No Orlando Magic players named to 2019 NBA Rising Stars rosters

The Orlando Magic will be without representation in the Rising Stars Challenge at All-Star Weekend once again. The team was kept out of the showcase.

The 2019 NBA Rising Stars rosters were announced Tuesday night, and no Orlando Magic rookie or sophomore players were named to the team.

This marks the third year in a row a Magic player did not make the roster. The last two players who made the event were Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja in 2016. Payton was a sophomore and Hezonja a rookie.

Neither player is currently on the Magic roster.

It brings cause for some pause because the Magic have been in the NBA Draft Lottery for the last six years and have very little to show for it. The team is on the fringes of the Playoff race, falling five games out of the Playoff race after Tuesday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2019 Rising Stars roster includes 2018 1st round picks Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III, Luka Doncic, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Trae Young, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Okogie and Rodions Kurucs. Gilgeous-Alexander (11th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers) Okogie (20th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves) and Kurucs (40th by the Brooklyn Nets) were all picked after the Magic picked sixth and 35th overall.

The NBA Rising Stars games showcases U.S born players versus World and that may have played against Jonathan Isaac (sixth overall in 2017) and Mohamed Bamba (sixth overall in 2018). But it is still a cause for concern.

Mohamed Bamba is having a subpar rookie year averaging 6.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game. He is more famous for the Sheck Wes song titled “Mo Bamba” named after the rookie.

Jonathan Isaac is having a better year than his rookie season after missing 55 games with ankle and foot problems. This season, Isaac has started 34 games and averaged 8.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. Those are good numbers but does not necessarily scream out future star or superstar.

Both Bamba and Isaac are lengthy and athletic but seem to be a few years away from blossoming in the NBA.

The Magic do not seem to be the best fit for them since both are big men and Orlando currently has power forward Aaron Gordon and center Nikola Vucevic on the roster playing similar roles or cramping their spacing.

The Magic certainly seem willing to wait on them. But the fit is not particularly clear yet. And their performance has suffered some as they go through the growing pains of a raw player.

We have seen that it can be a formula for disaster. In the Rob Hennigan era, the Magic drafted players who did not fit well together and ended up trading all of them with the one player, Aaron Gordon, staying put. At least for now.

The trade deadline is a week away and Orlando has the potential to sure up the roster and to show a firm plan for the future.

But with the Rising Stars roster being announced and again there are no Magic players, the question marks about the teams’ future still remain. It would have been nice to see these players take a more concrete step forward.

The Magic will have to wait for their continued growth again.