Handling of R.J. Hampton a misstep for the Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic announced on Tuesday afternoon that they were waiving guard R.J. Hampton, bringing to an end his strange time with the organization.

Hampton was seen as a nice get as part of the deal that sent Aaron Gordon to the Denver Nuggets in March of 2021. But the truth is his career with the Magic never got going.

Eight points per night in a paltry 24 starts across 115 games played for the franchise is an indication of just how little he was used.

With the Magic eyeing the Play-In tournament, the front office must have felt the time was right to let Hampton pursue another opportunity. The Detroit Pistons emerged as a candidate to sign him.

They may have even had the bigger picture in mind.

Whatever the reason, the handling of R.J. Hampton’s time with the Orlando Magic does not show the front office is a positive way.

No matter what way you look at it, getting rid of Hampton at this moment in time seems like a strange move.

Even if the Magic are set in the backcourt, it would be fair to say both Markelle Fultz and Jalen Suggs, perhaps their pairing of the future, have had their share of injuries.

Cole Anthony is another who works well off the bench, but he has had a few niggling issues that have kept him out of games.

If Hampton was vocal to the press or on social media about his reduced role, then maybe you could understand the Magic waiving him. It may be that he was like this behind the scenes.

But Hampton only ever said and tweeted the right things, and truly seemed to relish being assigned to the Lakeland Magic in the G-League when possible, in order to get some reps in.

That is the kind of attitude that you want on a winning team. The player who stays ready at the end of the bench, if and when his number is called.

The Magic are not flush with depth and although their rotations look set from here on out, Hampton was insurance that appeared happy to sit on the bench and wait for his chance.

Even more bizarrely, Hampton is only 21-years-old. For context he is six days older than rookie Jaden Ivey. If the Denver Nuggets did not want to wait around to find out what Hampton could be, fair enough.

The Magic might be transitioning into winning more games, but time was still on their side to see what Hampton could be.

If he had to be a part of a trade package to land a legit player, then that too would have been understandable. Few fans would have been concerned by adding Hampton to a deal.

But the organization did not even do that, choosing instead to let him leave now for nothing. Surely he was worth a second round pick? They were being given away on a “buy one, get three free” basis at the trade deadline.

A second-round pick does not sound like much, but if it had turned into a player like Wes Iwundu, would that have been deemed a good deal?

Iwundu was somebody who tried hard for the Magic and probably came along at the wrong time in their development. He would be a wonderful defensive-minded player for head coach Jamahl Mosley now.

We use Iwundu as an example because he is a second round pick that didn’t even really work out, and yet those types of players are always available in the second round and it wouldn’t hurt the Magic to have another one.

It has to be worth being given the chance to draft one of the 60 best prospects in the world and give up nothing in the process of doing so.

Another reason this was a weird move from the Magic.

Hampton had some good moments in a Magic jersey, and we also have to remember that most of his first two years in the league were during a time when COVID was not helping matters.

It is unfortunate for Hampton, who comes across as a guy who just wants to play, and who is a great teammate.

They say circumstance can go some way to determining an NBA career, at least in the beginning, and Hampton was dealt a rough hand.

He need not panic though. He will get another chance in the league, be it with the Pistons or elsewhere. He deserves the chance, and Magic fans certainly hope that he gets that opportunity.

The Magic could regret letting the guard go. His skillset was different to any of Fultz, Suggs or Anthony, and perhaps it is the fact all three of those players were lottery picks that went against Hampton.

The kind of players the front office couldn’t just give up on, even if all three are better than Hampton right now as well.

This is a cautionary tale, and proof that not every young player with upside that the Magic trade for is going to work out.

On a grander scale, this officially makes the Gordon to the Nuggets deal one that this organization lost.

Something to remember, with how frequently the fleecing of the Chicago Bulls in dumping Nikola Vucevic and adding Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and another first round pick is brought up.