The Magic intend to sign point guard Jevon Carter for the rest of the season, agents Mark Bartelstein and Reggie Brown tell Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
Carter was cut by the Bulls earlier in the week in order to accommodate the acquisition of Dario Saric, the first of seven trades Chicago made between Sunday and Thursday. Having been placed on waivers five days ago, the 30-year-old guard went unclaimed on Tuesday and became an unrestricted free agent.
An eighth-year NBA veteran, Carter has appeared in 435 regular season games for Memphis, Phoenix, Brooklyn, Milwaukee, and Chicago since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2018. He had his best season in 2022/23 in Milwaukee, starting 39 of 81 games and averaging career highs in points (8.0), assists (2.4), and rebounds (2.5) per game.
That performance earned Carter a three-year, $19.5MM deal with Chicago that summer, but he ended up playing a limited role in a crowded Bulls backcourt. In 23 games (11.0 MPG) this season, he scored 5.4 PPG on .398/.410/1.000 shooting.
The Magic’s lone move at this week’s trade deadline was to send Tyus Jones and his $7MM salary to Charlotte along with a pair of second-round picks. That move allowed Orlando to duck below the luxury tax line but also removed a veteran point guard from the roster, so adding Carter will help fill a hole on the depth chart.
As a result of the Jones trade, the Magic moved approximately $1.4MM below the tax threshold and opened up a second spot on their 15-man roster. Carter will fill one of those two openings and – if he officially signs on Friday – would carry a prorated minimum-salary cap hit of $871K. That will allow Orlando to stay out of the tax and potentially sign a 15th man later in the season.
While Carter’s cap hit will be $871K, his rest-of-season salary will be approximately $1.17MM, with the NBA making up the gap between the two figures.
Carter is a total pro and didn’t complain at all when Donovan would sit him for long periods of time. Even when he should have. He’s a pretty good shooter and competes on defense so glad he got a job with somebody.
Well, damn. It says a lot when almost the entire team is long gone except for a certain, $90-million horribly-averaging man out there… But oh well, it was bound to happen.