Orlando Magic eat up limited space with Shelvin Mack signing

The Orlando Magic had limited cap space available to them entering the summer and ate into most of it with the signing of Shelvin Mack. Here is what is left.

The Orlando Magic entered this summer with little cap room and financial mobility. The team needed to make some big moves to improve on a 29-win season. They just did not have the salary cap room or ability to make room to make a big splash in free agency. If Orlando is going to make a big improvement it would have to come through trades.

The Magic could not stand completely still, though. There was no way. The team had to fill some vital needs and improve their roster in some way. Even if it was somewhat cosmetic.

The first strike in free agency came Friday when Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported the Magic had agreed to terms with free-agent point guard Shelvin Mack. The two-year, $12-million deal eats into a significant part of the Magic’s salary cap space (assuming the deal is evenly distributed). And according to Wojnarowski, the second year will be at least partially non-guaranteed.

That move faced some confusion. Orlando already has two point guards under contract. Elfrid Payton is finishing up his rookie contract. D.J. Augustin still has three more years at $7.25 million per year on his contract. So the Magic have now committed another roughly $6 million this year on this position.

Orlando Magic

In total, Orlando now has an estimated $16.6 million committed to the point guard spot.

In fairness, Mack can probably play some shooting guard despite his sub-35-percent shooting from beyond the arc and his height.

Mack is an interesting offensive player, if not the typical one for this era. He has a strong mid-range game, but little 3-point shot and he is not much of a distributor. Mack has never really lived up to his defensive potential either. But Orlando is looking for versatile and long players for the team’s defense. Maybe Mack fits that bill — but he probably does not.

But Orlando is looking for versatile and long players for the team’s defense. Maybe Mack fits that bill — but he probably does not.

The Magic clearly still have some needs to fill. They need to find a way to acquire some more 3-point shooting and could probably use some depth at power forward as a stretch-4.

So what is left for the Magic this summer? How much cap room does Orlando have left?

Let’s start with the basics: The Magic have $77.9 million in guaranteed salary next season. That includes the $1 million guaranteed to C.J. Watson. The rest of his $5 million contract becomes guaranteed if he is not cut by Monday, July 10. It appears Watson will be cut before Monday’s deadline.

The Magic have also signed Jonathan Isaac to his rookie contract, which will add another $4.2 million to the total.

If we assume Mack makes $6 million for next season, the Magic have $88.1 million in guaranteed salary already on the books.

Orlando has several non-guaranteed deals they seem likely to hold onto. Marcus Georges-Hunt and Patricio Garino each have minimum deals netting them $1.3 million, guaranteed if they remain on the roster on opening night.

That increases the salary amount to $90.7 million. Adding in the cap holds for the two open roster spots and a $2.25 million traded player exception from the Serge Ibaka trade and the Magic’s cap number comes to $94.6 million.

It leaves the Magic with about $4.5 million in cap space. They could increase that by renouncing the Ibaka trade exception (not likely at this point). But that is roughly how much is left (my math is different from ESPN cap guru Bobby Marks, but is close enough for this discussion).

The Magic would also have the room exception worth about $4.5 million at their disposal too. So Orlando can use two $4.5 million contracts to fill those final two contracts. The Magic are also right near the salary floor. They are a likely candidate to be searching to take on more money at the trade deadline to meet that number if they do not sign anyone else this summer.

So Orlando can use two $4.5 million contracts to fill those final two contracts. The Magic are also right near the salary floor. They are a likely candidate to be searching to take on more money at the trade deadline to meet that number if they do not sign anyone else this summer.

So the Magic used the majority of their available cap space to sign Mack. Call that their splashy move. They have limited their ability now to take on some contracts in a

They have limited their ability now to take on some contracts in a trade if that is the route they still decide to go. Considering the big salaries the Magic might try to trade, it seems like that asset may have decreased in value some.

Orlando still has two available roster spots to fill plus two two-way contracts the team may give out. It is unclear if the Magic will pursue that route. But they certainly could and should look to add one more player to finish up their summer.

Next: Elfrid Payton's finish makes Orlando Magic's choices harder

But with just $4.5 million left to spend, their ability to spend is further hampered yet again. It might make the Magic’s decision to sign another point guard in Mack all the more puzzling.