R.J. Hampton is the Orlando Magic’s most interesting storyline at Summer League

There has been a lot for Orlando Magic fans to get excited about in the last week.

The shocking drop of Jalen Suggs from a clear-cut top-four pick to the fifth overall selection for the Orlando Magic has re-energized the fan base, giving the team a potential star prospect to develop. That feels like the team has a foundation.

It makes everything feel great again. Fans are suddenly much more optimistic about the returns of Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz. There are fans touting the team’s guard and scoring depth.  There is a sense of hope and optimism for the team moving forward.

Everyone probably needs to slow down some on it. The talks of making the playoffs are probably a bit premature and there is still a lot the team needs to work on and improve before they get to that point.

Getting through Summer League is going to be the first step in that process.

The Orlando Magic’s young roster means Summer League will begin the competition for playing time. And R.J. Hampton will have the most to prove to find his place among them.

Next week in Las Vegas, the Magic will get their first real look at the team. It will start with examining how coach Jamahl Mosley deploys his team — especially with four expected rotation players appearing at Summer League. Then it will go to how rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner work.

It seems odd to say that the play of second-year players Cole Anthony and R.J. Hampton is pushed so far down the list. This Summer League is meant to be the coming-out party for these second-year players as they show off what that rookie experience and the work in the offseason has gotten them.

Anthony had a strong rookie season overall. There is a lot to get excited about with him. But Hampton’s rookie season was a difficult one to judge.

With how young the Magic’s roster is and how full it is looking, it is unavoidable that some young player may get squeezed out of the rotation. There will be plenty of competition in the process to figure out who plays and where. But Hampton presents the most intriguing story.

At Summer League, Hampton’s development and progress will perhaps be the most interesting and intriguing storyline. A lot could get determined for the young guard in the course of those games.

Hampton’s rookie year was certainly a strange one. After a decent but far from impressive showing in the NBL after his high school senior season. The Denver Nuggets took a flyer on him with a pick in the 20s, but hardly had the time to develop the still-raw combo guard. His COVID diagnosis in January slowed things down further.

Coming to the Magic was a breath of fresh air and opportunity. He averaged 11.2 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game in 25.2 minutes per game. That included winning the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month in May. There was definitely some warning in those numbers with a lot of blowout losses Hampton was able to pick up a lot of time in.

But Hampton still displayed plenty to get excited about.

He showed off his tremendous speed, one of the natural abilities that put him on draft radars even as a high school guard. And he was improving as a 3-point shooter, especially proficient from the corners.

Orlando Magic

With so many young players on the roster, and the need to have at least few veterans to mind the store, it feels like someone might get left off. And Hampton — the most unproven of the Magic’s young players — felt like he could be it. At least until the Magic move on from some of their veterans.

Hampton though has this chance to prove and show he should be in the rotation.

Some of that is his overall versatility. Coach Steve Clifford was reluctant to play R.J. Hampton at his natural point guard position. With little practice time, Hampton had little opportunity to gain the coach’s trust as the team’s quarterback and so he remained with a simple role off the ball.

But Hampton’s versatility now could be the biggest pathway to consistent playing time and a consistent role in the league.

Hampton reportedly grew from his listed height of 6-foot-4 this offseason. That may make him more of a fit at shooting guard and even able to scale up to play small forward. If that is the case, that would be a huge boost to the Magic who are short on traditional small forwards at the moment.

It is perhaps this development that is the most promising for his future. Everyone is eager to see him play in an organized setting.

The last time anyone publicly saw R.J. Hampton was when he rolled up to the ACE League in Orlando and played with Dwayne Bacon on the Polk County All-Stars. He hit the game-tying 3-pointer to send his game to overtime and then threw an inbounds alley-oop for the win:

Pro-Am games are fun and NBA guys put up their numbers. But this is not exactly the place to judge much of Hampton and where he is at on the court.

At the end of the day, Hampton’s progress and potential will play out on the floor.

He was impressive on the court especially when he had a clear path to the lane. But his game still needed a lot of work.

It starts with his jumper. He made only 31.9-percent of his 3-pointers with the Magic last year. But he was excellent from the corners, making 11 of his 23 corner 3-pointers. That at least suggests he has some ability to improve his shooting. And most of his offseason workout videos have displayed this shooting ability.

Orlando is going to have to find a way to carve a role for him. And so a better understanding of how he fits into the team as a driver, passer and defender would also go a long way for him. The defensive part especially because of his speed and length could be an easy way for Hampton to carve out playing time.

It is just hard to judge anything as permanent after how uneven the Magic’s end-of-the-season run was.

The Magic got a small sample of Hampton and the returns were largely encouraging. But his place and position on the team is probably as precarious as any other player. There will undoubtedly be a lot of internal competition that everyone will have to embrace.

That competition has undoubtedly already begun as the team has arrived in Vegas to practice before Summer League begins. It will continue throughout the course of Summer League for however long everyone plays.

There is a lot to pay attention to. But Hampton will have the most to prove as the Magic begin to plan for the 2022 season.