The Magic are preparing to round out their training camp roster, and maybe add a few more to the Erie BayHawks while they are at it.
Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports the Magic will invite Summer League roster invitees Seth Curry and Kadeem Betts along with previously announced signing Peyton Siva to the Magic’s training camp and, likely, preseason. Former Northwestern forward Drew Crawford also received an invite. Crawford worked out with the Magic before the Draft before playing with the Pelicans in Las Vegas.
Siva had previously agreed to sign a deal with the Magic where they would option him to the D-League this year. Siva had a strong run with the Pistons at Summer League in Orlando, averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 assists per game in three appearances before an injury forced him to sit out the final two days. He quickly signed with the Magic with the reported promise to get a chance to play with the main team next season if he was willing to play in the D-League this year.
He made 10 appearances last year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants averaging 12.9 points and 4.6 assists per game before he was called up permanently to play with the Pistons. He is probably more famous for helping guide Louisville to a national title in 2013.
Kadeem Betts and Seth Curry are two other names Magic fans are familiar with from their play at Summer League in Orlando back in July.
Curry obviously has his family’s name with him. That has carried a ton of pressure (future post coming with Crossover Chronicles that I will be sharing here soon too now) and Curry has had to make his own name.
He is not nearly as good a shooter as his brother, nor probably his dad. But he is still a pretty good shooter. His only issue might be he has a bit of that “gunner” mentality.
Curry averaged 9.8 points per game in his appearance with the Magic in Orlando and with the Suns in Las Vegas. With the Magic, he posted a 15-point performance against Boston, making four of six 3-pointers. In his five games in Orlando, he shot 43.9 percent from the floor and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Curry could sneak his way onto the roster if he shows he can handle some of the point guard duties and shows he can consistently hit from the outside. He remains an interesting talent.
So too does Kadeem Batts.
Batts averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game for the Magic’s Summer League team. He was a near double double threat in the Magic summer league rotation and found his way playing ahead of Dewayne Dedmon for part of the week. Batts was impressive with his ability to mix things up in the paint. The 6-foot-9 forward did that at Providence for much of the last three years.
Batts is a bit undersized to play center, but could be an interesting guy to bring in if Dewayne Dedmon does not work out. Dedmon figures to need a good training camp to crack the roster and have his contract guaranteed (it becomes fully guaranteed on opening night). He will have plenty of competition from Batts as they try to back up Nikola Vucevic.
Finally, a player near and dear to my heart, former Northwestern forward Drew Crawford also picked up a roster invite.
Crawford did not play well for the Pelicans at Summer League in Vegas, averaging just 2.0 points per game on 21.8 percent shooting. He had a really tough time cracking the rotation there and never found his rhythm.
He did leave the Wildcats though as one of the team’s all-time leading scorers, averaging 15.7 points per game on 40.5 percent shooting and 32.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Crawford was often asked to carry more of an offensive load than he really was able to. He should fit in nicer as a secondary option.
Crawford’s 3-pointer is also really streaky. He had plenty of games where he lit up Big Ten opponents on spot-up 3-pointers. He has a good NBA body, but never had to play defense at Northwestern until his senior year thanks to Bill Carmody’s 1-3-1 zone.
I will stop there, because I can talk hours about Crawford’s five years at Northwestern. He is a solid, but streaky player that still has to develop in a NBA-style after playing a very different style in college.
In all likelihood, all four of these players will be playing in the D-League for Erie if the Magic want to retain their rights in some form or fashion. The Magic currently have 15 players under contract with just Dedmon facing a guarantee date.
Maybe Curry or Batts sneaks onto the roster with a good training camp, but it would not be surprising to see them leave that spot open for now.