to guard each frontcourt spot while holding his own on switches in pick-and-roll coverage. 

      

Rookie year projection

Okeke's torn ACL in March will presumably keep him out the entire season. He'll spend the year rehabbing and delaying his rookie season until 2020-21. 

      

Projected role: Three-and-D starting role player

As long as Okeke's recovery goes smoothly, he should eventually fill a three-and-D role at the worst. His jump shot and defensive versatility are easy to buy and theoretically create a high floor. His ceiling could mean Okeke develops into Robert Covington 2.0—an elite role player who doesn't have to create to hold significant value.

      

Stats courtesy of Synergy Sports, Sports Reference.

Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman made it clear Thursday he wants to re-sign All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.

According to Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel, he said:

"Bringing Vooch back is a priority. That being said, Vooch is going to have a lot of teams who will make him a priority for them, too. We will meet with his representatives at the appropriate time. Hopefully we can get something done. It's the NBA, and I always say there's a lot of real estate between the intentions and what gets done."

Vucevic enjoyed a career year in 2018-19 and helped lead the Magic to the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The 28-year-old averaged career highs this season with 20.8 points, 12.0 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He also helped end a streak of six consecutive seasons without a playoff berth for the Magic, although they fell 4-1 in their first-round series with the second-seeded Toronto Raptors.

Vucevic has spent the past seven seasons with the Magic after playing for the Philadelphia 76ers as a rookie. He was dealt to Orlando as part of a four-team trade that sent Dwight Howard from the Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Swiss-born star has been a highly productive player in Orlando, and he owns career averages of 15.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 536 games.

Vucevic suggested Thursday he would be open to re-signing with the Magic:

"Obviously I've had a great seven years here, but at the same time, we'll see what happens. It's a mutual decision, and it's not just me. They have to decide what they want to do. Based on that, we'll go from there. I wish I knew what would happen. I wish I had a contract in hand. It would be all over right now."

As arguably the top big on the open market, Vucevic should receive plenty of calls. That could include the Los Angeles Lakers, who are in desperate need of a star to complement LeBron James.

Vucevic is especially valuable because of his versatility. In addition to his ability to score and rebound in the paint, he can step out and knock down shots. He has averaged over one three-pointer made per game the past two years, and he shot 36.4 percent from three this past season. He also greatly improved defensively in 2018-19.

Orlando would be left with a void if Vucevic signed elsewhere, but it would represent a major opportunity for 2018 No. 6 overall pick Mohamed Bamba to step in and play big minutes.

The Orlando Magic punched their ticket to the 2018-19 NBA playoffs for the first time since falling to Danny Granger and the Indiana Pacers in 2011-12 with a 116-108 victory Sunday night over the Boston Celtics. It was yet another reminder that this team is a potential contender-killer.

Head coach Steve Clifford's team has flown under the radar for much of the year after the Magic went just 25-57 last season under Frank Vogel. With the loss of Shelvin Mack and the somewhat laughable assumption that DJ Augustin could captain the offense proficiently throughout 82 games, the Magic surpassed every offseason prognostication.

But Augustin carried the Magic's second-best on/off rating (plus-5.0, trailing only All-Star Nikola Vucevic) while shooting 42.1 percent from three, 10th among players who have logged 64-plus games. He also likely earned Clifford some Coach of the Year votes with his performance.

One of the best free agent additions did not come in a player signing or trade last off-season but with a coach. Great job by Steve Clifford and his staff getting the Magic to the postseason for the first time since 2011-12.

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) April 8, 2019

But back to those predictions. CBS Sports' preseason projections, for instance, gave the Magic the 26th-best ranking, while Sports Illustrated positioned them dead last. Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley had them ranked 28th, and B/R's Grant Hughes gave them a generous 25th. (The Brooklyn Nets, the East's other surprise playoff team, outranked the Magic in each of those polls.)

Yet here they stand, having secured the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with the possibility of rising as high as sixth with one game to play. Most would think of the Magic as a feel-good story. Hey, they finally made it!

And they've come a long way since this cringeworthy clip from Stan Van Gundy:

Orlando is more than that.

After all, the Magic split the season series with the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers and swept the Boston Celtics in three games. They also took down the San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors and went 3-1 versus the Indiana Pacers.

Sixteen of the Magic's 41 wins have come against teams .500 or better. Where the Magic have strangely struggled is against sub-.500 opponents (18 losses), which of course they won't see in the postseason.

Oddly enough, the Magic have been downright electric since losing sixth overall pick Mo Bamba to a stress fracture in his left tibia thanks in part to Jonathan Isaac's emergence. While the former Texas Longhorn shows plenty of promise, his minus-19.6 net rating per 100 possessions sank the Magic toward the bottom half of the league.

Since he went down, the Magic have won 20 of 29 and led the NBA in net rating in February (plus-11.3). They are finishing the season with the league's fourth-best net rating over the past 12 games.

"A phenomenal locker room scene. The guys were ecstatic, deserving, and it's fun to see. I feel like we've done it the right way. We've played our best here this last 30, 31 games. We've made good progress all year." -Steve Clifford

— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) April 8, 2019

The Magic's defensive style of play under Clifford is conducive to the playoff atmosphere, as they hold opponents to just 106.5 points per game (fifth in the league).

Plus, the Magic have their own version of a low-post superstar in Vucevic to match up with Marc Gasol and Joel Embiid. He trails just Giannis Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns with 20.8 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, and he shoots 36.4 percent from three (better than all but Towns).

Vucevic should relish another opportunity to play against Embiid after outplaying him in each of their three matchups this season (28.3 points, 10.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists on 56.4 percent shooting), including the Magic's March 25 shellacking of head coach Brett Brown and his healthy squad.

Regardless of who they draw, Terrence Ross is arguably the Magic's most dangerous weapon and most important player. In wins, he carries a plus-15.5 net rating. In losses, it's a debilitating minus-17.3

Things will change in the playoffs when the intensity reaches a deafening roar, rotations shorten and eyes widen. None of the Magic's heavy rotation players has registered a minute of playoff basketball since 2014 outside of Ross (2016, Toronto).

But the Magic have played some of the best teams tough all year, so expect a game effort in the first round.

---

Bleacher Report's Howard Beck talks to Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry on this week's Full 48 podcast, discussing how NBA MVP favorite Giannis Antentokounmpo willed the Bucks to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern conference. 

After a six-year drought, the Orlando Magic are back in the NBA postseason following their 116-108 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday.

🗣 P L A Y O F F S ! pic.twitter.com/16wTrTuCfG

— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) April 8, 2019

The Magic have had extreme ups and downs this season, though one benefit of playing in the Southeast Division is it affords teams an opportunity to find themselves without falling out of contention. 

The Magic fell a season-high 11 games under .500 on Jan. 29 following a 126-117 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. 

Despite seeming to fall out of playoff contention at that point, Orlando's front office opted not to trade away its most valuable assets—Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross being the most notable examples—at the deadline. 

In fact, the Magic hope they found a long-term answer to their ongoing question at point guard by acquiring Markelle Fultz from the Philadelphia 76ers on Feb. 7 in exchange for Jonathon Simmons and two draft picks. 

While Fultz's impact won't be felt until next season, Orlando emphasized throughout the season how important a 2018-19 playoff appearance after was to the franchise.

Vucevic summed up the Magic's feelings prior to their March 28 game against the Detroit Pistons, via Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel:

“Obviously Coach Cliff (Steve Clifford) coming and setting the tone for us, and us buying into it and getting better as the season went on. That’s what got us to this point. We’ve had a lot of ups and downs over the year and everything, but it shows that we’ve made improvements, each player individually and as a team as well. A lot of it came from him, for sure.

“But at the end of the day our goal wasn’t to win 12 more games. Our goal was to get the playoffs, and now we’re in a position to do it. So now it’s on us these last seven games to finish the job.”

Orlando flipped the switch on its season after a 20-31 start by winning 20 of its next 29 games to secure a playoff berth for the first time since 2011-12. 

The Magic can frustrate opponents in the playoffs. They are an outstanding defensive team, ranked fifth in points allowed per game and eighth in efficiency.

There will be plenty of time for the Magic to assess how they can win a playoff series for the first time since 2009-10. For now, the organization has earned their moment to celebrate getting back to the postseason. 

Injuries have hampered No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz's NBA career, with thoracic outlet syndrome currently keeping the Orlando Magic guard off the court.

However, the 20-year-old offered a positive update to Josh Robbins of The Athletic on Tuesday.

"It's going great," Fultz told Robbins. "I'm feeling really good. I'm happy. I'm blessed. And as I'm going forward, I'm just sticking with the plan and just going through rehab."

For his part, Fultz is pleased with his daily progress.

"I'm definitely getting better each and every day," Fultz said. "That's what a lot of people didn't know about TOS: It's very tricky, and the pain is different for different people. But that's what I'm working on now in rehab: just getting better each and every day. And the progression that I'm making is very good."

Robbins reported that there is no return timeline for Fultz, who the Philadelphia 76ers traded to Orlando on February 7 for Jonathan Simmons and two draft picks. However, the ex-University of Washington star will be going to team practices and games.

Fultz is pleased that Orlando isn't looking to get him back as soon as possible.

"Get right, and everything will take care of itself," he said. "Nobody here is rushing me. Everybody here is just open to me getting right and healthy first."

Those sentiments likely squash any hope of Fultz returning to the team for the regular-season stretch run or playoffs should the 33-38 Magic hop over the 34-36 Miami Heat for the final Eastern Conference postseason spot.

However, that's not particularly important. Fultz is part of an Orlando future built around a young core of Aaron Gordon, Mo Bamba and Jonathan Isaac, all of whom were top-10 overall draft picks.

Current Magic All-Star center Nikola Vucevic may not be part of that future given his upcoming free agency, so the team will need players to somehow make up for this excellent per-game production of 20.7 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists.

Fultz would likely play a part of that given his ability to stuff the stat sheet when healthy, as he notably dropped a 13-point triple-double in 25 minutes versus the Milwaukee Bucks last year.

Therefore, Orlando's best bet is to look toward 2019-20 and hope that Fultz is 100 percent for the season. With current starting point guard D.J. Augustin's contract running out in 2020, Fultz could be in line to be the team's starting floor general shortly.

The Maryland native has played 33 regular-season contests in his career and averaged 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 20.6 minutes per game.

The Orlando Magic have agreed to a deal with Michael Carter-Williams. 

Per The Athletic's Josh Robbins, Carter-Williams will receive a 10-day contract after the Magic were granted an injury hardship exemption. 

The Magic officially announced Carter-Williams' signing Friday:

RELEASE: Magic sign free agent guard Michael Carter-Williams to a 10-day contract pic.twitter.com/tmrAbNnlDz

— Orlando Magic PR (@Magic_PR) March 15, 2019

Orlando's backup point guard, Isaiah Briscoe, had arthroscopic knee surgery Wednesday to repair a torn meniscus.

This signing comes after the Houston Rockets traded Carter-Williams to the Chicago Bulls in early January in a move that saved the team $2.6 million in luxury-tax payments, per ESPN's Bobby Marks. Chicago subsequently waived the 27-year-old guard.

He has not appeared in a game since Dec. 19.

Carter-Williams averaged 4.3 points and 1.3 assists in 9.1 minutes per game in 16 appearances with Houston this season. He shot 41 percent from the floor with the Rockets, a solid improvement, albeit in a limited sample size, from his 33.2 percent from 2017-18.

He got off to a solid start to his professional career, averaging 16.0 points, 6.7 assists and 6.2 rebounds per game in Philadelphia. However, Carter-Williams has been unable to build on that success since leaving his original franchise. Both his scoring and his overall playing time have declined with each passing season.

The former NBA Rookie of the Year has spent time bouncing around the league after spending the first year and a half with the Philadelphia 76ers. Prior to joining the Magic, he had suited up for four different organizations since 2015-16, never spending more than one year with a team during that span.

Now, Carter-Williams hopes a fresh start in Orlando will help him get his career back on an upward trend.

The Magic will use the former NBA Rookie of the Year to get them over the hump in the Eastern Conference playoff race. They are currently 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the No. 8 seed with 12 games remaining. 

Because of thoracic outlet syndrome, point guard Markelle Fultz hasn't played a game since the Orlando Magic acquired him from the Philadelphia 76ers in February. But Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman said the No. 1 pick of the 2017 NBA draft is making "significant progress," per Josh Robbins of The Athletic:

"Markelle is doing very well. He's in Los Angeles continuing his rehab. We have sent one of our performance staff to be out with him to try to understand what he's going through from the more scientific perspective, and I have been out there to spend some time with him and watched him work out. It's just a matter of understanding where he is and supporting him. But I can tell you confidently that he's making significant progress and he's feeling like he's in a very good place."

The early portion of Fultz's career hasn't been promising.

After Philadelphia selected him out of Washington, he played a mere 14 games and attempted just one three-pointer during his rookie season as he dealt with shoulder issues. He's played in only 19 games this year and is 4-of-14 from deep while averaging 8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski wrote in November when the guard was shut down that he "has lost the ability to carry out and follow through on long jump shots, and there has been internal and external debate about how much of this perplexing circumstance is physical versus mental."

However, Fultz explained things during his introductory press conference with the Magic.

"It was hard to explain to people," Fultz said. "But it's almost like hard to lift up your arms. You lose feeling in your fingers. It's not really—you can't tell when it's going to happen. It's not like you do the same motion every time. But it's just you get tingling in your fingers, numbness, stuff like that."

While he hasn't returned to the floor since the trade—which sent Jonathon Simmons, an Oklahoma City Thunder first-round pick and a Cleveland Cavaliers second-round pick to the 76ers—he is only 20 years old.

Orlando (30-36) is just one game out of the No. 8 seed in the East, and the Magic have plenty of young talent in place for the future with Aaron Gordon, Mohamed Bamba and Jonathan Isaac. Ideally, Fultz can return to health and develop alongside them.

Orlando Magic fans likely won't get to see Markelle Fultz in action this year, as he continues to recover from the thoracic outlet syndrome that has impacted his shooting shoulder. 

"He's still rehabbing his shoulder, and he's not even able to really do much on the floor yet," Magic head coach Steve Clifford told SiriusXM Radio (h/t ESPN.com). "It's a pretty significant shoulder injury. I would say he's starting to do a little bit, but it would be very difficult for him to get back this year."

Fultz, 20, has played in just 33 games over his first two seasons, as shoulder issues and shooting woes have largely kept him off the court. He's averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 assists per game, shooting 41.4 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from three and 53.4 percent from the charity stripe.

He was the No. 1 overall pick of the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017, as the team traded up to draft him. Fultz's excellent jumper, ability to dominate in the pick-and-roll and impressive athleticism made him, on paper, an excellent third option behind Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

Instead, Fultz entered training camp his rookie season with a reworked, and ugly, jumper. He sat for most of the campaign, though he came back late in the year and even recorded a triple-double. He was nonexistent in the postseason, however.

The Sixers experimented with him in the starting lineup to start this season, though that ended when they acquired Jimmy Butler in a Nov. 12 trade. That move accelerated Philadelphia's timeline, and when Fultz again hit the sidelines, it became clear his future wasn't in Philadelphia.

The Sixers traded him to Orlando for Jonathon Simmons, Oklahoma City's top-20 protected pick in 2020 and Orlando's second-round pick this season. Before the Sixers beat the Magic on Tuesday night, Philadelphia head coach Brett Brown spoke about Fultz:

"First and foremost, elite person, really just a good human being. Two, a point guard. Thinks like a point guard, speaks like a point guard and he's a point guard by nature. And he has an instinct from a playing perspective to share and he reads the game well.

"Those two things first come to my mind—good people and a point guard. We're always thinking about Markelle and we truly wish him well. I hope he can resurface—and I believe he will—and reclaim some of the expectations that he has on himself and the marketplace has for him."

There's little doubt Fultz has a high ceiling. It just remains a major question mark if he'll ever get anywhere close to it.