After experiencing an exciting NBA offseason filled with plenty of key questions and signings, the Orlando Magic have now set their sights on the 2022-2023 NBA season. With this said, the 2022-2023 Season will be very pivotal for Orlando, as the Magic are looking to return to the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. Furthermore, many of Orlando’s players have a lot to gain or lose during the upcoming season. The biggest factor that the players may gain or lose is playing time in Orlando’s rotation.
After signing former Undrafted Free Agents Zavier Simpson and Drake Jefferies to Exhibit Ten Contracts, the Magic now have twenty 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 fifteen players on standard contracts (plus a pair of two-way players) before the 2022-2023 NBA regular season starts in October. As a result, poor play from these three players may result in the Magic parting ways with them during the 2022-2023 NBA season.
SF/PF Jonathan Isaac
Since being drafted by Orlando in the 2017 NBA Draft, Isaac has quickly become one of the NBA’s premier two-way wings, thanks to his immense defensive talent and three-level scoring. In 136 career NBA games (106 starts) with the Magic, Isaac has averaged 9.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.1 APG while shooting 43.5% from the field, 33.0% from three-point range, and 79.7% from the free-throw line. There’s no doubt that scoring isn’t one of Isaac’s strong suits, but his defensive prowess makes up for his offensive shortcomings.
In addition to recording 145 total steals (1.1 SPG) and 206 total blocks (1.5 BPG) throughout his NBA career, Isaac has also accumulated 5.8 Defensive Win Shares (DWS) and 1.8 Defensive Box Plus/Minus. At 6’11” and 230 pounds, Isaac’s defensive dominance shouldn’t come as a surprise, as his ability to defend any player on the floor has made Isaac a fantastic defender on the wing. As a result of this, many expected Isaac to be the face of the franchise in Orlando, but injuries have quickly derailed that plan.
Since graduating from Florida State University (FSU) and entering the NBA in 2017-2018, Isaac has missed 255 total games, due to numerous injuries. On January 1st, 2020, Isaac suffered a sprain and a bad bone bruise against Washington, which would have kept Isaac out for the remainder of the season, except that the Covid-19 pandemic pushed the remainder of the season back to late July and allowed Isaac to return to the court. Just two games into his return, Isaac was on the floor once again, clutching his knee during a game against Sacramento. This time, Isaac had torn his ACL, an injury that has kept him out for two full seasons.
“It’s easy to forget how good he was, and how much they were planning to build around him,” one Eastern Conference General Manager said. “I think they will want to get him back on the floor and see how he fits or at least build up some value if they want to trade him. They could do pretty well in a trade, most likely, if he is involved. He is a good piece because of his contract.”
PG/SG Jalen Suggs
Just twelve months ago, Suggs appeared to be a key cornerstone in Orlando after the Magic selected him with the No. 5 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. After enduring a turbulent rookie season filled with inconsistency and injuries, Suggs’ future in Orlando seems to be in flux, and is in need of a bounceback season this year. From a statistical perspective, Suggs’ rookie season wasn’t bad, as the former Gonzaga Standout averaged 27.2 MPG, 11.8 PPG (Eighth among rookies), 3.6 RPG, and 4.4 APG (Third among rookies) while shooting 44.3% on two-point attempts and 77.3% from the free-throw line in 48 games.
Furthermore, Suggs made major strides as a defender this season when compared to his time in college. In addition to recording 59 total steals (1.2 SPG), Suggs posted the third-best defensive field goal percentage (43.5%) among all rookies last season, only behind Sacramento’s Davion Mitchell (43.0%) and fellow teammate Franz Wagner (43.2%). Suggs did this despite defending the most electric and dynamic guards in the NBA, such as Detroit’s Cade Cunningham (0-7), Philadelphia’s James Harden (0-6), Minnesota’s D’Angelo Russell (1-5), New York’s RJ Barrett (1-5), Charlotte’s Lamelo Ball (3-9), and Cleveland’s Darius Garland (3-10).
In spite of this, Suggs’ rookie season was still underwhelming, to say the least. This is largely attributed to Suggs’ horrible three-point shooting, as he made just 21.4% of his three-point attempts last season. When Suggs was selected by Orlando in the 2021 Draft, he was thought to provide the Magic with a reliable shooting touch, after going 33.7% from downtown in his lone season at Gonzaga. There’s no doubt that Suggs has good shooting form, but he still needs to improve his shooting touch and balance.
Likewise, committing unnecessary turnovers and fouls were major issues for Suggs. In fact, Suggs committed a staggering 143 turnovers (3.0 TPG) and 142 fouls (3.0 FPG) last season, both of which were the third-worst marks among all 2021-2022 rookies. As previously mentioned, health is a significant concern for Suggs, as he missed 34 regular-season games due to a sprained thumb and multiple lower-body injuries.
Although it’s unlikely that Orlando would part ways with Suggs after just one season with the team, the Magic already have a plethora of young guards such as Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, and RJ Hampton, along with veterans Terrence Ross and Gary Harris. Inside of Suggs’ four-year, $29.9 Million Rookie Contract, Orlando has Team Options in the 2023-2024 and the 2024-2025 seasons, so the Magic do have the flexibility to let Suggs leave before his contract expires in the 2025-2026 season. If Suggs is able to fix these issues and concerns in his sophomore season, then there will be no concerns regarding Suggs’ future in Orlando.
PG/SG R.J. Hampton
Similar to Suggs, Hampton is a young and promising guard but carries his own issues and questions entering the 2022-2023 season. Since the Magic acquired Hampton from the Nuggets via the Aaron Gordon Trade, Hampton has played well despite a minuscule role, averaging 8.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 2.6 APG while shooting 40.3% from the field and 34.1% from three-point range in 90 career games. The majority of Hampton’s offensive success stems from his athleticism and ability to play fast in transition. It turns out that this has also become Hampton’s biggest weakness, as shown by his disappointing outing at Summer League.
In his two games at Summer League, Hampton averaged just 12.0 PPG, 2.0 APG, and 3.0 TPG while shooting 40.0% from the field and 0% from three-point range. Despite this being Hampton’s third career summer league appearance, Hampton didn’t look like an experienced player on the floor. Oftentimes, Hampton wound up looking like a player who was trying to prove himself. Simply put, Hampton didn’t seem like a player who was in command of his game or was beyond playing in Summer League.
Luckily for Orlando, Hampton’s current contract gives the Magic plenty of flexibility moving forward, similar to Isaac’s and Suggs’ contracts. Hampton’s rookie scale contract gives Orlando a Team Option for the 2022-2023 and the 2023-2024 NBA seasons. On October 5th, 2021, the Magic picked up Hampton’s $2.4 Million Option for the 2022-2023 season. Orlando still has a Team Option for Hampton worth $4.2 Million, but the Magic must pick up or decline the option by October 31st, 2022. After Hampton’s Team Option expires at the end of the 2023-2024 season, Hampton will enter Restricted Free Agency, with a qualifying offer worth ~$6.1 Million.
While Hampton has shown promising signs in limited playing time in Denver and Orlando, will the Magic invest so much future money into Hampton, who may remain the fourth or fifth option in the backcourt for Head Coach Jamahl Mosley? Only time will tell, but Orlando’s future plans with Hampton will be interesting, to say the least.
The Suggs take is bad you’re expecting too much out of a player year 2 when players like Butler took what? 3 years before they even started showing signs of star upside? Plethora of young guards or not none of them are as defensively gifted as Suggs is right now.
Hey Paul! Thank you for voicing your opinion on this topic. I understand that Suggs is just in his second year, but many (including myself) thought that Suggs was going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 scoring option in Orlando this season. After all, that’s why the Magic drafted Suggs at No. 5. In spite of this, Suggs was one of the three-point shooters not just in Orlando, but in the entire NBA. For a team like the Magic that already struggles at shooting the ball, Suggs’ shooting struggles are just the icing on the cake. I’ll admit, Suggs’ defense is solid, but I’m concerned about the number of fouls and turnovers he makes. As I said in the article, Orlando’s Front Office and Ownership haven’t been too patient with their young players in the past, as they traded Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo, and Domantis Sabonis all for washed-up veterans. For a team like Orlando that’s hungry to get back to relevancy, I could see them making a similar desperation move with Suggs if he doesn’t improve in his Second Season.