Orlando Magic Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Eastern Notes: Bane, Heat, Magic-Heat Rivalry, Bulls

August 19th, 2025 at 9:25pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Magic made one of the biggest moves of the offseason, trading multiple assets and veteran players to acquire Desmond Bane from the Grizzlies. John Schuhmann, the senior stats analyst for NBA.com, examines how Bane can impact Orlando’s offense.

Using a film study approach, Schuhmann lays out Bane’s strengths and details how he can blend with Orlando’s roster. Bane should help the Magic get more easy buckets on the break, increase off-the-ball movement and provide more off-the-catch opportunities for star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson takes a deep dive into the Heat‘s asset management over the past decade, breaking them down into regrettable, commendable and defensible decisions. Jackson notes that the reason why the franchise hasn’t hoarded first-round picks is that it would go against its philosophy of never tanking or intentionally taking steps back with the hope of a brighter future. The Heat’s yearly goals also include trying to win as many games as possible every season, even if the roster isn’t championship-caliber.
Orlando Sentinel Mike Bianchi opines that the Magic must resurrect their rivalry with the Heat. The Southeast Division foes play against each other on opening night and Bianchi urges Orlando fans to muster up passion and hatred toward their in-state opponent.
The Bulls have promoted Austin Dufault to director of player development and Isiah Price to coordinator of player development, K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network tweets. Dufault was an assistant coach with the Pistons from 2021-23.

Magic To Sign Lester Quinones To Exhibit 10 Contract

August 18th, 2025 at 2:44pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have agreed to a deal with free agent guard Lester Quinones, reports Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link). It will be a non-guaranteed Exhibit 10 contract, a league source tells Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

Quinones has appeared in 54 total NBA regular season games in three years since going undrafted out of Memphis in 2022. His best season came in 2023/24, when he averaged 4.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.6 minutes per night with a .364 3PT% in 37 outings for Golden State.

The 6’4″ guard began last season on a two-way contract with the Sixers, was waived in December, then finished the year with the Pelicans after signing a two-way deal in early March. That contract covered two seasons, but New Orleans waived Quinones last month.

Quinones only made 13 NBA appearances in 2024/25, but saw action in 41 total G League games for the Birmingham Squadron and Delaware Blue Coats. He put up impressive averages of 21.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per contest, though he struggled a bit with his shooting efficiency (.431/.331/.713) and turnovers (3.7 per game).

According to Scotto, Quinones will have an opportunity to compete for a roster spot or a two-way deal in Orlando. The latter is more likely than the former, given that the Magic are bumping right up against a first-apron hard cap and don’t have enough room to carry a 15th man into the season at the moment.

An Exhibit 10 contract can be converted to a two-way deal up until October 20. The Magic have one open two-way slot alongside Orlando Robinson and Jamal Cain. If Quinones is waived before the season, he could potentially join the Osceola Magic and earn an Exhibit 10 bonus worth up to $85,300, but Orlando’s NBAGL affiliate would need to acquire his returning rights.

NBA Teams Average 14.4 Back-To-Backs In 2025/26

August 15th, 2025 at 9:32am CST by Luke Adams

Five NBA teams will play a league-high 16 back-to-back sets during the 2025/26 regular season, while six clubs will have just 13 instances of back-to-back games on their schedules. The remaining 19 teams will play either 14 or 15 back-to-backs.

[RELATED: 2025/26 NBA Schedules By Team]

Those totals – along with an overall average of 14.4 back-to-backs per team – are about what we’ve come to expect in recent years.

Prior to the COVID-shortened seasons of 2019/20 and ’20/21, the NBA’s regular season consisted of 177 days, and the league had made a concerted effort to reduce instances of back-to-backs. When the league announced its initial schedule in ’19/20, its press release boasted that teams were averaging a record-low 12.4 back-to-backs that season, marking the fifth straight year in which that number had reached an all-time low.

However, since 2021/22, NBA regular seasons have spanned just 174 days, making it a little more difficult for schedule-makers to avoid back-to-back sets. The average number of back-to-backs per team is still well below where it once was (teams averaged 19.3 in 2024/25), but it’s no longer at a record low.

Here are the back-to-backs by team in 2025/26:

Charlotte Hornets: 16
Denver Nuggets: 16
Philadelphia 76ers: 16
Phoenix Suns: 16
Washington Wizards: 16
Golden State Warriors: 15
Los Angeles Clippers: 15
Miami Heat: 15
New Orleans Pelicans: 15
Portland Trail Blazers: 15
Toronto Raptors: 15
Utah Jazz: 15
Brooklyn Nets: 14
Cleveland Cavaliers: 14
Dallas Mavericks: 14
Detroit Pistons: 14
Houston Rockets: 14
Los Angeles Lakers: 14
Memphis Grizzlies: 14
Milwaukee Bucks: 14
New York Knicks: 14
Orlando Magic: 14
Sacramento Kings: 14
San Antonio Spurs: 14
Atlanta Hawks: 13
Boston Celtics: 13
Chicago Bulls: 13
Indiana Pacers: 13
Minnesota Timberwolves: 13
Oklahoma City Thunder: 13

Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, Thunder Get Most Nationally Televised Games For 2025/26

August 15th, 2025 at 7:51am CST by Luke Adams

Having gone from two national broadcasting partners (ABC/ESPN and TNT) to three (ABC/ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime) ahead of the 2025/26 season, the NBA’s schedule will feature a significant increase in nationally televised games.

When the league unveiled its full regular season schedule on Thursday, it announced 237 nationally televised regular season matchups, along with the seven knockout round NBA Cup games whose participants aren’t yet known, for a total of 244 contests.

As Colin Salao of Front Office Sports writes in a subscriber story, the total number of nationally televised games is up by more than 40% from last season, when the league’s partners nationally broadcasted a total of 172 games.

Salao also points out that beginning in the middle of the season, when the NFL schedule starts winding down, the NBA will have national games every day of the week: Peacock on Monday; NBC/Peacock on Tuesday; ESPN on Wednesday; Amazon on Thursday; Amazon and ESPN on Friday; Amazon and ABC on Saturday; and ABC, NBC, and Peacock on Sunday.

Every team will be featured at least twice on the national TV broadcast schedule, with the Warriors, Lakers, Knicks, and defending champion Thunder leading the way with 34 appearances apiece.

Here’s the full breakdown of nationally televised games by team:

Golden State Warriors: 34
Los Angeles Lakers: 34
New York Knicks: 34
Oklahoma City Thunder: 34
Houston Rockets: 28
Minnesota Timberwolves: 28
Denver Nuggets: 26
Boston Celtics: 25
Cleveland Cavaliers: 24
Dallas Mavericks: 23
San Antonio Spurs: 22
Los Angeles Clippers: 21
Milwaukee Bucks: 18
Detroit Pistons: 16
Orlando Magic: 14
Philadelphia 76ers: 14
Atlanta Hawks: 13
Memphis Grizzlies: 10
Indiana Pacers: 9
Phoenix Suns: 9
Sacramento Kings: 9
Portland Trail Blazers: 8
Miami Heat: 5
Charlotte Hornets: 3
Chicago Bulls: 3
Brooklyn Nets: 2
New Orleans Pelicans: 2
Toronto Raptors: 2
Utah Jazz: 2
Washington Wizards: 2

Since nationally televised matchups are subject to change, there’s no guarantee that every team will ultimately end up being featured multiple times on the national stage.

As Salao points out, all 30 clubs showed up at least once on the national broadcast schedule initially announced for 2024/25, but the Wizards didn’t get any nationally televised games after having their lone contest replaced by a showdown between Cleveland and Oklahoma City.

Additionally, not every team this season will have a game aired on a traditional, non-streaming network — the only games featuring the Raptors or Wizards will air on either Peacock or Amazon Prime.

Heat Notes: Jones, Jakucionis, Burks, Powell, Preseason

August 12th, 2025 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Kai Jones‘ workout with the Heat on Monday wasn’t just a one-day affair. According to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, the free agent center is actually spending four days working out at Kaseya Center this week as the club considers whether to sign him. No decisions have been made yet, but a source tells Jackson that the Heat have “long shown an appreciation” for the former first-rounder’s skill set.

The Heat have 14 players on standard contracts and could make Jones their 15th man, but the club is just a little over the luxury tax line and may not fill that final roster spot to open the season. The big man is also ineligible to receive a two-way contract.

While Jackson suggests an Exhibit 10 deal could be a possibility, Jones has reportedly drawn serious interest from the Italian team Virtus Bologna, who could offer him guaranteed money and a more significant role, so it’s unclear if a non-guaranteed camp contract would appeal to the 24-year-old.

We have more on the Heat:

Within that same Herald story, Jackson spoke to a veteran Eastern Conference scout to get his take on the Heat’s place in the Eastern Conference hierarchy, their offseason acquisition of Norman Powell, what they can expect from Simone Fontecchio, and his impressions of first-round pick Kasparas Jakucionis. On that last subject, the scout wasn’t especially enthusiastic. “NBA people I talked to in Las Vegas were killing him, didn’t have anything nice to say about him,” the scout said of Jakucionis. “Quickness and shooting were my concern. Can he beat [skilled NBA players] off the dribble? He better be able to make shots. His play was disappointing, but I’m not ready to judge. He’s [very young at 19].”
While Alec Burks expressed interest at the end of last season in returning to the Heat, a reunion with the veteran guard no longer makes sense after the club added Powell and Fontecchio, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel (subscription required).
The Heat have no shortage of players benefiting from international competition this summer, with Powell, Fontecchio, Nikola Jovic, and Pelle Larsson all representing their national teams, as Winderman writes for The Sun Sentinel (subscription required). Powell led Jamaica to the two wins they needed in order to advance out of the World Cup pre-qualifying round before sitting out the third and final game of this competition window, Winderman adds (via Twitter).
The Heat and Magic announced on Tuesday that they’ll open their preseason with a game in San Juan, Puerto Rico on October 4. In total, the Heat will play six preseason games, as they outlined in a press release.
Heat Hall-of-Famers Dwyane Wade, Alonzo Mourning, and Pat Riley will be the presenters when longtime team owner Micky Arison is inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame next month, per a press release.

And-Ones: Dynasties, Wolves, Concern-O-Meter, Traded Picks

August 11th, 2025 at 5:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

It may seem like the Thunder have the makings of dynasty, but ESPN’s Tim Bontemps details why it’s tougher than ever to build a dominant team. He outlines how the tax aprons make it more difficult for teams to run it back with the same core of players and that roster mistakes can haunt contenders for several years.

“You have to be right on every decision,” one Western Conference scout told Bontemps. “Now, you have to look at things in not a one-year window, but a three-year window. You literally can’t mess anything up. It puts pressure on the organization to think differently and smartly to make sure you are best-positioned to make the right decisions.”

We have more from around the league:

Point guard Mike Conley will turn 38 before opening night and finding a suitable replacement could be difficult for the Timberwolves. Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report gets creative in an effort to solve that problem, proposing a four-team trade in which Minnesota winds up with Magic guard Anthony Black.
The Athletic’s Zach Harper provides his ratings for the ‘concern-o-meter’ regarding 10 potential red flags that have popped up around the league this offseason. Rating high on the ‘concern-o-meter’ is the demise of free agency, the moves made by the Pelicans and the continued health issues for the Sixers.
Speaking of the Pelicans, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports takes a look at every future traded first-rounder, ranking them from least valuable to most valuable. New Orleans’ unprotected 2026 pick, which its new front office dealt to the Hawks in a draft-night trade, is considered the most valuable among those picks. The Bucks‘ 2029 pick, which could go to either the Trail Blazers or Wizards, is ranked No. 2, followed by the 2027, ’29 and ’31 first-rounders the Suns dealt away.

Cole Anthony Excited To Play For Bucks After ‘Bittersweet’ Departure From Orlando

August 10th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Cole Anthony admits he’s having difficulty adjusting to the fact that he’s a former member of the Magic.

“I’ve literally said this to several people … I still feel like I’m on the Magic a little bit,” Anthony told Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Anthony spoke to Beede during a community appearance in Orlando. Anthony was dealt to the Grizzlies along with fellow guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and four future first-round picks in June in exchange for Desmond Bane.

His stay in Memphis was brief. He reached a buyout agreement with the Grizzlies, giving up $2MM of his $13.1MM expiring contract. He then signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum deal with the Bucks after clearing waivers.

“I remember that whole week, it was just crazy,” Anthony said. “I’ve been here five years, haven’t played for another team, was drafted here, so it’s something for me that definitely is bittersweet and I’m going to miss it.”

Anthony appeared in 32o regular season contests during his five seasons with Orlando. Last season, he appeared in 67 games (22 starts) and averaged 9.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 18.4 minutes per night.

He’ll now compete for backcourt minutes in Milwaukee.

“I look at it as a great opportunity to enter another team where they have a playoff pedigree and a championship pedigree,” Anthony said. “They’ve won a ‘chip there. I just want to get in there, contribute and do whatever I can for the team. I want to be a part of winning.”

Signed Second-Round Picks Now Count Against Cap

July 31st, 2025 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

Between July 1 and July 30 of each NBA league year, a player signed using the second-round pick exception doesn’t count toward his team’s cap, but that changes as of July 31. Beginning on Thursday, each of the second-rounders signed using that exception will begin carrying 2025/26 cap hits.

[RELATED: 2025 NBA Draft Pick Signings]

The effect this will have on teams around the league is negligible. The only club still operating below the cap is Brooklyn, but the Nets didn’t make any second-round picks in this year’s draft and haven’t signed any second-rounders that were stashed from previous drafts, so this change won’t reduce their cap room at all.

The Nets are far from the only NBA team that hasn’t signed a second-round pick to a standard contract this offseason. In fact, only 11 of the league’s 30 clubs have done so.

The Suns, Magic, Hornets (two picks), Sixers, Lakers, Pistons, and Pacers made the top eight selections of the 2025 second round and have signed those players to standard deals, while the Pelicans (No. 40 pick Micah Peavy), Kings (No. 42 pick Maxime Raynaud), Cavaliers (No. 49 pick Tyrese Proctor), and Hawks (2024’s No. 43 pick Nikola Djurisic) have joined them. The rest of this year’s second-rounders are either still unsigned, will play overseas, or agreed to two-way contracts.

None of those 11 teams surpassed an apron threshold as a result of their second-rounders’ new cap hits. For example, the Cavs would be well over the second apron with or without Proctor on their books.

Since none of those teams will see their ability to make other roster moves affected by the new cap charges, this is really more of a housekeeping note than anything.

Grizzlies, Magic To Play In Berlin, London In January

July 30th, 2025 at 8:10am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Grizzlies and Magic will play regular season games in Berlin on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, and London on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026, according to an NBA press release.

Additionally, the league announced that it will play regular season games in Manchester, England and Paris in 2027 and in Berlin and Paris in 2028. The dates and participating teams for the games in 2027 and 2028 will be announced prior to those seasons.

The NBA has not previously held a regular season contest in Germany. The matchup in England will be the league’s 10th regular-season game in London.

The 2027 contest in France will be the NBA’s sixth regular season game in Paris; the Manchester game will be the league’s first in the city.

The Grizzlies will be playing their fifth and sixth games in Europe, while the Magic will be playing its fourth and fifth games in Europe.

The game in Germany will be a special treat for the Magic’s brother duo of Franz Wagner and Moritz Wagner, who are natives of Berlin.

“To have the Orlando Magic and the NBA play a regular-season game in our hometown of Berlin means everything to us. Growing up here, we dreamed of moments like this,” they said, according to the press release. “It’s a huge honor to represent Berlin and Germany and show how much the city and country love basketball. We hope we can inspire kids the way we were inspired watching games from afar.”

Berlin, London, Paris, and Manchester are some of the cities that have been rumored as potential markets for the new European league that the NBA is exploring.

Magic Sign Jamal Cain To Two-Way Contract

July 25th, 2025 at 7:10pm CST by Eli Cohen

The Magic have signed free agent forward Jamal Cain to a two-way contract, reports Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel (via Twitter).

Orlando confirmed the signing in a press release (via Twitter).

Cain played 37 games for the Pelicans last season, averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds in 13.6 minutes per contest. His shooting line was .430/.325/.680.

The 26-year-old spent the previous two seasons with the Heat after going undrafted in the 2022. Over 44 games in Miami (11.3 MPG), Cain averaged 4.4 PPG and 2.0 RPG on .490/.353/.778 shooting splits.

After previously signing Orlando Robinson to a two-way deal, the Magic have one more two-way spot open. Orlando recently had Ethan Thompson on a two-way deal, but waived him earlier in the week.