The Orlando Magic are set to bring back Amile Jefferson on a one-year deal. But it is a signing that does not seem to be for anyone’s benefit.
The Orlando Magic are set to bring back Summer League and G-League standout Amile Jefferson on a one-year deal, Shams Charania of The Athletic . The nature of the contract — whether it is a two-way contract, exhibit 10 deal or a standard agreement is unclear.
Free agent forward Amile Jefferson has agreed to a one-year deal to return to the Orlando Magic, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 19, 2019
Amile Jefferson was one of the standouts for the Magic during their Summer League run last week. He averaged 16.4 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in 23.8 minutes per game. Jefferson displayed a patient post game and a willingness to battle on the glass.
That was something the Magic already knew he could do. Jefferson was once again one of the best players in the G-League, where he averaged 18.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He was the leading scorer on the team that finished second in the Eastern Conference and reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jefferson was on a two-way contract last year with the Magic. He was someone coach Steve Clifford praised any time he was asked about him. Clifford loved his work ethic in practice and said he felt comfortable putting him in a game at any time.
The issue with Jefferson is finding a position for him to play. The Magic used him sparingly on that two-way contract last year.
Jefferson appeared in 68 minutes across 12 games for the Magic. And while he was effective in the limited minutes he got — 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting and 21 rebounds — none of those minutes came in any meaningful time.
The 6-foot-9 center is a bit undersized to play the position and even struggled against bigger players like Brooklyn Nets starting center Jarrett Allen in Summer League. Clifford would even opine that finding matchups for Jefferson to succeed in were difficult.
But it is also abundantly clear that Jefferson has graduated from playing in the G-League primarily. Jefferson has succeeded so much at that level and on his two-way contract and in Summer League that he should be seeking a true NBA opportunity.
That will most likely not come from the Magic, even with their obsession with adding frontcourt depth.
Jefferson does not have a reliable jump shot and so cannot spread the floor productively. That limits how the Magic can use him — likely making him a center over a power forward.
That position is jammed up with Nikola Vucevic, Mohamed Bamba and Khem Birch all under contract and all vying for minutes. The team is locked up at center to the point where it is foreseeable seeing the team use a rotation at power forward that includes some of these players — in addition to new signee Al-Farouq Aminu.
Jefferson would have a hard time squeezing minutes out of that group.
Keith Smith of Yahoo! Sports reports that there is at least some suggestion Jefferson has signed a second two-way contract or Exhibit 10 contract. That would mean Jefferson would again spend most of the season in the G-League with the Lakeland Magic.
Hearing this could be another Two-Way deal for Jefferson, but not confirmed yet. Could be an Exhibit 10 that could get converted to a Two-Way down the line. https://t.co/S57qkrXIu1
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) July 19, 2019
This kind of an arrangement would certainly favor the Magic. They would retain their open roster spot — they technically still have two open roster spots with Chuma Okeke remaining unsigned — to spend on another player.
But the team would also have used both its two-way contracts, signing veteran guard Josh Magette with the other one.
But Jefferson has already proven to the league he can dominate at the G-League level. Unless there were no other offers from NBA teams and no favorable offers from international teams, Jefferson staying in the G-League another year feels like a lack of progress for him.
Progress that he has almost certainly earned.
The logic of the two-way contract is for players to graduate from playing on a two-way contract to the main roster and growing up the NBA ladder, so to speak. Jefferson certainly should have done that. And this signing would suggest he has not gotten the rewards for that growth.
This is no knock on Jefferson. Jefferson is a good player who has proven himself at every level. Coaches love working with him and he is a true grinder behind the scenes.
This signing raises a lot of questions. It does not seem to benefit anyone except perhaps the Lakeland Magic depending on the nature of the contract.
Orlando certainly has made good to someone who has worked hard within their system. But otherwise, this signing does not seem like a good use of resources for the Magic or a positive step forward in Jefferson’s career.