Amile Jefferson still searching for his place as Summer League nears an end

Amile Jefferson has been the Orlando Magic’s best player in Summer League. But that does not guarantee a roster spot and his place is still uncertain.

Amile Jefferson is supremely in his element on the block.

The ball goes off the rim and he is first to get a rebound, moving bodies out of the way. He was able to pin his defender on his back still and get into his array of post moves, holding his pivot foot before spinning around him for the lay in.

Any gap Amile Jefferson can find and space he can create, he can take advantage of.

On the ESPNU broadcast, as he makes his move, Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford extols his ability to step into any game and make an impact. This is someone a coach can feel confident playing in any situation.

Clifford has said this about Jefferson many times. Yet, there is an uncomfortable truth.

Amile Jefferson was never beating Khem Birch for playing time on the roster. And while Jefferson made the most of the minutes he got with the Magic, they were all with the game completely decided.

The struggle, which even Clifford has openly admitted, is figuring out where to play him.

As much as Jefferson does well to find his spots and attack the offensive glass, he still has a size problem at 6-foot-9. Center Jarrett Allen slowed him down some offensively when matched up and took care of his own work in a 14-point, 13-rebound effort for the Brooklyn Nets in a 93-85 win over the Orlando Magic at the NBA Summer League on Wednesday.

Jefferson too showed the areas where he still looks uncomfortable. On several pick-and-pop opportunities, defenders ducked under the screens and left Jefferson open. He hesitated to shoot. And when he did, the result was not pretty.

That has been the story of Jefferson throughout this Summer League.

He has been the Magic’s best player throughout Summer League, averaging 15.8 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. He is shooting 56.3 percent from the floor. All the numbers point to Jefferson having a great Summer League.

He is the best player on the team so far — outside of Mohamed Bamba‘s one-game cameo.

That will not necessarily mean the Magic bring Jefferson back. He is still a restricted free agent and his future is undetermined. It seems highly unlikely that he would — or should — take another stab at a two-way contract. Not after he has spent the last two seasons dominating the Summer League and the G-League.

The fact Jefferson has stood out during this period is not surprising in the least. That is what Jefferson does. He is clearly a level above much of the competition at this level.

The question is taking that next step. And Jefferson is struggling to show he can take that next step. That he can step up and be more than just a strong player against supposedly weaker competition.

Jefferson is what he is.

He is a smart player, he finds ways to make an impact in the game. It is hard to say he does anything supremely negative. After all, he is the best player on this Summer League team. And it is not particularly close.

If this was Jefferson’s first year with the team, the Magic might very well be rushing to offer him a two-way contract. He is clearly at that level.

But he has already been through that process with the Magic. And so the question is what is his path to minutes with the team? How does he take the next step in his career?

That is not particularly clear. He was clearly dwarfed in size with Allen on the floor against him in Wednesday’s game.

And the difference between the kind of impact Jefferson made and the kind of impact Mohamed Bamba made when he was in was pretty noticeable. It was no surprise Bamb astarted over Jefferson, but even with all the mistakes Bamba still made in that first game, he was the far better player.

The Magic clearly like Jefferson. And there is a lot to like in Jefferson. But perhaps not enough to take that next step and give him a spot on the roster.

This Summer League run has been impressive. But it has been a lot more of the same for Jefferson. He has not elevated himself into much more than what the team already knew.

And that makes it harder to figure out what to do with him. He very well might be the one that gets left behind off this roster.

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Other Summer League Notes

–DaQuan Jeffries continues to impress with his competitiveness and hustle. He scored another 15 points on 6-for-17 shooting. But his highlight of the day came when he came flying in to block a layup in transition. That is the kind of play the Magic staff really wants to see.

His shooting has come and gone, surging forward the last few days. But what will get him on the team and a chance with a two-way contract at least was his hustle defensively. He is eager to get after it and compete on that end. That is starting to show up more now that he is confident comfortable in this setting.

I would not say he has elite athleticism at this point. And that might hold him back when the NBA comes. But he is clearly earning a look with the main roster come September.

–UCF Knights alums B.J. Taylor and Chad Brown got their first run of the Summer League entering late in the first quarter. Knights fans eager to see them play are probably not going to be thrilled to hear how little time they got.

Taylor showed some good pace on the ball working the pick and roll and made a nice feed to Brown diving down the lane for a missed layup and putback. That was good to see. But they did not get enough time to make any real evaluations.

That was probably how things were always going to go for these two. They were late additions to the team and likely more useful in practice than in these games. There is obviously still a chance they could get a look with the Lakeland Magic this year.

–Clifford was on the ESPNU broadcast and gave some interesting updates.

First, he said the team’s practice following their loss Sunday to the Denver Nuggets was one of the more spirited practices the team had. That probably means it was intense and physical. It is important to remember the practices are just as important as the games.

Bamba likely played in this practice and could have shown the Magic all they needed to see — or taken the knock that officially took him out of Summer League. So not playing in these games is not a complete loss in these evaluations.

Second, he said it will take an improvement from a lot of players for the Magic to take their next step. But from what he has seen from the guys who are working out at Amway Center, Jonathan Isaac has made noticeable gains.

That could just be the summer talking, but it is encouraging to hear Clifford pumping up his guys. We will have to wait until September to know for sure.

The Magic have one remaining Summer League game left, likely to be played on Friday.