{"id":432506,"date":"2026-10-20T00:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432506\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T00:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:26:15","slug":"orlando-magic-anthony-black-dont-reach-contract-extension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/432506\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic, Anthony Black don’t reach contract extension"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Magic<\/a> and fourth-year guard Anthony Black<\/a> failed to reach an agreement on a rookie-scale contract extension ahead of Monday\u2019s 6 p.m. deadline.<\/p>\n

By not signing a contract extension, Black, the No. 6 pick in the 2023 draft, is headed toward restricted free agency next summer following his fourth year with Orlando<\/a> and the final season of his rookie contract.<\/p>\n

A restricted free agent can sign an offer sheet with any team, but the player\u2019s original team can retain him by matching the terms of that offer. Black also could become an unrestricted free agent if Orlando opts not to qualify him, which would then allow him to sign with any team.<\/p>\n

In order for a player to become a restricted free agent,\u00a0his team must submit a qualifying offer to the player between the day after the last game of the NBA<\/a> Finals and June 29, according to the league<\/a>. That\u2019s the next time the Magic and Black can talk about a new contract.<\/p>\n

By not reaching an agreement on an extension ahead of the season, both sides are taking a gamble of sorts. Black could perform at a high level and expect a bigger payday, or he could have a down year and miss out on additional money that he could have earned by signing an extension.<\/p>\n

The same goes for the Magic. While the team will have the right of first refusal for Black once he becomes a restricted free agent, the door is open for the young guard to sign an offer sheet with another team. That might cost the Magic more if they decide to match \u2014 or Orlando risks losing a player it thinks highly of.<\/p>\n

Though the sides weren\u2019t able to come to terms on an extension ahead of the deadline, it doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t return to the team in the upcoming offseason. In fact, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman<\/a> acknowledged that possibility at the team\u2019s media day Sept. 28 inside the AdventHealth Training Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe he\u2019s a bright young player in this league who\u2019s just going to get better and better, and we\u2019ll have continuous conversation with his people up until the deadline,\u201d Weltman said at the time<\/a>. \u201cAnd we\u2019re hopeful that we can arrive at something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if not, we expect Anthony to have a great year,\u201d Weltman added. \u201c(Extensions) don\u2019t always get done right now. Sometimes they get done later, so we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research done by Keith Smith of Spotrac.com<\/a> found that 60 players from the 10 first-round draft classes between 2013 and 2022 ended up signing new contracts as restricted free agents. Of the 60, a total of 37 (or 61.6%) re-signed with their former team on a new deal that wasn\u2019t from a qualifying offer.<\/p>\n

In addition, seven players signed a qualifying offer, seven signed offer sheets with other teams and nine others changed teams via sign-and-trade deals, according to Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A qualifying offer is a standing offer for a one-year guaranteed deal, which becomes a regular contract if a player decides to sign it.<\/p>\n

Black and the Magic could also work out a deal that is independent of the qualifying offer or they could negotiate a sign-and-trade if he doesn\u2019t sign an offer sheet with another team.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Magic don\u2019t have as much future financial flexibility as they\u2019ve had in the past. Orlando already has a combined $161.2 million in salary allocated to Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane for the 2027-28 season. Tack on the $19.5 million owed to Wendell Carter Jr. and the number reaches north of $180 million committed for just five players.<\/p>\n

But the team likes Black and his future potential. It\u2019s why Orlando drafted him sixth overall out of Arkansas in 2023.<\/p>\n

Although he missed time down the stretch last season because of a left lateral abdominal strain, he still averaged career highs of 15 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists during 29.8 minutes per night in 64 regular-season games.<\/p>\n

Black missed all four of Orlando\u2019s preseason contests because of a right ankle sprain he suffered during voluntary workouts in the lead up to training camp, but he\u2019s continued to ramp up towards a return, according to new Magic coach Sean Sweeney<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With Monday\u2019s deadline passed, the sides can shift their focus fully to opening night. The Magic open the regular season Wednesday when they host the Hawks at Kia Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Magic and fourth-year guard Anthony Black failed to reach an agreement on a rookie-scale contract extension ahead…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[114,2295,139,141,1239,140,109,76046,110],"class_list":["post-432506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nba","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-magic","tag-orlando-news","tag-social","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}