The Orlando Magic are a little more than a month from training camp — set to open Oct. 3 with media day on Oct. 2. — and the team’s training camp roster is starting to come together and get finalized.
The team is obviously not making any high-profile signings at this point. The roster is full of guaranteed contracts. The only true open roster spot left open is the final two-way spot.
Still, the Magic are busy signing players both to compete for that last two-way spot and help fill up the roster for the Osceola Magic. And they have put together a seemingly impressive group who will help the team out in training camp and beyond.
The Orlando Magic have reportedly made a series of three signings to inch their roster closer to completion before training camp.
The most well-known name came down Tuesday afternoon with Shams Charania reporting the Magic will sign 2023 Slam Dunk Contest winner Mac McClung to their training camp roster.
Free agent guard Mac McClung – the 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest champion – has agreed to a partially guaranteed deal with the Orlando Magic, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. pic.twitter.com/nXXfTcC5zh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 22, 2023
The team has also added former G-League MVP Trevelin Queen (first reported by Chris Haynes and since confirmed by Orlando Magic Daily) and former second-round pick Miye Oni (first reported by Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel).
These are small moves. The players have signed one-year deals likely with some partial guarantees but are likely Exhibit 10 contracts that would give them some guaranteed money for training camp and then preferential placement on the Magic’s G-League team, the Osceola Magic.
Still, these are all impressive players.
McClung is the most known of these three after his stellar performance at All-Star Weekend. But McClung is a solid player in his own right. He scored 25 points in 41 minutes across two games for the Philadelphia 76ers last year. He has played only four games across three seasons in the NBA.
Instead, he has made a mark as one of the best guards in the G-League.
McClung scored 19.8 points per game in 26.8 minutes per game last year for the Delaware Blue Coats in the G-League. He had shooting splits of 55.0/47.4/82.3 in 31 appearances during the regular season.
Yes, McClung is an excellent dunker and his athleticism stands out. But he is also a pretty solid scorer and attacker in several ways. He was one of the top players in the G-League last year and had a strong showing helping Delaware win the G-League title (with Jameer Nelson as GM, for the record).
McClung is not overly big, but he makes up for it with his athleticism and basketball IQ. He has shown he can translate some of his scoring chops to the NBA. But obviously, he has not had that much time in the NBA to get going.
The Magic also added another top G-League player, signing 2022 G-League MVP Trevelin Queen last week.
Queen averaged 22.6 points per game and 6.5 rebounds per game in 34.5 minutes per game last year for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants with shooting splits of 48.2/26.5/88.9. During his MVP season in 2022, he averaged 25.3 points per game in 35.0 minutes per game with shooting splits of 48.5/34.2/79.6.
He has scored 64 points in 144 minutes across 17 games for the Houston Rockets (2022) and Indiana Pacers (2023) in the NBA.
Queen is a strong athlete and defender, much in the mold of wings the Magic tend to favor. He has good size and length for the forward position at 6-foot-6. But he notably has not established himself as a shooter.
If the goal for these players is less about contributing to the Magic on the floor for the season and more about giving the team a lot of extra players and player types to go through in practice then Queen represents someone who is going to be able to score in the paint and inside the arc and also a big defender on the wing.
If that is the case, then the addition of Miye Oni fits that type to a tee.
Oni is a 6-foot-6 forward with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He is not the most impressive statistical player — he averaged 12.7 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game with the SLC Stars in 2020 and he has 145 total points in 672 minutes across 80 games for the Utah Jazz from 2020-22.
Oni spent last year playing for the London Lions, where he averaged 7.9 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game. That part is not impressive.
But it is obvious the Magic are chasing him for his defensive ability and length. That is the Magic’s type for sure. And Oni fits it.
As a player to round out the training camp roster, that certainly will help get the team ready for the season. The Magic do not ever seem to think they can be without length.
Orlando though is working to round out the group for its training camp. The Magic have 15 players under contract (including Jonathan Isaac’s non-guaranteed deal) plus two players (Admiral Schofield and Kevon Harris) on two-way deals.
That leaves the Magic with one two-way spot to fill and now just one more roster spot open for training camp. The team can carry a maximum of 21 players (including two-way contracts) until the day before the regular season starts.
So there is likely one more player to add to the team’s roster before training camp begins (and the team could shuffle those players around as needed, which often happens during the preseason).
But the Magic’s training camp roster is coming together. And Orlando has its crew that will get ready for the season.