Orlando Magic sign Amile Jefferson to meet roster minimum requirements

The Orlando Magic signed Amile Jefferson off his two-way contract to meet the roster minimum requirements, still rewarding a hard-working player.

The Orlando Magic have signed forward Amile Jefferson to a two-year contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The team confirmed the move in a press release Friday night.

The move will help the Magic hit the 14-player roster minimum before the league’s deadline to do so next week.

Amile Jefferson has played sparingly for the Magic since joining the team on a two-way contract last year. He appeared in 68 minutes across 12 games, and only one of those games did he play in meaningful minutes — albeit in the mostly meaningless season finale against the Charlotte Hornets.

Jefferson did most of his work in the G-League for the Lakeland Magic where he was an All-G-League player averaging 18.1 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Jefferson has always drawn praise from coach Steve Clifford for his work ethic and ability to stay ready.

“He’s so deserving because, from last year, he’s a hard-working, very reliable, dependable player,” Clifford said about the signing before Friday’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “Last year he was with us after [Mohamed Bamba]‘s injury. He can play both the 4 and the 5. He didn’t get much time on the court and yet in the last game of the year against Charlotte when Vooch got hurt he played 18-19 minutes [sic] and played well. If he has to play well tonight, he’ll play well. We’ll function well when he’s out there.”

Jefferson scored six points and grabbed seven rebounds in 24 minutes of that win over the Hornets in the season finale. So at least for one game, he delivered a strong effort in meaningful minutes.

Clifford continues to sing Jefferson’s praises. But he remains a “break glass in case of emergency” player. The Magic are not going to put him in the rotation or play him above their slew of forwards. Even if they have faith in his ability if he needs to be called upon.

As a matter of using a roster spot, the Magic spending it on another forward feels a bit redundant — especially since the team’s biggest weaknesses are three-point shooting. Amile Jefferson is not beating out Nikola Vucevic, Mohamed Bamba and Khem Birch at center nor is he beating out Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac or Al-Farouq Aminu for power forward minutes.

What this move does is it gets the Magic to the NBA’s mandatory roster minimum.

The league requires each team to carry 14 standard contract players (not including two-way contracts). A team can only be under that amount for two weeks at a time. So the Magic would have been required to sign a player to reach that minimum by Monday.

Jefferson likely signed a non-guaranteed deal, giving the Magic the flexibility to cut him and sign someone else if they choose or cut him to acquire someone in a trade. Orlando still has an open roster spot if they choose to add anyone.

He gets the extra money of a NBA minimum contract though, so for him it is a big deal.

Jefferson’s salary amount is not likely enough to get them close to the luxury tax, but the team is and should be aware of how close it is to the tax line — roughly $3 million. The non-guaranteed deal gives the Magic some flexibility to stay well below this line.

Orlando also now has an extra two-way spot the team can fill. It seems likely the team might sign B.J. Johnson, who got two separate call-ups from the Lakeland Magic last year. Johnson is a player flirting with the NBA.

It is not clear where Orlando will go or if Orlando will use this second two-way spot quite yet. The Lakeland Magic’s season is just getting ready to start in the next few weeks.

Jefferson has certainly earned a full roster spot and a shot somewhere in the NBA. The Magic are probably not the team to give him that opportunity. And, even with a full contract, Jefferson could still see some time in the G-League with Lakeland.

This is certainly a reward for Jefferson’s hard work. And he provides another big body — and a more traditional power forward — for practice at the very least.

This move is more procedural than impactful for the Magic, however.