Latest Draft News
- The Magic held workouts today for Diamond Stone (Maryland), Ben Bentil (Providence) and Quenton DeCosey (Temple), plus, the team will host Malachi Richardson (Syracuse) on Saturday, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays (Twitter link).
- Also working out for the Magic today was former Oklahoma point guard Isaiah Cousins, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv relays (via Twitter).
Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Orlando Magic
The Magic’s rebuilding process hasn’t exactly resulted in a Sixers-esque bottoming out, but it has probably moved a bit slower than the franchise would have liked. After winning just 20 games in 2012/13, the team has steadily increased its win total in each of the three seasons since then, but still only managed a 35-47 mark this past year.
With some young cornerstones in place and others nearing the end of their rookie contracts, it will be interesting to see how Orlando approaches the offseason. The club only has about $36MM in guaranteed salary on its books and has expressed a willingness to be active in free agency, and adding two or three solid players to this core could result in a postseason berth. But after such a lengthy rebuilding process, the Magic shouldn’t rush the final steps — exercising patience and exploring possible trades involving their higher-paid players may postpone Orlando’s return to playoff contention by another year or two, but it might also make more sense than abruptly shifting to win-now mode.
See how Orlando’s cap situation looks for 2016/17 as Hoops Rumors continues its offseason salary cap digest series.
Guaranteed Salary
- Nikola Vucevic ($11,750,000)
- Victor Oladipo ($6,552,960)
- C.J. Watson ($5,000,000)
- Aaron Gordon ($4,351,320)
- Mario Hezonja ($3,909,840)
- Elfrid Payton ($2,613,600)
- Shabazz Napier ($1,350,120)
- Ersan Ilyasova ($400,000) — Partial guarantee; non-guaranteed portion listed below1
- Total: $35,927,840
Player Options
- None
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Ersan Ilyasova ($8,000,000) — Partial guarantee; guaranteed portion listed above1
- Devyn Marble ($980,431)
- Total: $8,980,431
Restricted Free Agents (Qualifying Offers/Cap Holds)
- Evan Fournier ($4,433,683/$5,720,513)
- Andrew Nicholson ($3,394,726/$5,951,483)
- Dewayne Dedmon ($1,215,696/$1,215,696)
- Totals: $9,044,105/$12,887,692
Unrestricted Free Agents (Cap Holds)
- Brandon Jennings ($12,516,746)
- Jason Smith ($5,160,000)
- Total: $17,676,746
Other Cap Holds
- No. 11 pick ($2,033,500)
- Fran Vazquez ($2,033,500)
- Total: $4,067,000
Projected Salary Cap: $92,000,000
Footnotes:
- Ilyasova’s full $8,400,000 salary will become guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on July 1st.
The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.
Draft Notes: Bender, Labissiere, Pelicans
Dragan Bender has workouts scheduled with the Celtics, Suns and Wolves, international journalist David Pick passes along via Twitter. Pick notes that these workouts will take place in the United States. Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors named the Suns as the team most likely to select Bender in his Prospect Profile.
Here’s more from the upcoming draft:
- Skal Labissiere met with the Magic and the Rockets after his pro day workout and nearly every top-10 team has scheduled a workout with him, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders tweets.
- Labissiere says being physical will be a major part of his game in the league, Kennedy relays via Twitter. “I’m back to 220 lbs. I take it very seriously. Getting stronger will help me,” the former Wildcat said. Will Joseph of Hoops Rumors listed strength and toughness as an area where Labissiere needs to improve in his Prospect Profile of the center.
- In addition to the No.6 overall pick, the Pelicans have the 39th and 40th pick in the draft and John Reid of The Times Picayune examines several prospects whom could be a nice fit for New Orleans in the second round. Anthony Barber of North Carolina State and DeAndre Bembry of St. Joe’s are among the players he mentions.
Ben Bentil To Work Out For Magic
- Former Providence forward Ben Bentil will work out for the Magic this Friday after having worked out for the Hawks and Bulls, a source tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
And-Ones: Kalamian, Labissiere, Van Gundy, Udoh
Raptors assistant Rex Kalamian has turned down offers from the Rockets and Wizards and will remain in Toronto, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Kalamian just completed his first season with the Raptors after six years in Oklahoma City. A 20-year veteran, he has also been on the bench with the Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves and Kings.
There’s more news from around the basketball world:
- Kentucky big man Skal Labissiere made an impression at the Relativity Sports Pro Day this afternoon at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. Labissière now has workouts and meetings scheduled with nearly every team that owns a top 10 draft pick.
- This marks Jeff Van Gundy’s 10th year as a broadcaster for the NBA Finals, and it seems unlikely he will ever return to coaching, writes Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. Van Gundy was considered as a candidate for the Rockets‘ job that eventually went to Mike D’Antoni, but he and the team never formally discussed the position. After a decade away from coaching, Van Gundy admits a return would be difficult. “You don’t have the same feel for guys that you didn’t coach against or coach yourself. It’s not the same,” he said. “You can watch the games on TV, you can study in that way, but if you’re not competing against people, it’s hard to know as much as you do when you’re coaching.”
- Isaiah Cousins will work out for the Clippers on Monday and the Lakers on Wednesday, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Zagoria hears the Oklahoma point guard’s “stock is rising.”
- Iona guard A.J. English has workouts set for this week with the Bulls, Magic and Raptors, Zagoria tweets.
- Former NBA player Ekpe Udoh is free to leave his Fenerbahce team in Turkey, according to Orazio Cauchi of Sportando. The 29-year-old Udoh’s last NBA experience came in 2014/15 with the Clippers. “We will keep the roster intact. Only Udoh is waiting for the NBA,” said Fenerbahce president Aziz Yildirim. “He was afraid because of the attack which happened in Antep. There are 51% chances for him to stay. We will add two more players to that roster and we will keep all others.”
Draft Notes: Zizic, Ellis, English
Ante Zizic will go straight to the NBA upon being drafted as opposed to becoming a draft-and-stash prospect and playing overseas, international journalist David Pick reports (Twitter link). The 6’11” center is the 21st best prospect according to Chad Ford of ESPN.com and Jonathan Givony of Draft Express.
Here’s more on the upcoming draft:
- Perry Ellis (Kansas) has worked out for the Bucks, Suns and Spurs in addition to participating in a Chicago pro day, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders passes along (Twitter links). Ellis will also work out for the Hawks, Kennedy adds.
- A.J. English (Iona) will work out for the Bulls, Magic and Raptors this week, Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reports (Twitter link).
- DeAndre’ Bembry (St. Joe’s) worked out for the Warriors and the Clippers today, Zagoria tweets.
Magic Open To Moving Lottery Pick
- League sources tell Deveney that, while the 76ers and Lakers are expected to hang onto the top two picks in the draft, six other lottery teams may be looking to deal. The Timberwolves (No. 5), Raptors (No. 9), Bucks (No. 10), Magic (No. 11), Jazz (No. 12), and Suns (No. 13) are all believed to be open to trades involving their picks, per Deveney. Phoenix also holds the No. 4 overall selection, but likely wouldn’t want to move that one.
[SOURCE LINK]
Knicks Hire Jeff Hornacek
JUNE 2, 10:04am: The Knicks have officially confirmed the hiring of Hornacek as their new head coach (Twitter link).
JUNE 1, 10:50pm: The pact will pay Hornacek $15MM over three seasons, Ian Begley of ESPN.com confirms.
2:17pm: Nearly two weeks after first being offered the team’s head coaching job, Hornacek has reached an agreement on a three-year contract with the Knicks, sources tell Wojnarowski. A news conference to formally announce the hiring is expected to happen later this week.
MAY 19, 4:35pm: The Knicks have formally offered the job to Hornacek and the two sides are engaged in contract discussions regarding the length of the deal and annual salary, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical reports (Twitter links).
MAY 18, 7:15pm: A source close to Hornacek confirms that negotiations are still ongoing and nothing has been finalized, tweets Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. Jackson has apparently decided to hire Hornacek, Isola adds, but no contract is in place (Twitter link). Berman describes the process as “mutual interest,” but in the “very, very early stages.” (Twitter link).
6:43pm: Jeff Hornacek will be the next coach of the New York Knicks, tweets Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. Hornacek, who was fired by the Suns in February, became a candidate late in the process after team president Phil Jackson reportedly pushed to keep interim coach Kurt Rambis.
Former Cavaliers coach David Blatt and recently fired Pacers coach Frank Vogel were believed to be the other finalists for the position. The Knicks didn’t contact Hornacek about the job until three weeks after the search began, tweets Marc Berman of The New York Post.
The deal is not fully complete, Beck cautions, though a source tells him it’s “as close as humanly possible.” (Twitter link). Barring any last-minute complications, a formal announcement is expected soon.
Hornacek doesn’t fit the profile that would be expected of a Jackson coach. He’s not part of Jackson’s coaching lineage and he has never run the triangle. The hiring suggests that Jackson’s influence with owner James Dolan might be waning.
Hornacek comes to New York with a 101-112 career coaching record that he compiled in two and a half seasons in Phoenix. His only other coaching experience came in three years as an assistant in Utah. He had also talked to the Rockets about their head coaching position and was considered to be a candidate for the openings in Memphis and Orlando. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported this week that the Warriors had “strong interest” in hiring Hornacek as a lead assistant.
2015/16 D-League Usage Report: Magic
The NBA’s relationship with the D-League continues to grow, and this season a total of 19 NBA teams had one-to-one affiliations with D-League clubs. Those NBA organizations without their own affiliates were required to assign players to D-League clubs associated with other NBA franchises. D-League teams could volunteer to take on the assigned players, and if no volunteers emerged, the players were assigned at random.
This significant change from the 2014/15 season came about after the Pacers purchased the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and turned them into their one-to-one partner for the 2015/16 campaign. Other NBA teams have interest in following suit in the years ahead, and the NBA’s ultimate goal for the D-League is for all 30 NBA franchises to have their own D-League squads. You can view the complete list of D-League affiliates here.
We at Hoops Rumors are recapping the D-League-related activity for the 2015/16 campaign for each team and we’ll continue with the Orlando Magic, whose D-League affiliate is the Erie BayHawks:
The Magic made 3 assignments for the 2015/16 season, sending two players to the D-League for a total of 42 days. Listed below are all the assignments and recalls made by Orlando for the 2015/16 campaign:
- November 30th: Assigned Devyn Marble (1st) — Recalled December 23rd
- January 1st: Assigned Devyn Marble (2nd) — Recalled January 17th
- March 5th: Assigned Dewayne Dedmon (1st) —Recalled March 7th
Here’s how Orlando’s players performed while on assignment to the D-League this season:
- Dewayne Dedmon: In one appearance Dedmon scored 17 points, grabbed 22 rebounds and blocked three shots. He connected on seven of his 13 field goal attempts.
- Devyn Marble: In 14 games he averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 30.9 minutes per outing. His shooting line was .398/.353/.795.
Magic Set To Delve Into Free Agency
The Magic‘s in-season moves in 2015/16 signaled that the team was prepared to be ambitious in free agency this summer, and new head coach Frank Vogel didn’t shy away from that topic in his introductory news conference, writes Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. “We’ve got cap flexibility to add a key veteran or two or three,” Vogel said.
In the view of Magic CEO Alex Martins, Orlando’s rebuilding process has been leading up to this phase, which will revolve around adding veterans to the club’s young core. “We always believed that this summer and next summer were going to be the two summers of free agency for us that we needed to focus on after developing our young guys,” Martins said. Still, as Robbins details, the Magic won’t be the only NBA team armed with plenty of cap space this summer, and it remains to be seen whether Orlando will be able to attract the sort of veteran free agents it wants to add.