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‘No brainer’ for Mohamed Bamba to join Orlando Magic for Summer League

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Mohamed Bamba has struggled to keep himself on the court with injuries and inconsistency. The Orlando Magic center is working to change that. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Mohamed Bamba has struggled to keep himself on the court with injuries and inconsistency. The Orlando Magic center is working to change that. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mohamed Bamba does not have to be in Las Vegas this weekend training with the Orlando Magic.

As a fourth-year player, he does not have to be at Summer League. The games are usually reserved for first- and second-year players along with players hanging on to the fringes of the NBA. Established players sometimes show up to watch practices or get some extra run in, but they rarely participate directly in practices.

Bamba is not in danger of falling completely out of the NBA. But the feeling he could be in a situation where he is playing Summer League soon in his career is creeping in.

That is what happens when a player has struggled to find their footing and comes to the end of their rookie contract.

There is a lot of pressure facing Bamba. But there is also a new opportunity.

Mohamed Bamba is in Las Vegas this week to practice with the Orlando Magic and try to get his work in to re-establish his place in the rotation and with the team.

Orlando hired a new coach in Jamahl Mosley, giving a fresh set of eyes on the young center. The team itself is going through a rebuild, putting an extra emphasis on player development. And Bamba himself is experiencing a healthy offseason for the first time in his career.

Opportunity is there for Bamba. He just has to do the work to make the most of it. And that is why he is in Las Vegas with the Summer League team, doing something he does not have to do.

"“For me, coming out here was a no-brainer,” Bamba said after the team’s practice in Las Vegas on Saturday. “We’ve got a new coach, new system, new guys. I wanted to get acclimated before training camp.“Coming out here, I had a choice to stay at home and work with the coaches that didn’t come to summer league or I could come here and add in these good deposits with the team.”"

Bamba has absolutely not had the career he or the Magic hoped for when the Magic took him with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 Draft. The 7-foot, long-armed center was meant to be a defensive presence for a team that lacked rim protection. His agility and ability to hit from three was meant to make him a modern center.

The raw prospect though never quite took.

He had some brief glimpses but struggled to hold down the backup center position behind a sudden All-Star in Nikola Vucevic. Bamba then suffered a stress fracture in his leg that knocked him out for the final run of the season. The team made a spirited 22-9 run to make the playoffs while Bamba sat on the bench.

He came back the following year for Summer League but suffered some discomfort in that leg and the team shut him down after two games. Leg injuries like that usually take a full year to recover from and his second season was not the kind of leap teams usually see from experienced players.

Then just as Bamba seemed to get his feet under him again, the league shut down for the pandemic.

Bamba did not waste that time though. He added muscle and used the time away from the court to work on his biggest weakness as a center. And that added strength showed in the time he got during the team’s scrimmages in the bubble.

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    • But Bamba also came down with COVID-19 about a month before the team gathered for the season’s restart. And despite not showing severe symptoms while he was testing positive, Bamba essentially became a long-hauler as he struggled to rebuild his conditioning.

    The Magic played him in just one game during the restart before sending him home. Worse still, despite continued commitment to reshape his body and efforts to build up his conditioning, Bamba struggled to stay on the court or get in the rotation.

    At the end of the day, he never could gain coach Steve Clifford’s trust. Not for the goals the team had at least.

    The time after the trade deadline provided some hope. Bamba averaged 11.1 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game in 20.8 minutes per game after that point. There were a lot of positive moments — including a major uptick in his rebounding — but plenty still to be concerned about, especially with his defensive positioning, awareness and consistency.

    There is a reason Mohamed Bamba is playing in Summer League trying to get a leg up and catch himself up and fellow draft class center Wendell Carter is still working out independently. Bamba has a lot further to go and a lot more to prove.

    This new chance though is exactly why Bamba is there. His new coach has put more belief in him.

    "“He’s made it clear that my presence out there is needed and wanted,” Bamba said after practice Saturday. “It’s all about getting out there and putting in the right amount of work.“It’s part of the reason why I came out here. I wanted to learn, but I also wanted to play and see what we’ve got in the young guys. I’m really excited for what we have here.”"

    It is yet to be seen how the Magic choose to use Bamba. The team has reinforced its center position a ton this year, signing Robin Lopez and Moritz Wagner in free agency.

    Orlando may not know which of those four centers has a long-term future with the team. Only Wagner’s contract will reportedly go past the 2022 season although there are reports the Magic are prepared to extend Carter’s contract to avoid restricted free agency.

    Bamba is fighting for his place this year. And so it makes sense for him to get every advantage he can with the new coaching staff and his new team.

    He is not likely to play at all during Summer League. But getting on the court with his new teammates and his new coaches will be vital to carving out his role.

    Saturday’s practice marked the first time the team got up and down for five-on-five action. That is an important step to taking the team’s drill work into practice.

    "“It’s really the ability to see it in real-time,” Mosley said after practice Saturday. “Guys go through 5-on-0 or go through it with nobody touching or hitting you and now when it happens in real-time it makes you realize OK when I drill this is exactly how hard I have to drill, when we run through a play this is exactly how hard I have to run through the play. So when it becomes real-time, it helps these guys improve.”"

    Another reason getting Bamba this time is important. Especially since he has so much to catch on.

    Fans loved the viral video of Mosley getting on the court and working with Bamba in the days after he was hired. It at least hinted at the renewed interest in Bamba and the new opportunity to create a new impression gave him.

    Bamba, as always, clearly been willing to put in the work. What he has had little of is consistency and time to show that work pay off. Bamba does not seem to be wasting his time this offseason to get that work in.

    Next. Mosley, Magic begin to tie things together. dark

    Only time will tell if that work pays off and if Bamba earns his spot this time around.