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Orlando Magic giving Chuma Okeke a redshirt year benefits everyone

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic will give unsigned rookie Chuma Okeke a year to recover and get healthy. (Photo by Sean Berry/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Orlando Magic will give unsigned rookie Chuma Okeke a year to recover and get healthy. (Photo by Sean Berry/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Chuma Okeke, Auburn Tigers, Kansas Jayhawks
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – MARCH 23: Chuma Okeke #5 of the Auburn Tigers dribbles the ball as Ochai Agbaji #30 of the Kansas Jayhawks chases after him during their game in the Second Round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Vivint Smart Home Arena on March 23, 2019 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Keeping the faith

The Orlando Magic are not giving up on Chuma Okeke by any means.

By all accounts, they still believe in him and are giving him all the resources he needs to recover from his torn ACL. The Magic will welcome him to the team at some point.

This is not a Fran Vazquez situation, as some might quickly fear. Okeke has gone through all the other normal rookie processes. He is still hanging around the Amway Center and, most importantly, working to recover from his knee injury.

The Magic retain his draft rights for whenever the team opts to bring him onto the team. It is just a matter of when.

That when though remains unclear. Orlando has not signed its first-round pick yet. There is not a clear-cut path for minutes for him at this point and so letting him recover on his time and having him play in Lakeland as part of that recovery process makes the most sense.

It appears Okeke does not need to be under contract to take advantage of all of the Magic’s resources in his recovery. And so patience and a “redshirt” year seems to benefit everyone.

That will also leave a roster spot open for the Magic to shore up their depth in Okeke’s stead, since Okeke is not likely to play for most of the 2020 season.

Fans are excited about the potential of a player like DaQuan Jeffries, who is now training with Team U.S.A. in Los Angeles ahead of their exhibition game against Spain on Friday. And Melvin Frazier is still around to soak up some minutes.

Having Okeke sit a year to rehab and recover is not the worst thing in the world for him or for the team.

This late in the offseason, it is looking like the plan is to give Okeke a “redshirt” year to recover with a possible stint to play in Lakeland continuously when he is healthy.

Next. Orlando Magic's 2020 schedule set up for playoff push. dark

There is still no concrete information to support this, but each day he goes unsigned seems to support this possibility.