Orlando Magic’s G-League crew still looking to impress

The Orlando Magic rested their two first-round picks leaving many players with uncertain or G-League futures their chance. They struggled to impress.

On Tuesday evening, Troy Caupain signed a two-way contract surrounded by teammates on the Summer League team and several members of the current main roster. Rookie Mohamed Bamba snapped a quick photo to help celebrate with his new teammate.

For Troy Caupain that was part of a long journey for him to get to the NBA. Toiling in the G-League is no easy task, even when a player is dominating the way.

Everything starts over again in June and July when Summer League comes around. There are no multi-year G-League deals. Everything is up in the air for each roster and each player every year.

The NBA Summer League for these players is more than just a practice or a chance to work on their games. This is their fight for their survival in the league or their entry into it.

Every game and every moment is an audition in some way.

The Orlando Magic have made it no secret they want to use the G-League and the Lakeland Magic as a development tool. The organization has put in a lot of investment and development into the franchise. They used it extensively for second-round pick Wesley Iwundu and signee Khem Birch. Orlando had rookie Jonathan Isaac take a rehab stint there. They called up Rodney Purvis on a 10-day contract late in the season.

Orlando wants to see those guys succeed and eventually contribute to the main roster. Their Summer League roster was full of guys who contributed to the Lakeland Magic — Troy Caupain, Rodney Purvis and Byron Mullens — and is full of guys who might get their shot down there — like Braian Angola-Rodas or Jay Wright.

The Orlando Magic, as the tournament phase of NBA Summer League began, were certainly trying to get a good look at everyone else to round out their Lakeland Magic roster. And they surely wanted to see what their current prospects could do when thrust into the spotlight.

The Orlando Magic held Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba from Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz. Those two have clearly been the best players for the team in every way. Taking them out changed the Magic’s identity some and their ability. And perhaps made this group’s on-court flaws even deeper.

Searching for someone to take over offensively, Orlando struggled to score consistently. They went on long scoring droughts allowing the Jazz to pull ahead by double digits to end the first half and never look back. Orlando cut the lead to four at one point int he fourth quarter. But the team had no offensive push to get over the top.

The team’s devastating defense was simply not there enough to create transition opportunities. The Jazz eliminated the Magic from the Summer League tournament with a 75-70 win at Cox Pavilion on Thursday. The Orlando Magic will wrap up their Summer League on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Magic in sitting their two best players clearly wanted to see a bit more from their prospects. They had already seen plenty from Isaac and Bamba.

It was hard not to feel a tinge of disappointment.

Wesley Iwundu has shown a ton more confidence and willingness to drive the ball and work off the dribble. But his jumper leaves a lot to be desired. And he does not always drive under control, a problem that lingered from his college days. Iwundu finished with 11 points on 5-for-13 shooting.

The Magic’s second-round pick from this year did not fare much better. Aside from a steal that led to a windmill jam, Melvin Frazier provided very little boost offensively. He scored seven points on 3-for-11 shooting. He was similar to Iwundu with some wild drives that seemed to lack control or finesse to finish around the rim.

Rodney Purvis has struggled with his shot throughout the week. He is working on a non-guaranteed contract and will get his training camp invite, but it is hard to say he has provided much value to the Summer League roster. He scored two points on 1-for-5 shooting in 12 minutes. Purvis’ lack of playing time in Summer League does not bode well for his roster future.

Khem Birch played in his second game of Summer League after sitting out the back-to-back Sunday and Monday. He was active in the pick and roll with two big monster jams and active defensively. But he was hardly a standout. His short stint in the Summer League opener was more impactful. Birch finished with 10 points and four rebounds. Solid, but hardly standout.

And then there was Troy Caupain. Fresh off signing that two-way contract, he was good. The best player on the floor for the Magic with 14 points. But he hit just six of 15 shots. On several occasions, he looked to break his man off the dribble and just stepped into a long 2-pointer. He made enough of them to consider it an OK shot, but hardly the kind of shot an offense looks for.

There were several other players with chances to impress who just struggled to get going. Angola-Rodas made just one of his eight shots, for instance.

Orlando seemed disjointed and without much of an identity on offense. The ball moved fine and the team made a lot of good plays. But the shots would not fall. That has been the story through much of the week. Thursday night, the defense did not have its otherworldly power to keep the team in the game.

Orlando Magic

None of this may matter. Iwundu will never have to take 13 field goals in a game. His role if he gets playing time in the NBA is to play defense — which he still does very well if sometimes overeagerly — make an open 3-pointer and cut into open space. Iwundu does those things well, but he is not going to demand a ton of playing time.

The same could be said for many of the other players who starred in the G-League who are looking to find their NBA footing. The roles they all played are not the roles they will play with the Magic.

But this was also Orlando’s worst game of Summer League. Perhaps as expected even with the Jazz sitting out several of their key players. And no one stood out truly.

The Magic’s G-League players are fighting for attention. This was their game in this five-game set to shine and make their mark.

More important than the result, the Magic did not see anyone make their mark to make the main roster or even the Lakeland Magic. This is their chance to do so. For many players, they have to make that mark.

Next: Jonathan Isaac has shined without strong offense in Summer League

They have one game left to do so.