ORLANDO, FLA- As one of the few teams in the NBA with projected positive salary cap space, the Orlando Magic are expected to spend most of it in free agency. It’s important to note that Orlando can choose to spend this money signing new players or resigning players that are currently on their roster. Even though it’s important for the Magic to spend money on both groups of players, Orlando should certainly focus on the latter. Similar to the 2021 and 2022 offseasons, Orlando doesn’t have many players entering free agency this offseason, as just four of their sixteen players are slated to do so. With this said, Orlando will have to make some crucial decisions regarding some of the players currently on their roster. From Moritz Wagner to Admiral Schofield, here is every free agent that the Orlando Magic can resign during the 2023 NBA Offseason.
Moritz Wagner, Center, Unrestricted Free Agent
Upon signing with Orlando on April 27th, 2021, Wagner was expected to serve as extra depth behind Jonathan Isaac, Wendell Carter Jr., and Mo Bamba in the frontcourt. Due to the extended absences of Isaac and Carter Jr. early in the 2022-2023 season, Wagner was trusted into the Magic’s starting lineup, which resulted in a career year for Wagner. In 57 games (18 starts), Wagner averaged 19.5 MPG, 10.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 0.6 SPG while shooting 50.0% from the field, all career-highs. In addition to this, Wagner recorded 2.1 offensive win shares (second on team), 1.3 defensive win shares (seventh on team), and 3.4 total win shares (third on team), all career-best for the former No. 25 pick in the 2018 NBA draft. At 6’11” and 245 pounds, Wagner was a versatile two-way big that provided a unique ability to score at all three levels of the floor, something Isaac and Bamba both lacked. With the trade of Bamba to Los Angeles and Isaac’s ongoing injury issues, Wagner will certainly hold a significant role in Orlando’s frontcourt for the foreseeable future. With owning more than enough cap space and having Wagner’s bird rights, the Magic should have no issues in resigning Wagner this offseason.
Goga Bitadze, Center, Team Option
Even with the aforementioned emergence of Wagner, Orlando has still lacked severely lacked depth at the center position. Following the 2023 NBA trade deadline, Orlando decided to address this issue by signing Bitadze to a rest-of-season contract with Orlando, who was bought out by Indiana prior to his signing. In just 16 games with Orlando, Bitadze still had a solid impact as part of the Magic, averaging 14.6 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 1.3 APG while shooting 58.0% from the field and 66.7% from the free-throw line. Most notably, Bitadze recorded 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 6-9 (66.7%) shooting from the field in 20 minutes against Milwaukee, a telling sign of Bitadze’s future potential. At just 23 years old, Bitadze is set to enter the prime of his playing career, and won’t likely cost too much money to retain this offseason. While the financial details of Bitadze’s contract with Orlando weren’t disclosed, it was reported that the second year of Bitadze’s contract is a $1.3 million team option. With Wagner set to enter free agency, Bitadze wouldn’t be a bad fallback option if Wagner were to sign elsewhere, providing solid depth at center behind Carter Jr.
Michael Carter-Williams, Point/Shooting Guard, Team Option
Similar to Bitadze, Orlando used one of their other open roster spots to sign Carter-Williams, a seasoned eight-year NBA veteran. Following a sensational rookie season highlighted by winning the 2013-2014 Rookie of the Year Award, Carter-Williams failed to replicate his dynamic play, averaging just 23.3 MPG, 8.9 PPG, 4.0 RPG, and 3.9 APG, and 1.1 SPG on 40.0% shooting from the field over the next seven seasons. At 31 years old, Carter-Williams didn’t play a noticeable role following his signing with Orlando, playing in just three games with the Magic this season. Instead, Orlando opted to give Markelle Fultz (24 years old), Cole Anthony (22 years old), and Jalen Suggs (21 years old) the majority of playtime in their deep guard rotation. In reference to this, Orlando’s main goal in signing Carter-Williams wasn’t because of his production, but rather his veteran leadership and experience that he can provide amongst an extremely young roster. Due to this, Orlando exercised their $3.0 million team option on Carter-Williams’ contract for the 2023-2024 season.
Admiral Schofield, Small/Power Forward, Team Option
After resigning with Orlando on a two-way contract during the 2022 offseason, the Magic decided to give Schofield an assignment with Lakeland, Orlando’s G-League affiliate team. In seven games with Lakeland, Schofield averaged 25.4 MPG,18.1 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.7 APG while shooting 46.9% from the field and 38.6% from three-point range. Once Orlando parted ways with Patrick Beverley, Terrence Ross, and R.J. Hampton following the 2023 trade deadline, the Magic converted Schofiled’s two-way contract into a rest-of-the-season, contract, and has been a decent depth piece. For reference, Schofield averaged 11.9 MPG, 4.1 PPG, 1.7 RPG, and 0.8 APG on 46.4%/35.3%/90.5% shooting splits in 36 games. As it stands, Schofield’s contract has a $1.9 million team option for the 2023-2024 season, so retaining the 6’5″, 241-pound forward makes sense for Orlando from a financial standpoint.