3 players pushing for more minutes with the Orlando Magic

2. Mo Bamba (14.3 minutes per game)

Mo Bamba’s inclusion here is an unexpectedly good thing and has likely given Jamahl Mosley a good headache he did not expect to have.

Many expected Bamba to leave Orlando during the offseason and were puzzled to see him sign a two-year, $20.6 million deal to return. Bamba had been given plenty of chances and failed to take advantage of any of them.

Even now he is seen as the third big behind Wendell Carter and Bol Bol. But Mo Bamba has not taken that lying down. If anything Bol’s arrival, and his subsequent ability to contribute right away in ways that the Magic never saw coming, has lit a fire under Bamba.

Too often in the past, he used to enter games and look passive and uninterested.

He is hardly ripping down boards with intensity and screaming at every made 3-pointer now. But his impact is being felt a lot more.

Bamba now has an influence on how the Magic are managing a game when he checks in, which is strange to say with his numbers down across the board from last season.

Obviously the team is still losing winnable games so his influence has not reached inescapable levels. But to be here with Bamba is a development few probably ever saw coming.

He is slotting into his role off the bench more comfortably and is not trying to do it all when he enters. So his personal numbers are down, and yet he does not feel like a disaster consequence on the court like he did in previous seasons.

Bol and Bamba’s skill sets have a lot of similarities. They make opponents think twice about entering the paint and are capable of recovering well to block all manner of shots. And they are bigs who can extend out to the 3-point line, stretching the defense out.

Now in his fifth season at 24, it is nice to see this development. If nothing else, it does Bamba’s trade value no harm to prove he belongs on an NBA court.