R.J. Hampton volunteers for Lakeland Magic assignment

The Orlando Magic put in a historic night Wednesday night at the Amway Center, scoring 50 points in the first quarter of a 135-124 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

R.J. Hampton though was at home getting ready for his own game. The Magic have gotten healthier and put their focus elsewhere on their roster — often playing two-way player Kevon Harris and rookie Caleb Houstan ahead of him in the rotation — and playing time has been precious and rare for the young guard.

Despite the progress and growth he has made, the Magic do not have that legendary runway for Hampton to develop. At the end of the day, Hampton needed the time to play. He just needed to hoop, as he would tell coach Jamahl Mosley.

So he requested and received an assignment to play with the Lakeland Magic, preparing for a 10 a.m. game against the Birmingham Squadron at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

R.J. Hampton recognized his need to play and so he requested a quick trip to Lakeland to play two games and get out on the court once again.

The goal was simply to play and that is what Hampton did.

Hampton scored a team-high 24 points on 9-for-16 shooting, scoring 14 in the first half. More importantly, he looked like an NBA player on the floor, clearly displaying more talent, poise and offensive skill than many of the players on the floor.

For Hampton, it may not have been completely about being efficient or leading the team in scoring. It was just about going out and playing. That was always the goal.

Hampton will play one more game with Lakeland on Friday before rejoining the Magic in Boston for Sunday’s game. This was purely about reps for the young guard.

"“I just want to see him hoop,” Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said before Wednesday’s game. “That’s something to see his level of growth and maturity down there. Just understand the level of play and execute game plans that coach Joe [Barrer] has put in place and be a mature factor out there along with those other guys.”"

It is hard to argue that Hampton did not do all of that even in just one appearance.

It was not that he scored so much. He had the ball in his hands as Lakeland worked to close the game and hold off Birmingham, including hitting a critical jumper late in the fourth quarter and scoring on a drive late in the game to preserve the lead.

The Magic were still a bit shaky down the stretch, but the Squadron never got within one possession. A lot of that had to do with the poise Hampton played with on the ball alongside other solid players like Jay Scrubb and Aleem Ford.

Hampton needed this playing time.

He logged only 6:26 during this five-game homestand, a period when the Magic were able to get a few practices in, and those came in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He did not check in at all during this win streak. Hampton has played fewer than 15 minutes across the last seven games, appearing in only two games.

For the season, Hampton has played in 15.6 minutes per game across 21 games, averaging 6.5 points per game with a career-best 51.9 percent effective field goal percentage. His minutes have been so limited it is hard to make any statements about his level of play based on statistics.

The frustration that he is not playing is real — even if the Magic have plenty of reasons to be invested in Houstan as their new draft pick and Harris has done good things especially defensively.

Hampton has seemingly done many of the things the Magic hoped for from him. After struggling in Summer League — another assignment Hampton volunteered for as a third-year player — he has looked more poised and controlled attacking the basket. He is still a reliable spot-up shooter — making 17 of 49 3-pointers this year and 13 for 34 on catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities.

Again, the samples are likely too small to draw too many conclusions. Other than that Hampton needs more playing time to figure everything out.

That is what Hampton hopes to get out of Lakeland most. And the good news is so much of what Lakeland runs is similar philosophically to what the parent club in Orlando runs.

"“I think that’s the great part about us and Lakeland is being so tied together,” Mosley said before Wednesday’s game. “They understand what we do. We understand what they do. He is going to fit right into that moment. It’s not like he is going to be not with us long, he is going to fly right in with us to Boston.”"

The two-game burst for Hampton will be helpful. He was genuinely impressive Thursday and it was easy to see how excited Hampton was to play. But that does not clear up his future or his role with the Magic.

Hanging in the background of all of these decisions is Hampton’s uncertain future. The Magic declined his rookie team option for his fourth year, turning him to free agency for next season.

It is not likely Orlando will retain him with the team in line for two more first-round picks next year and a lot of other young players to feed and try out — not to mention trying to find veteran players to help the team push forward up the standings.

It should be of some note that Hampton officially announced he was joining CAA with agent Aaron Mintz. It should not be lost either that Dec. 15 is the day many players around the league become trade eligible and is the unofficial start of the league’s trade season.

All Hampton can do is take advantage of the opportunities he receives. This one in Lakeland is one he created for himself. And it is good to see him on the floor once again.