Orlando Magic sign four players ahead of training camp
The Orlando Magic announced they have signed four players to their training camp roster. Tyler Harvey though will not be there, spending the year in Erie.
The Orlando Magic announced the team has signed four players — Keith Appling, Nnanna Egwu, Jordan Sibert and Greg Stiemsma — for its training camp roster. That will bring the Magic’s roster to 19 players. The roster limit is 15.
Notably not among those 19 players is second round pick Tyler Harvey. Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reports Harvey will spend the year in Erie with the Magic’s D-League team and not in camp, so the Magic can retain his rights.
2nd-round pick Tyler Harvey won't be in camp because he'll spend the season w/the Erie BayHawks. Magic will retain his draft rights.
— Josh Robbins (@JoshuaBRobbins) September 24, 2015
At this point, it feels somewhat likely that three of the four players the Magic announced Thursday will be cut after training camp and spend the year playing in Erie much like Peyton Siva, Seth Curry, Drew Crawford and Kadeem Batts did last year. The four did not appear in any preseason games and participated only in practices before spending the year with the Magic’s D-League affiliate.
Appling spent 10 games with BayHawks last year, averaging 17.5 points and 4.7 assists per game in that small sample size. In 38 games with Erie and Los Angeles (D-Fenders), he averaged 10.5 points per game and 3.9 assists per game, posting a 41.7 percent effective field goal percentage.
He played with the Magic’s Summer League team in July and averaged 15.6 points per game and 3.0 assists per game.
At Michigan State, he played a lot of combo guard. He was not much of a shooter, but found ways to create for himself and others by getting into the paint and attacking off the dribble. He outplayed Siva at Summer League and certainly earned his way into the Magic fold with his tenacious defense.
He obviously has some comfort with Bill Davidson and Erie’s system and process. So that should be a good place for him to start.
Greg Stiemsma is the only veteran the Magic are bringing into camp. He has a skill the Magic need on their roster and experience to fill it.
Stiemsma is known as a good positional shot blocker. He appeared in only 17 games last year for the Raptors. He is not a big stats guy but is a strong shot blocker, averaging 2.7 blocks per 36 minutes for his career. It will be interesting to see if the Magic decide to keep him around or if he ends up in Erie for the year.
For sure both he and Nnanna Egwu are known as shot blockers. At Illinois, Egwu averaged 6.5 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game as a senior. He also averaged 1.8 blocks per game and an incredible 7.0 percent block percentage. He averaged 1.5 blocks per game for his four-year career at Illinois.
Egwu was a bit of a one-dimensional defensive-minded player at Illinois. He is still an incredibly raw player who just has a preternatural ability to block shots.
During the Magic’s Summer League run, Egwu averaged 3.2 points per game and 4.0 rebounds per game. He totaled seven blocks in five games.
This is the kind of player who is a perfect prospect to send to Erie and develop. And, if the Magic cannot sign Dewayne Dedmon this offseason, Egwu would be an adequate replacement.
The final guy they signed was Jordan Sibert. The Magic interviewed Sibert during the draft process and invited him to Summer League.
Sibert is a scorer. He averaged 11.3 points per game in three games with the Magic’s Summer League team. He made 6 of 14 3-point field goals and scored 18 points in the Summer League finale against the Pacers.
At Dayton, he averaged 16.1 points per game and a 55.9 percent effective field goal position. He did shoot only 34.9 percent on 3-pointers last year, as he was a better driver than shooter.
Sibert initially enrolled at Ohio State, but transferred to Dayton after two years. He is clearly a talented player and one who can score. He will have to continue developing his skills (again, likely in Erie). But the Magic will keep an eye on him.
The guy they will be keeping an eye on most though is Tyler Harvey.
The Magic selected Harvey in the second round of the Draft. He struggled some in Summer League with guys like Keith Appling passing him on the depth chart and looking better. The Magic though chose not to give up on the NCAA’s leading scorer from last year.
By not inviting Harvey to camp, the Magic will retain his rights and the ability to bring him into camp next year as a second round pick. No other NBA team can sign him at this point except the Magic.
Harvey will get plenty of opportunities to develop and improve at Erie. It was a good move for both the Magic and Harvey to see him get that extra seasoning at the D-League level, saving a roster spot for Stiemsma or Melvin Ejim or Devyn Marble or someone else.