Reviewing the Orlando Magic’s 2022 Offseason

After finishing the 2021-2022 NBA Season with a 22-60 record, the Orlando Magic quickly shifted their focus to the 2022 Offseason, which would be one of the most pivotal in recent memory. As a result of being stuck in constant mediocrity from 2018-2020, the Magic decided to fully embrace the rebuild by parting ways with their franchise cornerstones Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, and Evan Fournier at the 2021 Trade Deadline. Since trading Vucevic, Gordon, and Fournier, the Magic have posted a 28-82 record, but are progressing well through their rebuild. Part of this can be attributed to Orlando’s 2022 Offseason, where they have made pivotal moves in all areas of the offseason, including the NBA Draft and Free Agency. From the NBA Draft to the NBA Summer League, this is the complete recap of the Orlando Magic’s 2022 Offseason.

Review of Orlando’s 2022 Free Agency

Although the Magic entered the 2022 Offseason with $27 Million in Cap Space, Orlando decided to use most of their finances to re-sign their own players. Orlando’s first move of the free agency period was to re-sign Unrestricted Free Agent Mo Bamba to a two-year, $21 Million Contract. Despite declining Bamba’s $10.1 Qualifying Offer, Orlando remained interested in retaining Bamba, and was able to do so on a team-friendly deal. In 71 games (69 starts) with Orlando last season, Bamba averaged 10.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 1.7 BPG while shooting 48.0% from the field and 38.1% from downtown, all career-highs. After retaining Bamba, Orlando re-signed Veteran Guard Gary Harris to a two-year, $26 Million Contract, keeping the Veteran Guard in Orlando until the 2024 season. At 27 years old, Harris will provide a much-needed scoring boost off Orlando’s bench, as Harris averaged 10.9 PPG, 1.9 RPG, and 1.9 APG while shooting 41.6% from the field and 38.0% from downtown in 81 career games with Orlando.

Finally, Orlando decided to sign Restricted Free Agent Bol Bol to a two-year contract. Immediately after receiving Bol from Boston at the 2022 Trade Deadline, Bol underwent foot surgery, and sat out the remainder of the 2022 Season. Despite just playing in 53 career games due to nagging injuries, Bol’s future potential is undeniable, and is a low-risk, high-reward signing by Orlando. While the Magic certainly had the finances to go after some of the biggest NBA Free Agents this summer, resigning Bamba, Harris, and Bol to team-friendly contracts was intelligent, and may pay dividends in the near future for Orlando.

Review of Orlando’s 2022 NBA Draft Class

As a result of winning the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft from the Draft Lottery, there was plenty of speculation surrounding who Orlando would select with the first pick. Whether it was Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, or Auburn’s Jabari Smith, the Magic would be adding a transcendent talent to their roster. Ultimately, Orlando decided to draft Banchero with the No. 1 pick, who possessed one of the most balanced skill sets in this year’s draft class. Standing at 6’10” and 250 pounds, Banchero was a dominant two-way force at Duke, averaging 17.1 PPG (Sixth in ACC), 7.8 RPG (Fifth in ACC), 3.2 APG (16th in ACC), 1.1 SPG, and 0.9 BPG (13th in ACC) in 39 collegiate games. In addition to this, Banchero was also a very efficient shooter from the perimeter, as he shot 47.8% from the field and 33.3% from three-point range. Shortly after being drafted by Orlando, Banchero signed a four-year, $50 million rookie contract with the Magic, which includes team options for Orlando in the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 seasons.

In addition to Banchero, Orlando drafted Michigan’s Caleb Houstan with the No. 32 pick in the second round. Thanks to his 6’8″, 205-pound physique, Houstan is an athletic and skilled swingman that can score in a variety of ways. While at Michigan, Houstan displayed his well-rounded offense, averaging 10.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 1.4 APG in 34 games. Likewise, Houstan was a very efficient shooter for the Wolverines, shooting 38.4% from the field, 35.5% from three-point range, and 78.3% from the free-throw line. Houstan will obviously need to improve his defense, but his offensive skillset gives him the ability to outperform his draft position. Like Banchero, Houstan has signed his rookie contract with Orlando, which is a four-year, $8.2 million contract with a team option in the fourth year. With Banchero and Houstan now both in Orlando for the foreseeable future, the Magic will possess a much-improved offense, as shown by their measly team average of 104.2 PPG (29th in NBA).

Review of Orlando’s 2022 NBA Summer League

After solidifying their 2022-2023 roster through Free Agency and the Draft, Orlando and its young players traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2023 NBA Summer League. As a result of selecting Banchero with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, Orlando played against the No. 3 pick Jabari Smith and Houston in the tip-off game on July 7th. While it may have just been a meaningless exhibition game, Banchero had an impressive summer league debut, as he recorded 17 points, four rebounds, and six assists while shooting 5-12 (41.7%) from the field and 2-3 (66.7%) from three-point range, resulting in a 91-77 win for Orlando.

After beating Houston by 14 points in their summer league opener, Orlando began to prepare for their second summer league game against the 2022 No. 4 pick Keegan Murray and the Sacramento Kings. Despite blowing an 18-point lead in the Fourth Quarter, Orlando regained control and beat Sacramento 94-92 after Banchero fired a pass to Emanual Terry for the game-winning layup. Once again, Banchero had another sensational game, as he notched 23 points, six assists, four steals, and two blocks in 34 minutes, all team-highs. Furthermore, R.J. Hampton and Devin Cannady also had solid contributions in the win, as Hampton posted 13 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Cannady threw in 10 points.

With Orlando now 2-0 in Summer League play, the Magic decided to make a conservative adjustment to their roster by benching Banchero, R.J. Hampton, and Admiral Schofield for the rest of the 2023 Summer League. Orlando’s reasoning for this was to give an opportunity to some of the other players on the Magic’s summer league roster, while not risking a potentially serious injury to Banchero, Hampton, or Schofield. As a result, Orlando was expected to be blown out by the 2022 No. 2 pick Chet Holmgren and Oklahoma City, but the Magic stood their ground against the Thunder. After going on numerous runs to finally cut Oklahoma City’s lead to three points with 8.4 seconds left, Orlando had two shot attempts by Cannady and Aleem Ford to tie the game, but both clanked off the rim, giving the Thunder an 84-81 win over the Magic. The failed comeback attempt was a collective effort on Orlando’s part, led by Justin James’ team-high 16 points, Terry’s first summer league double-double (ten points, 14 rebounds), and Zavier Simpson’s eleven points, seven assists, and five steals.

After falling short by three points against Oklahoma City, Orlando was back in action on June 14th, where the Magic were set to face Sophmore Standout Quentin Grimes and the New York Knicks. Once again, Grimes proved to be the key difference for New York, as the Knicks beat the Magic 102-89 behind Grimes’ 22 points, six rebounds, and four assists while shooting 7-19 (36.8%) from the field. Grimes wasn’t the only Knick who performed well in the 13-point win, as Miles McBride scored a team-high 23 points in addition to five rebounds, five assists, and three steals while shooting 9-13 (69.2%) from the field. In spite of the loss, Orlando witnessed solid performances from their players, as Undrafted Free Agent Tommy Khuse recorded a game-high 25 points, four assists, and five steals, while shooting 11-15 (73.3%) from the field and 3-5 (60.0%) from three-point range in 27 minutes. Furthermore, James, Kwan Cheatham Jr, Simpson, and Jared Wilson-Frame all scored double-digit points in the loss.

As a result of going 2-2 in their four-game Summer League Schedule, Orlando (14th in SL Standings) was matched up with Detroit (2-2 SL, 17th in SL Standings) for their final summer league game. Unfortunately, the Magic were unable to beat the Pistons, as former Miami Hurricanes Guard Charlie Moore led Detroit to a 16-point win, 102-86. With the extended absences of Jaden Ivey and Saben Lee, Moore didn’t disappoint in his starting role, as he recorded 21 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and two steals while shooting 9-14 (64.3%) from the field and 3-5 (60.0%) from three-point range. Not to be outdone, fellow Pistons’ Guard Jules Bernard scored a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Stanley Umude (13 points, four rebounds) and Braxton Key (15 points, four rebounds) also notched double-digit points. Orlando’s James continued his impressive play in the summer league, as James recorded a team-high 18 points and five rebounds, while Khuse followed up with a 13-point, two-assist, two-steal game.

Review of Orlando’s Post Summer League Free Agency Signings

After the conclusion of the NBA 2K23 Summer League, the final piece of business for Orlando to complete was to fill out their roster. Following their trip to Las Vegas, Orlando had 17 total players under contract for the 2022-2023 NBA Season, but were three players under the NBA’s 20-player maximum who have signed or agreed to deals ahead of training camp. With this said, Orlando quickly signed Unrestricted Free Agent and Summer League Standout Kevon Harris to a Two-Way Contract on July 25th, while later inking Zavier Simpson and Drake Jefferies to Exhibit Ten Contracts, meeting the NBA’s 20-player roster limit. Entering Training Camp, this is Orlando’s current roster.

After signing Harris, Simpson, and Jefferies to their respective contracts, the Magic now have 20 total players under contract, with fifteen players on guaranteed standard contracts; one player on a fully non-guaranteed deal (Devin Cannady), and two players on two-way contracts (Admiral Schofield and Kevon Harris).

All thirty NBA teams must trim their rosters to 15 players on standard contracts (plus a pair of two-way players) before the 2022-2023 NBA regular season starts in October. For the players that are cut from the Magic’s roster, they’ll likely join Orlando’s G-League Affiliate Team, the Lakeland Magic.