What the Orlando Magic should do with their own free agents

Chuma Okeke: Restricted Free Agent (Pending $7.4 million qualifying offer)

The Orlando Magic's final internal free agency decision comes with Chuma Okeke.

The Magic's 2019 first-round pick has had a tough go in his career. He entered the league after tearing his ACL in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He needed a year to recover from that injury and just as he was about to start playing 5-on-5 and get some run with the Lakeland Magic, COVID shut down the league.

He showed promise early in his career as a mid-range shooter and post-up threat, but the Magic under coach Jamahl Mosley boxed him in as a catch-and-shoot threat. That has not really worked out—and further knee injuries (although nothing major) slowed him down further, halting momentum when he got the chance.

The idea of Okeke was a good one. He is a smart, versatile defender and a capable shooter. But he was not able to build the consistency necessary to stay in the rotation. He has struggled to find a consistent role throughout his career.

He averaged a career-worst 2.3 points per game, appearing in 47 games and averaging just 9.2 minutes per game. He had some big shooting games where he hit a bunch of threes—like his big game against the New York Knicks in January.

But it feels like the Magic have already moved on. And they are likely to want to free up the roster space for new players. There are a finite number of roster spots and so for new players to come in, some have to leave.

The Magic are not likely to offer Okeke a qualifying offer, turning him loose to unrestricted free agency. Orlando would not want to risk Okeke signing his $7.4 million qualifying offer to return to the team. He is not likely to get that much in open free agency.

Okeke just never quite worked out.

Prediction: Magic let Okeke walk