Summer League is always a tough thing to judge.
It is data and it is a public display of the team in a long offseason. It is hard not to get completely wrapped up in what we see.
On the other hand, Summer League is very much its own animal. It places a lot of players in roles they would not otherwise play during the season. Players are often working on their own things or trying to get seen and noticed not just for NBA teams but teams around the world.
What NBA teams are constantly trying to decipher is how everything will translate to the regular season and what they can use for their teams. Who is going to be able to contribute when their role reduces and the full rosters come together?
It is obviously a tougher thing because the box score stats often do not paint the clearest picture in the sometimes ragged games at Summer League.
The Orlando Magic begin their run through Summer League on Saturday. And there are a lot of stories to follow in the week to come for the Magic.
Even with all the usual warnings and trappings that come with Summer League, it is hard not to get swept up in the excitement of Summer League. It is a time for optimism and eagerness.
Summer League will serve a lot of purposes for this young Orlando Magic team.
The two rookies the team selected in the first round of the Draft will make their debuts and get their first taste of the NBA. That is usually the biggest focus for the Summer League yearly. It is a sneak peek of what these rookies will be able to provide.
But there is plenty more to get to. This is where the team establishes some of its foundations for players who make the roster — both in Orlando and now in Kissimmee with the Osceola Magic. Not to mention the two-way contracts the Magic still have to give out.
There is a lot to watch in Summer League. Although a lot of it has different meanings and all of it may not be entirely clear until we get to training camp.
As the Magic get ready to tip off their Summer League run, here are five storylines to keep an eye on and watch through the course of these games.
5 storylines to watch for Orlando Magic’s Summer League
The Rookies’ Debut
Every Summer League has an obvious big focus for every team: This is the first chance they get to see their rookies on an NBA floor and see how they really receive coaching and instruction.
This is their introduction to all the foundations and fundamentals of what a team is going to run through the course of the season. It is a lot of information thrown at players in a very short amount of time. They are not always expected to perform at the highest levels. This is just about building the foundation for the future.
The Orlando Magic have the challenge of doing it twice over with both sixth-overall pick Anthony Black and 11th0overall pick Jett Howard making their debuts in Las Vegas this week.
"“Obviously they have earned this opportunity, all the work they have done up until this point,” Orlando Magic Summer League coach (and Osceola Magic coach) Dylan Murphy said after the team’s practice Friday. “They have had great attitude, energy, willing learnings, very coachable. Kind of how Jeff [Welman] and [Jamahl Mosley] have talked about, just great young men with high IQ and they want to do things the right way. I’m really excited for them to finally get back to playing some 5-on-5.”"
Everyone is eager to see how they both will play.
As much as anything, their play will be confirmation of the Magic’s faith in picking them. Poor performances will only lead to more hand-wringing throughout the offseason, even if that is not the end-all, be-all for their futures — just remember Franz Wagner’s rough Summer League performance.
More than anything, the Magic want to see what their skills look like in an NBA setting and see how they can fit in. They may not be as concerned with their counting stats but more with their willingness to be aggressive, throw themselves into the mix and their ability to take coaching and apply it quickly.
After all, these players may not see the same kind of shot attempts they will get in the Summer League as the ostensible stars of this Summer League team.
Orlando has worked hard to develop this and to use this time to develop their skills. After the Magic’s Summer League practice in Orlando on Monday, Mosley was on the court working with Black in a shooting and driving drill. That is something he has continued to do in Las Vegas, working also with Howard.
Murphy said their IQs have stood out in practices and it is a credit to the coaching they received in college from Eric Musselman at Arkansas and Juwan Howard at Michigan. Now it is just about showing it all on an NBA floor.
Those two players are going to be important players for the Magic and their future. And so the Magic are trying to make the most of the hands-on time with them.
5 storylines to watch for Orlando Magic’s Summer League
Caleb Houstan and Kevon Harris make their second runs
The focus will always be on the new toys making their debut. We will spend plenty of time after Saturday’s game against the Detroit Pistons breaking down what we saw with Anthony Black and Jett Howard.
After them, what becomes important is how the players who are making their second (and likely or hopefully final) trip to Las Vegas for Summer League are developing and the leadership roles they take on as the “veterans” of the group.
To be sure, Caleb Houstan and Kevon Harris have embraced the veteran roles you would expect. Coach Jamahl Mosley reported at practice Monday while the team was still in Orlando that Caleb Houstan and Kevon Harris would take the young players to the side and help players get the system quicker and go right back into practice.
That part is really important.
But both Houstan and Harris say most of their leadership comes from leading by example. And as the only two players previously on the Magic’s roster from last year, their example is pretty meaningful.
As is always the case, everyone expects the second-year players and veteran players to be stabilizers and help give the team a solid competitive base. The Magic are going to want to see Houstan and Harris both take good steps forward or show more poise and composure in Summer League.
Houstan is probably the player most in the crosshairs. After an uneven rookie year that saw scant playing time, Houstan has a lot to prove to show he should be in the rotation or compete for a spot.
For his part, Houstan said he felt far more comfortable this time around in Summer League. He is not a wide-eyed rookie anymore — although he is still a very young 20 years old. And that is how he needs to play.
Second-year players often do act like the veterans on the floor. We see players in their second go-round at Summer League look far more poised and controlled on the court. This is what the Magic need to see from Houstan and Harris.
They both should be far more assured of themselves and comfortable on the floor. They should make fewer mistakes and know when to push for their own and when to keep the ball moving.
They have to lead by example at all times and that will be key to see both of these players take necessary steps forward.
5 storylines to watch for Orlando Magic’s Summer League
Who grabs the final roster spots?
Typically when teams enter Summer League — especially young teams like the Orlando Magic still are — there are at least a few questions about who fills the final roster spots. There are still a few roster spots left open from free agency and the team is left figuring out what they are going to do with them.
That is not the case for the Magic.
In fact, they had to cut Bol Bol because their roster was too full after they signed Joe Ingles (made official Friday) and re-signed Moe Wagner (still not official as of this writing). The team is arguably too loaded at guard too. But that is a problem for training camp to resolve.
That means there is not a lot of space for the Magic’s Summer Leaguers to fight for with the team that signed them.
The only roster spots left open are the final two two-way spots with the Magic holding onto Kevon Harris for a second year with the two-way opportunity and after the team waived Jay Scrubb surprisingly in June.
Orlando is certainly not limited to the players on its own roster, but that is where we will limit our attention. So what are the Magic looking for in their two-way contracts?
The Magic typically like to go with more veteran G-League players in their two-way contracts. Those players are usually more ready to contribute to the NBA when their numbers is called.
Figuring out who on this roster stands out is going to be the battle. And that is not easy at least through the early days of practice as the Magic look to fill out this team and eventually their main and G-League rosters.
"“We have great guys, high energy, positive attitude, great effort,” Magic Summer League coach Dylan Murphy said after practice Friday. “The care factor is really high with this group. I’m really excited to see them bring out on the court [Saturday].”"
D.J. Wilson figures to get a lot of playing time for the Summer Leauge roster and would be a great candidate. But because he already has five years in the league, he is ineligible for a two-way contract.
Quinndary Weatherspoon is a potential candidate that fits this criteria. He has had a few cups of coffee in the NBA — playing 42 total games with the San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors in three seasons — but has not been able to stick.
He is not experienced in the G-League (just two total games) and played in China last year, but he has some NBA experience that could translate and give the Magic what they need.
Then again, he is a guard. And that is the last thing the Magic need.
If Orlando has any serious holes on the roster it is at power forward and center. The Magic probably need to be strategic with these two-way spots and give them to players they may need to turn to in an emergency at these spots.
Unfortunately, this is a roster that is short on size and so the players to have focus on to fill this specific need is not clear.
There is, of course, 7-foot-3 center Kai Sotto. We will talk more about him in the next slide. But he carries the hopes of a nation on his shoulders. He has the skills though to stand out.
Harvard center Robert Baker II will get some looks at center in the week too. He averaged 10.1 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game last year for the Lakeland Magic as their starting center. He struggled with his shot around the basket though.
Illinois forward Malcolm Hill has tallied 24 total games with the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls during the past two seasons. He spent last year with the Windy City Bulls and Birmingham Squadron averaging 15.3 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game while shooting 36.8 percent from beyond the arc on 6.2 attempts per game.
He is a bit undersized at 6-foot-6 and plays more small forward and guard rather than power forward.
If the Magic are only looking at players on their roster, they could look to bolster their guard ranks.
Texas A&M guard Dexter Dennis averaged only 9.5 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. But he plays bigger than his 6-foot-5 size. He is known as a solid defender and could give the Magic another tenacious perimeter defender. Although his shooting leaves something to be desired.
If Orlando wants to bolster its shooting, Drake Jeffries should be someone the team looks at too. The former Wyoming guard signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Magic in training camp.
He had limited time in the G-League, averaging 5.8 points per game and hitting 33.6 percent of his shots from the outside. He averaged 10.3 points per game and shot 40.9 percent from beyond the arc in his sophomore year in 2022.
If the Magic keep their defensive bent, they could look to Au’Diese Toney. The former Arkansas guard made 28 appearances and 15 starts for the Lakeland Magic last year, averaging 8.5 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 38.0 percent from deep on limited attempts (just 1.8 per game).
This is, admittedly, not a well-put-together team. There are a lot of guard options and this team is going to play fairly small throughout the course of the Summer League.
It appears everyone caught wind the Magic were going to have a full roster. And so Orlando is leaning a lot on G-League holdovers as they look to fill these final spots.
5 storylines to watch for Orlando Magic’s Summer League
The Kai Sotto Hype
If you have spent any time in the comment sections of any Orlando Magic site, you are likely to hear Kai Sotto’s name pop up.
This is not some whisper campaign to get his name in front of everyone, although it is kind of acting like one to get everyone to talk about him. This is the passion and excitement from fans and residents of The Philippines as Kai Sotto aims to be the first native-born player from the island nation to reach the NBA.
While there might be some outsized expectations expressed in those comments, Sotto does have a real chance to make an impression. As I noted earlier, this Magic team is short on centers and post players.
Sotto is going to get a very hard look and a lot of opportunity to showcase himself for one of those two-way spots.
Kai Sotto has a lot working for him. He is 7-foot-3 but is more like Bol Bol as a versatile big man (although Sotto is probably not nearly the ball-handler that Bol is). He has some outside shooting ability and mobility to go with his big frame.
Sotto though has had his struggles.
He averaged 7.5 points per game in 15.3 minutes per game through 23 appearances for the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL in 2022. He shot 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. That showcased some of his versatility.
He started last year in the NBL again, averaging 6.8 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4 percent from the floor and 22.2 percent from beyond the arc in 27 games. This included a game of 16 points and seven rebounds against New Zealand. He still led the team in blocks.
He left the team in February and finished his season in Japan’s B League for Hiroshima. He played in 24 games to finish the season as their starting center, averaging 8.9 points per game and 1.3 blocks per game with 6.1 rebounds per game in 19.6 minutes per game.
It has been a wild journey for him. And Japan’s league is not viewed as a stepping stone to the NBA.
Still, he has his shot here with the Summer League team to make his mark. And Sotto should get a lot of opportunities this week to find his place in the basketball ecosystem.
It may still not be in the NBA. But there are skills and size that should entice teams. What he needs to take care of is to show he can defend and rebound better. The rest of his skills should fill in there.
5 storylines to watch for Orlando Magic’s Summer League
Any hints of regular season tactics
This team does not have a Paolo Banchero or a Franz Wagner to invert the court at the forward position. This team does not have a versatile playmaker like Wendell Carter to help man the center.
So it is hard to say what from Summer League is actually going to translate to the regular season. Even evaluating Anthony Black and Jett Howard will have some difficulties because of the imbalance in this Summer League roster. So take everything with a grain of salt.
Still, the Magic drill down the basics and foundations of their offensive and defensive principles in their limited time in practice. And so there could be at least a few clues to how the Magic want to defend or what they as an organization and coaching staff want test and work out.
The Orlando Magic have never really deployed the kind of pressure defense Jamahl Mosley was known for with the Dallas Mavericks. Now that he has a lot of guard options and some rim protection and versatility behind him, he may try to increase the ball pressure.
Orlando at least used token ball pressure throughout last season to try to slow down the opposing team’s pace. This was something Cole Anthony really took to. Will this be a permanent strategy? Will Mosley ask his guards to pick up full court with at least some token pressure?
With the Magic likely to go small, how much switching will the team do? Are they going to be aggressive and switch every position? Are they going to try trapping?
Offensively, how much does having so few bigs on the roster mean for the team’s spacing? Could the Magic try more 5-out sets with their lineup, especially if D.J. Wilson ends up starting at center?
It will be hard to say what is permanent and what is not from Summer League. It is all just conjecture at this point. But these games will give some clues to what the Magic are thinking and the kind of team they want to be when they tip back off in October.
This is the time for experimentation. And so we will see what the Magic ultimately decide to do and who they will be this season.