4 Orlando Magic players who definitely shouldn’t be back next season

4 Orlando Magic players who shouldn’t be back next year

Chuma Okeke

The Orlando Magic have drafted a lot of young players over the past few years and used the trade market to add quite a few more. They have seen a lot of success from both sectors and have built out a promising rotation of players.

The most prominent weakness is on the wing.

Franz Wagner will start there as part of a jumbo starting lineup, and Gary Harris is currently at the 2. The depth behind them is inconsistent at best.

Small-ball lineups with Paolo Banchero sliding to the 5 and Wagner to the 4 could be lethal, but the Magic will need wings to put on the court to unlock that possibility.

Unfortunately, Chuma Okeke could not be that player.

The former No. 16 overall pick has played just 142 games across three seasons, with nagging injuries and inconsistent play holding the 6-foot-6 wing back. The key to his game was always an outside shot, and 32.3 percent is not going to cut it, especially with his accuracy trending down each season, not up.

Okeke remained a solid and disruptive defender. But the lack of consistency offensively kept him from realizing his full potential. As did the injuries that kept following him throughout his young career.

He fell out of the rotation even when he returned from injury this year and it seems he has been lost in the shuffle.

A year out from his restricted free agency, it is time to move on and see if another team is interested in Okeke as a reclamation project. He has quick hands and some scoring tricks in his bag, so another team might take a swing.

In Orlando, however, they need to free up a spot and minutes for other options.