Orlando Magic Rumors: If the Orlando Magic want Janis Timma, he’s going to have to play
The Orlando Magic reportedly Janis Timma to join their Summer League and make his way to the NBA. He turned them down to seek more playing time.
The Orlando Magic kept relatively quiet throughout the entire free agency process. They were still waiting and biding their time as they tried to find ways to improve their team. This is still a rebuilding team and the Magic seem willing to take some risks.
That probably explains the decision to chase Isaiah Briscoe — and even going after Khem Birch last summer. The Magic are not afraid to take a chance on European all-stars.
Orlando still has a cache of assets — including all of the team’s draft picks — to use strategically. The Magic spent a few of them to acquire Jerian Grant (two second-round picks, in fact) and then traded away Tyler Harvey, a second-round pick who was struggling to make a mark to come over to the NBA.
The Magic still have one more player that is very close to the NBA. Someone Orlando fans might have been excited to see come over. Unfortunately, it did not seem the team could guarantee him the role he wanted for him to finally take the plunge.
Latvian forward Janis Timma told Latvian 360 TV he had an offer to come to Orlando this summer. The Magic wanted him to play in Summer League this year with the chance to make the roster in the fall. But Timma wanted a little bit more.
He said he did not want to have to fight for minutes at the end of the bench and wanted a guaranteed role. That was not something the Magic could give. And so the 26-year-old signed with Olympiacos to stay in Euroleague.
Both the Magic and Timma were probably fair to feel the way they felt about contract negotiations this summer.
Timma is an intriguing player. A good shooter and a physical player at 6-foot-7, he has surprisingly good mobility for someone who seems as stocky as he is. He is a deceptive player and knows how to use that effectively.
Last year with Baskonia of Spain, he averaged 7.7 points per game with a 59.2 percent effective field goal percentage. He took the majority of his shots last year from beyond the arc, making 38.1 percent of his 3-pointers. For his Euroleague career, Timma is a 38.1 percent 3-point shooter and holds a 59.3 percent effective field goal percentage.
In Eurobasket 2017, Timma averaged 14.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
Despite a relatively down year production-wise last year, Timma clearly has some skills and is right on the border of making the NBA. He was one of the strongest players in Latvia’s fifth-place finish last summer at Eurobasket. And he got a bump up to a more prestigious club in Olympiacos.
Timma certainly took the opportunity where he might play more, which is more than fair.
The Magic do not have a lot of room to offer him much more than a reserve role. Orlando is full on the wings with Jonathan Isaac, Terrence Ross, Jonathon Simmons, Evan Fournier, Wesley Iwundu and Melvin Frazier. There are not a lot of minutes for Timma.
So it seems both parties will have to wait to see if he comes over.
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Orlando will retain his rights if he ever wants to make the journey to the NBA. It seems that even with a new general manager in place — Rob Hennigan originally acquired his rights from the Memphis Grizzlies in the Luke Ridnour trade — the Magic still have interest in bringing him over at some point.