Orlando Magic Rumors: Orlando Magic among teams pursuing Shabazz Muhammad

The Orlando Magic may not be done in free agency. The team is reportedly interested in Shabazz Muhammad, along with plenty of other teams.

There are few impact free agents left on the market as most of the money has dried up. The Orlando Magic are among the few teams with some cap room left. And they certainly still have some serious needs.

While they are not expected to make a splash in free agency, it is not surprising to see them still sniffing around for some of the big targets.

And they may be looking at one of the biggest free-agent targets left on the market.

Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated reports the Magic are among the teams looking into signing former Minnesota Timberwolves wing Shabazz Muhammad.

Muhammad is certainly an intriguing player. He has not lived up to his high school or draft hype.

The former McDonald’s All-American is averaging 9.7 points per game while shooting 47.6 percent and 32.3 percent from beyond the arc for his career. Last year with Minnesota, he averaged 9.9 points per game while shooting 48.2 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Muhammad is a classic scorer, but not a 3-point shooter. He would not fill the need the Magic have from the perimeter. But he is capable of creating his own shot in the mid-range and making bailout buckets. The Magic certainly need that as they hope to improve their depth.

Muhammad is also versatile, able to play both wing positions. But he has not shown consistency on the defensive end throughout his career. Muhammad has largely played a reserve role in his career.

With the Timberwolves making a lot of big moves this summer, they opted to renounce his qualifying offer and turn him into an unrestricted free agent. Muhammad has had to wait his turn as the rest of free agency has played out. That has left him seeking whatever contract he can find.

The Magic do not have a lot of money left to spend.

Orlando Magic

Orlando has $77.9 million in guaranteed salary on their books from last year’s roster. Add in Jonathan Isaac‘s $4.2 million rookie contract and Shelvin Mack‘s $6 million salary, and the Magic are at $88.1 million in guaranteed salary for next season. The team also has a $2.25 million traded player exception acting as a hold against the cap and $1.6 million in non-guaranteed salaries to Patricio Garino and Marcus Georges-Hunt.

That leaves the Magic with at most $6 million in cap room. The cap hold for Damjan Rudez and the empty roster spots brings it down to about $4 million at the moment. The Magic can free up some more space if they want to pursue Muhammad and remain competitive.

This is the room the Magic have left to work with. And that is what they could offer Muhammed. It is not clear if that would be enough. Then again, Muhammed’s market has cratered considerably.

It is unclear exactly what the interest here is. Muhammed is a capable wing player and scorer, albeit one who has not proven himself consistent. He is young enough that maybe he can still turn things around. But, for a team like the Magic, he is probably not worth more than a one-year tryout.

He may not be worth more than that to anyone in the league.

Next: East is falling, Orlando Magic are waiting

The good news is Orlando is still seeking ways to add some talent this offseason.