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2018 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Kalin Lucas

By Philip Rossman-Reich

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL - JANUARY 28: Kalin Lucas #14 of the Erie BayHawks drives to the basket against the Windy City Bulls on January 28, 2017 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by John L. Alexander/NBAE via Getty Images)
HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL - JANUARY 28: Kalin Lucas #14 of the Erie BayHawks drives to the basket against the Windy City Bulls on January 28, 2017 at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by John L. Alexander/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic signed D-League standout Kalin Lucas to a training camp invite. He has lived on the fringes of the NBA, and he may have to do so again.

Kalin Lucas is in that uncomfortable region that many professional basketball players occupy. He is somewhere between good enough to star in the D-League but not quite good enough to make it in the NBA. The opportunity for him to play in the NBA has never quite come around. Yet he continued to put up impressive numbers in the D-League.

Even as he signed a contract with the Orlando Magic, that opportunity still seems far away. The Magic roster is loaded with point guards in Elfrid Payton, D.J. Augustin and Shelvin Mack. There does not seem like there is any room for Lucas. It seems like he is destined to go back to the G-League once again.

But it is also undeniable he is right there. At some point, the dream of staying close to the NBA and getting his shot will end and he will have to go make his money in Europe. He certainly could and succeed there.

In the D-League last year, Lucas averaged 18.1 points per game for the Iowa Energy and Erie BayHawks. With Erie, he averaged 18.6 points per game. And in three years playing in the D-League, he has never averaged fewer than 15 points per game.

All this last year while shooting a 49.5 percent effective field goal percentage and dishing out 5.0 assists per game. That low effective field goal percentage was not because of his 3-point shooting either, he made 40.4 percent of his 3-pointers last year.

Somehow Lucas, a solid defender in his own right and clearly a solid scorer and shooter, has played only one game in the NBA — a quick pit stop with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2015. He has been knocking on the door, but unable to get in.

The Magic will give him another look, but likely send him down to the Lakeland Magic at the end of training camp, keeping him close in case they need point guard depth later in the year. Or even to keep him as a steady hand to help Lakeland compete and guide the young players they send down — including two-way players like Adreian Payne.

Lucas as a player though deserves some consideration.

Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

He impressed in his short run with the Magic’s Summer League team even though he did not shoot particularly well – -just 4 for 16 from beyond the arc. Many Magic fans and observers were debating whether the Magic would sign Kalin Lucas or Derrick Walton to the roster to be the team’s third point guard. That changed once the team signed Shelvin Mack.

Even then, the debate was fairly close.

At Summer League, Lucas averaged 12.5 points per game, trailing only Marcus Georges-Hunt for the week (at least for players who were scheduled to be on the Magic’s roster). He shot 42.2 percent and made just four 3-pointers. But the larger sample size of what he did in the D-League likely overrides the small sample size in Summer League.

The Magic clearly liked his playmaking ability and shooting enough to bring him in for Summer League and to keep him in their system beyond then.

The question is whether he can finally have that breakthrough and make it to the NBA.

Lucas is a decent defender, he has to be coming from the Michigan State Spartans. But at 6-foot-1, he is definitely a bit undersized. The reason he might well not be in the NBA is his lack of size and lack of elite athleticism.

Lucas is simply a solid player. And he finds a way to contribute. But that is often not enough in the NBA. Not without something that is at an elite level. That is the element that seems to be missing from Lucas. He lacks elite anything.

That is a common criticism of players entering the NBA Draft sometimes. They are good at a lot of things, but not elite at anything. Those players often get passed over in the NBA Draft. And they still might get passed over.

Signing a player even to be at the end of the bench is still about what they can become, not so much what they are. If there is no chance of a player becoming something greater, then they better be able to provide something now.

Considering Lucas is already on the outside, he needs to show he has a future in the NBA. That might be Lucas’ unfortunate lot. It does not appear he is going to be much more than what he is — a backup point guard at best who can shoot it fairly consistently, but not enough to warp a defense.

Lucas has done about all he can do at the D-League/G-League level. Unfortunately, that seems to be right back where he is headed.

If he impresses there — or in training camp with the Magic — it is possible he could latch on with a NBA roster. That is essentially all he is hoping for: the chance at the NBA. The Magic have shown plenty of belief in him through his time with the Erie BayHawks last year and in Summer League this year. And now with a training camp invite.

But Lucas has certainly earned and deserves the real NBA chance he has not gotten to this point. More than the cup of coffee he received a few years ago. His production is too good at the D-League level.

If the Magic were to keep him on the Lakeland Magic next year, he certainly would be one of the team’s star players. And he would certainly be knocking on the door for the NBA again.

Next: 2018 Orlando Magic Player Outlook: Jonathon Simmons

Is this the year he finally breaks through? Judging by the Magic’s roster, it does not seem likely this will be his year in Orlando. But the team will have him in its program and keep a close eye. Maybe he can continue building that good will and get his shot next year.