Otto Porter, Sindarius Thornwell, Chasson Randle
Otto Porter was brought in with Wendell Carter in the Nikola Vucevic trade. Porter has only played three games for the Magic this season and was not particularly dominant in the brief time he was on the court.
He had a good showing in one of those games against the Los Angeles Lakers. But a knee injury kept him from playing longer. He was a buyout candidate the moment he arrived in Orlando. While that did not materialize, it does not seem likely the Orlando Magic have much interest in keeping him on the roster.
At 28 years old and unsigned at the end of this season, Porter looks like a long shot to make the Magic roster this season given the potential glut of younger, more cost-effective options at the small forward position.
Sindarius Thornwell was signed to the roster on a two-way contract in May and played seven games for the Magic toward the end of the season. Thornwell had modest production for the Magic, never scoring in double digits. He was often inserted into the lineup toward the end of games when a comeback was out of the hands of the Magic.
Thornwell is still young (26) yet with the possible inclusion of new backcourt players in the offseason and the lack of a guaranteed deal from the Magic, this will likely only be a brief stop in what hopefully will be a long and prosperous career for the guard out of South Carolina.
Chasson Randle was signed to the Magic in February and played as a backup point guard to both Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton.
Randle averaged 6.5 points, 2.0 assists and 1.0 rebounds per game and was praised by Steve Clifford for his leadership and his role in the locker room. But Randle was always an emergency option and not someone the Magic really relied on. His playing time was more a product of the team’s massive injuries.
Like Thornwell, Randle’s status on the team is precarious due to the wealth of backcourt options the Magic already have at their disposal prior to the offseason.
Like Thornwell, Randle will likely only be a half-season addition for Randle as he attempts to find a permanent home in the NBA.