Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic are reportedly interested in hiring former Portland Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts to replace Steve Clifford as their next head coach.

Marc Stein of the New York Times reported on Orlando's interest in Stotts, who mutually parted ways with the Blazers on Friday after nine seasons. Clifford and the Magic parted ways Saturday.

The Magic went 96-131 in Clifford's three seasons with the franchise, making the playoffs each of his first two years before a 21-51 record in 2020-21. Orlando is headed toward a multiyear rebuild, having traded Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier ahead of the deadline this season.

Stotts, 63, would be a bit of an odd choice to coach a team with little hope of contending for the next three or four seasons. The closest thing to a rebuild Stotts has coached came in Portland, where he inherited a team that already had LaMarcus Alridge and was on the verge of drafting Damian Lillard. 

The Magic are starting at the very foundation of their roster. Their roster features some promising young talent but no players who appear to be future All-Stars. Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac have flashed high-level skill but are both coming off catastrophic injuries. Wendell Carter Jr. projects as a complementary piece and might not even be part of the future if Mo Bamba's late-season improvement sticks.

It would stand to reason that the Magic would prioritize a younger coach, rather than one used to playing into May and June. However, if Stotts wants to continue coaching, he was pivotal in the development of Lillard and could provide a steady, proven hand to guide a group of unproven players. 

Stotts previously coached for the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, failing to last more than two full seasons in either stop. He has a 517-486 career record overall.

As the Orlando Magic enter a full-scale rebuilding period, Steve Clifford's three-year run as head coach with the organization has come to an end.

The team announced on Saturday that the two sides have mutually agreed to part ways following Orlando's 21-51 record in 2020-21.

The Magic hired Clifford in May 2018, a month-and-a-half after the Charlotte Hornets fired him. The 59-year-old led a modest resurgence for the franchise in his first season.

Orlando won the Southeast Division in 2018-19 for the first time in nine years and made the playoffs for the first time in seven years. The defense ranked fifth in points allowed and eighth in defensive rating with a solid nucleus of Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Evan Fournier and Jonathan Isaac.

Despite losing to the Toronto Raptors in five games in the first round, it looked like Clifford had the Magic on the right track.

Things quickly unraveled with a 33-40 record in 2019-20, though the Magic were still able to make the playoffs thanks to a weak Eastern Conference.

A 4-0 start this season seemed to bring optimism back to Orlando, but things fell apart because of a variety of problems. Injuries were one of the biggest issues for the team. Isaac was ruled out for the year after tearing his ACL in August during the restart. Markelle Fultz played eight games before tearing his ACL on Jan. 6.

Gordon missed four weeks early in the year with a sprained ankle.

Clifford's starting lineups at various points featured Michael Carter-Williams, James Ennis and Gary Clark. It was a near-impossible situation for any head coach to navigate.

Prior to the trade deadline, Orlando's front office signaled its plans to build for the future. Vucevic, Gordon and Fournier were all traded. The Magic did receive talented players like Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Harris and R.J. Hampton back in those trades.

The Magic also got three future first-round draft picks—two from the Chicago Bulls in the Vucevic deal and one from the Denver Nuggets as part of the Gordon package—to help expedite their rebuild. They also project to have a high pick of their own this year after posting the third-worst record in the league.

Given the direction Orlando's roster is going, moving on from Clifford now makes sense for the franchise. He gets the opportunity to find a situation that can maximize his strengths. The organization gets a fresh start with a new head coach who can develop what will be a young core into a perennial playoff contender.

Clifford made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons in Orlando but finished with an 96-131 overall record.

Orlando Magic wing Terrence Ross said in an Instagram video that his Lamborghini Urus was stolen from a dealership and totaled after the tire popped. 

Ross said he had brought the vehicle into the dealership to get a flat tire fixed. He said police contacted him Tuesday morning to let him know the car had been in an accident and they had located it. 

Police told Ross that two people had broken into the dealership, stole a number of keys and began testing them on various vehicles to see if they worked. The one that did ultimately work was Ross' Urus. 

Police eventually located the suspects cruising in the vehicle and a chase commenced. They ultimately lost control of the Urus and crashed it into the side of a building. 

"Completely totaled," Ross said in the video. "The cop was like, 'Yeah, we found your car, but it's completely totaled.' The rims popped in the back, the front is completely smashed, the back is smashed, windows are done. So now I'm pretty much without a car."

"I'm so sick right now, y'all," he added. "I'm so, so goddamn sick. That was the greatest car I've ever had. And now it's gone. Gone. Can't even get it back."

Ross, 30, appeared in 46 games for the Magic this past season, averaging 15.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from three. 

As for replacing the vehicle, well, Ross can't replicate the emotional connection he had to his Urus. But with two years left on the four-year, $54 million deal he signed with Orlando, he should be able to treat himself to something nice as a consolation. 

Boston Celtics swingman Evan Fournier won't be out for revenge Wednesday when he plays his former team the Orlando Magic.

"I had a great time in Orlando, but I moved on," Fournier told reporters Tuesday. "Playing for the Celtics is a great opportunity and I’m fully here. I don’t have any extra motivation or anything to play against the Magic. I just want to get the win and go home."

The 28-year-old seemingly wouldn't have much reason to be bitter toward the Magic.

ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported in March that Fournier had indicated to Orlando he didn't intend to re-sign with the team in the offseason. The Frenchman refuted the rumor:

Regardless, he wound up on a playoff contender ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, while the Magic have been eliminated from postseason contention.

Fournier's Celtics run hasn't gone according to plan. He admitted Sunday he continues to feel the effects of having COVID-19 in April. Because of the time he missed with the virus, Wednesday will be just his 11th appearance for Boston since joining the team March 25.

Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford is no longer in the league's health and safety protocols and will return Wednesday, the team announced (h/t ESPN).  

Clifford, who returned two positive tests for COVID-19 at the end of April, has been absent for five games and will miss Monday's meeting with the Detroit Pistons since he did not travel with the team. 

Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin has stepped up in his absence. The Magic went 3-2 without Clifford, though they are eliminated from the postseason at 20-44 with eight games to play.

Clifford, 59, has received both doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine but is not yet considered fully vaccinated because it has not been two weeks since he received the second dose. His second shot came on April 22, the day of his first positive test, according to ESPN.

After testing negative twice on April 23, he tested positive again on April 24. 

He told reporters that he felt fine amid the diagnosis.

“I feel comfortable that I’m not really in danger,” Clifford said. “That with the fact that my temperature, my oxidation numbers, how I feel, I have no side effects right now, I’m very comfortable with that.”

Clifford has previously been sidelined with health issues. In 2017-18, sleep deprivation forced him to miss 21 games with the Charlotte Hornets, and he left a March 2020 game because of dehydration-induced dizziness, per ESPN. 

Orlando Magic guard Devin Cannady was stretchered off the floor in a scary scene during Sunday's game against the Indiana Pacers.

The Magic said the undrafted rookie out of Princeton suffered an open fracture of his right ankle and will undergo surgery.

Cannady appeared in seven games this season prior to Sunday's contest and is best known for his play in the G League when he was the G League playoffs MVP.

The 24-year-old averaged 4.9 points and 0.7 rebounds per game in the first seven games of his NBA career while shooting 39.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three-point range.

Cannady has been in and out of the building for the Magic this season, as they signed him as a free agent on Nov. 27 but waived him on Dec. 19 after he appeared in two preseason games. He also signed a 10-day contract with the team on April 6, was released from that contract on April 13 and then signed a two-way deal with Orlando on April 16.

He surely impressed the Magic when he finished with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists as the G League Final MVP on March 11 while leading Lakeland to a victory over Delaware.

Orlando is just 18-41 this season.

Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday night and is unlikely to coach Sunday against the Indiana Pacers.

Clifford, who has been vaccinated, said he's asymptomatic and two subsequent tests Friday returned negative results. He took another test Saturday and will have one more Sunday morning. 

Should the 59-year-old remain unable to join his team against the Pacers, he said assistant Tyrone Corbin would take over on an interim basis. Corbin was the full-time head coach of the Utah Jazz from 2011-14 and led the Sacramento Kings on an interim basis during the 2014-15 season. The former NBA small forward has a 119-167 coaching record.

Clifford told reporters one of the officials in the team's game Tuesday in Atlanta tested positive as well, placing the Magic in the league's enhanced protocol. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted a small percentage of people who are fully vaccinated can still contract the virus. However, the vaccine is likely to decrease the severity of symptoms. 

"Even though a small percentage of fully vaccinated people will get sick, vaccination will protect most people from getting sick," The CDC announced. "There also is some evidence that vaccination may make illness less severe in people who get vaccinated but still get sick. Despite this, some fully vaccinated people will still be hospitalized and die. However, the overall risk of hospitalization and death among fully vaccinated people will be much lower than among people with similar risk factors who are not vaccinated."

Otto Porter Jr. has reportedly had no discussions about a contract buyout with the Orlando Magic since coming over from the Chicago Bulls in a deadline-day trade, per Marc Stein of the New York Times.

The forward also didn't discuss a buyout with the Bulls.

Porter Jr. has a $28.5 million salary in 2020-21 as the final year of the initial four-year contract signed as a member of the Washington Wizards. He is set to hit free agency in the offseason.

The 27-year-old appeared in three games with Orlando, averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds, but is set to miss his fourth straight game Friday due to foot pain.

With a 17-34 record, Orlando has little incentive to push Porter Jr. back onto the floor. The squad seems ready to finish the year giving playing time to younger players like Wendell Carter and Chuma Okeke.

Meanwhile, the missed time has become a theme for Porter Jr., who has only played 28 games all season while missing much of the first half of the year due to a back injury. He was limited to just 14 games in 2019-20.

Buyouts have become a common practice for rebuilding teams looking to move on from veterans, including Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond and LaMarcus Aldridge this season. Each of these players landed with contenders and have a chance to earn a title after beginning the season with struggling teams.

Porter Jr., who hasn't appeared in the playoffs since 2018, could also benefit from a move to a better team. It however appears that he will remain with the Magic through the end of the season and hope for the best on the open market.

The Orlando Magic waived guard Jeff Teague on Saturday, two days after he was acquired in a trade with the Boston Celtics.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported the news, which was expected at the time of the trade. The Celtics sent Teague and two second-round picks to the Magic in exchange for Evan Fournier before Thursday's deadline.

Teague, 32, averaged 6.9 points and 2.1 assists in 34 games this season for the Celtics. The Magic had little use for the veteran guard as they begin a full-fledged rebuild after trading Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic at the deadline.

Teague should be able to find a rotation spot with a team in need of a backup guard once he hits the open market. While he's nowhere close to the level of player he was during his prime in Atlanta, Teague still knocked down 46.4 percent of his threes on limited attempts in Boston and is a low-turnover option at point guard.

Several teams, many of which are on the lower end of playoff competition, could look at Teague as an option if they miss out on other names about to be bought out. 

The Orlando Magic plan to keep the recently acquired Otto Porter Jr. despite "multiple teams" eyeing the forward in the event of a buyout, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported earlier Thursday that Orlando had acquired Porter, Wendell Carter Jr. and two first-round picks in exchange for Nikola Vucevic and Al-Farouq Aminu.

After exercising his $28,489,239 player option during the offseason, Porter is set to become a free agent after this season.

The 27-year-old has averaged 9.9 points on 44.1 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds for the Bulls this year. He is in his eighth NBA season.

The Washington Wizards selected Porter with the third overall pick of the 2013 NBA draft. He played five-plus seasons in the nation's capital before being traded to Chicago in Feb. 2019.

Injuries have kept the Georgetown alum off the floor more often than not since then. A foot ailment sidelined him for 51 games in the 2019-20 season, and he recently missed 15 games as he dealt with a back injury.

Porter has showcased what he could do when healthy for Chicago, averaging 17.5 points on 48.3 percent shooting and 5.5 rebounds during the 2018-19 season after the trade.

Now, we'll see if he can return to that form in Orlando, which marks Porter's third pro team.