The Orlando Magic’s roster is looking a bit crowded heading into free agency.
Everyone sensed the team would have a more crowded room if they used both picks. Using both picks on guards and wings has created a logjam that has everyone trying to figure out what the Magic’s next moves will be.
Depth is never a bad thing, especially for a young team and a team with the injury history the Magic have had in recent years. Orlando is not in full crisis mode with their guard situation. The team should have no problem valuing depth and letting training camp and injuries sort out who will play.
While there are these larger questions about their guard depth chart and how to get their rookies and young players all the playing time they need, the Magic are not going to just let players go for no reason.
It is why Gary Harris remains a key part of this team’s future both for his on-court production and for what he could possibly net in trades if that is the path the Magic want to go.
The Orlando Magic are facing a decision this offseason on veteran Gary Harris. Keeping him is a no-brainer for a team that needs veteran help and future trade chips down the road.
The Magic can guarantee the final year of Harris’ contract by doing nothing before June 30 — a few hours before the 6 p.m. ET start of free agency. And this just seems like a no-brainer. The Magic are not in a position to let their best shooter and most veteran player walk for nothing.
He is too valuable for a number of reasons.
There is of course, first, what he brings on the court.
Harris had one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 8.3 points per game and shooting 43.1 percent from beyond the arc on 4.5 3-point attempts per game. Harris was by far the Magic’s best shooter. For a team without shooting, he is not someone the team should release so easily. Nor is he someone whom a young player could easily displace.
The Magic broke even in lineups that featured Gary Harris alongside Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. There are certainly some indications the team plays better with Jalen Suggs in the starting lineup instead — although the Magic were -1.5 points per 100 possessions in lineups with Suggs, Wagner and Banchero.
But Harris unlocks something in the Magic that they do not have elsewhere in the roster. As their young players get better at playmaking, they could easily get Harris more of the spot-up and catch-and-shoot opportunities he thrived at last year.
Health is always the big concern with Harris — he played in only 48 games last year and has cleared 60 games only three times in his career. But it is clear what Harris can bring to the team.
Orlando’s drafting of two guards — including another shooter in Jett Howard — has clouded the guard depth some. It would make sense to let Harris hit free agency just to relieve some of that pressure and enable to slot Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black or Jett Howard immediately into the starting lineup.
President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman has made it clear the Magic are no longer in the stage of gifting playing time to anybody, including rookies who might need it most. Everyone is going to have to earn their spot through internal competition.
That would include Harris. But he is the incumbent starter and provides some stability to the team while comfortably staying out of the way of the young stars the team is trying to develop.
The draft has certainly clarified the team’s free agency plans and plans for the rest of the offseason. It is safe to say the Magic will focus a lot of their free-agency focus on shoring up their front court with their limited roster spots available.
At this point, the Magic should not be wasting any resources at their disposal.
And this gets to the off-court reasons why Harris could become so valuable. It is not just his on-court prowess that would benefit the Magic, he is still a valuable player on the trade market and an expiring contract that a veteran-laden team would value for a lot of the same reasons.
Orlando is a cap room team regardless of what the team does with Harris in the next few days. The Magic are projected to have $36.9 million in cap room if they do not retain Gary Harris (and keep Jonathan Isaac, Markelle Fultz and Bol Bol as they are expected to do). Orlando could get $29 million more in cap room if they cut Isaac, Fultz and Bol before free agency.
Even keeping Harris’ final year at $13 million, the Magic will have $23.9 million in room. That is still plenty to add quality players to the roster. The Magic are not losing much cap flexibility in keeping Harris for the final year of his contract.
The real value in keeping Harris is that the Magic could still use him in trades and use their cap room to absorb more salary. Especially with the impending arrival of the second apron and its punitive penalties for the 2025 season, expiring contracts are going to become valuable for teams looking to get under the second apron.
That could open up the potential to make some major moves.
Let’s say, for instance, the LA Clippers are looking to get under the second apron. They could offer Norman Powell for Gary Harris and look to get off the remaining three years and $57.7 million off his deal. They might even send a pick as a sweetener for the Magic to help them control their payroll.
Finding a deal like this may be difficult at this stage with other teams thinking bigger. But if one of these teams near the luxury tax penalties struggles throughout the season, perhaps that would make Harris more valuable at the trade deadline, especially if the Magic retain some of their cap space.
It will certainly make Jonathan Isaac extremely valuable with his fully non-guaranteed $17 million contract for the 2025 season.
The point is the Magic are not and should not be in the business of giving away potentially valuable trade assets to help complete their roster — whether they use them this offseason or at the trade deadline. It is hard not to see Harris becoming valuable for this reason too.
All of this goes away if the Magic let Harris go this week.
Certainly, if the Magic are looking to chase after some big fish — and have one in their net — then cutting Harris makes sense. There may be a player that makes that worth it.
That does not seem likely. Especially with every need the Magic still have to fill on their depth chart. And so it makes too much sense to keep Harris.
He is a player who can contribute at a high level and provide veteran know-how to the roster as it stands. On top of this, he becomes too valuable a trade chip to let go and risk losing him on the market.
Harris is simply too valuable to let him go. Keeping him is a no-brainer for this team.