Orlando Magic giving Chuma Okeke a redshirt year benefits everyone

Okeke’s current status

There is no official word yet on what his contract status is. It remains based on reporting from those that follow NBA contract statuses closely.

According to all reports, Chuma Okeke remains the only unsigned first-round pick. And it has been that way for a month as most first-round picks signed their contracts in July before Summer League began.

There are some signs that a contract is imminent or that the team has kept plenty of contact with him.

This past weekend, Okeke was in New York as part of the Rookie Transition Program. He donned an Orlando Magic uniform for the first time and got his photo taken for his official trading card.

That is not the only evidence that Okeke has spent plenty of time with the Magic this offseason.

His future teammates have talked about the work Okeke has put in at the Amway Center as he rehabs from a torn ACL suffered during the NCAA Tournament in March. It is not like Okeke is somehow forgotten or pushed to the wayside. He is around the Amway Center and the building.

Yet, there has been no announcement he has signed with the team. And the reporters clued into the contract information around the league continue to report he is not officially part of the team.

Okeke is just sort of there rehabbing and working.

That is what the Magic expect of him at this point regardless of his contract status. The main priority for Okeke is to help him recover and regain strength so he can play again.

Torn ACLs are not as serious injury as they used to be. The Magic would not have drafted Okeke so high without confidence he would be able to return.

The main question is about his recovery. And it is here that letting him redshirt without a rookie-scale contract will cause little harm.