Orlando Magic Trade Value Column 2020
Category I — Sure, you can have him
15. Amile Jefferson (2 years, $3.3 million, non-guaranteed in 2021)
Amile Jefferson continually goes to the G-League and dominates. that level. He records double-doubles with ease and is simply a big force on the glass.
At the NBA level? Amile Jefferson really has not even gotten a chance.
Jefferson has played in just 74 minutes across 17 games for the Magic this season, averaging less than a point per game. He mostly is not in the game long enough to make much of an impact. But even with all the injuries, the Magic have at the power forward position, they have opted to go in a different direction.
Jefferson just has not gotten a chance on the floor to show what he could do. Or maybe he has not earned that opportunity.
Either way, it is disappointing that Jefferson cannot make his way onto the floor. Ultimately, his problem is that he is a tweener in the worst ways. He probably has to play center to succeed in the league and he is too small to play center.
At this point, Jefferson has probably hit the end of his road in the NBA.
14. Gary Clark (1 year, $0.8 million)
Orlando Magic
Gary Clark is on the second of his 10-day contracts. That probably means there is not much interest in trading him (if 10-day contracts are even eligible to get traded). His final 10-day will expire soon.
Gary Clark is clearly a fringe NBA player. The Houston Rockets were a bit hesitant to let him go, but they had to in order to clear a roster spot at the time. Clark is a reliable shooter and a good defender. But he is not spectacular enough at either to stay consistently on a NBA roster.
At this point, the Magic are playing him out of necessity because of the injuries. They are still trying to integrate him into the group. It is unclear if the Magic will sign him for the rest of the year.
13. Melvin Frazier Jr. (2 years, $3.1 million, team option for 2021)
Melvin Frazier is very much like Amile Jefferson. This is a young player seeking a chance. He is someone who desperately just needs playing time to see what he can be and see what he can do. The Magic, even after nearly two seasons, really have no clue what he looks like.
Melvin Frazier has really played only a few games — less than a handful! — of meaningful minutes in the NBA. That was really only the game Jonathan Isaac got hurt on Jan. 1. It is his only game playing more than 10 minutes.
Frazier had some vague chance of getting minutes in that period that quickly dried up. it was both that he didn’t take advantage of it and also that he did not get the chance.
In the G-League this year, Frazier has looked very good. He is averaging 16.1 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting. He is still hitting only 30.0 percent from beyond the arc, but Frazier has done a good job attacking the basket off the dribble, setting up a growing mid-range game and running in transition. Frazier is still an elite G-League defender.
Orlando has done well to get him playing time in the G-League. So the team is still clearly invested in him. The question is if and where he gets his chance. And that part is still unclear.