{"id":862435,"date":"2026-09-27T12:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T12:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862435\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T12:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T12:30:11","slug":"orlando-magic-training-camp-five-big-questions-to-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/862435\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando Magic training camp: Five big questions to answer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Magic<\/a> are almost back.<\/p>\n

Orlando<\/a> hosts media day Monday inside the AdventHealth Training Center<\/a> and starts training camp the next day. After a week of practice, the Magic open the preseason Oct. 7 at Memphis. Orlando\u2019s regular season begins Oct. 21 versus Atlanta at Kia Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are high expectations for the franchise as new head coach Sean Sweeney<\/a> takes over a roster that features Paolo Banchero<\/a>, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs.<\/p>\n

As the Magic return to the practice court this week, here are some questions that need answers:<\/p>\n

How do the Magic respond to a new voice?<\/p>\n

When Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman<\/a> discussed the decision to move on from Jamahl Mosley<\/a> (who\u2019s now head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans<\/a>), Weltman had this to say: \u201cShort of acquiring a star player, I do believe that the greatest impact that you can have on a team is to bring in a new coach.\u201d<\/p>\n

So after five years of Mosley\u2019s messaging, how will a still relatively young Magic roster react to Sweeney\u2019s style?<\/p>\n

\"NewSean Sweeney was introduced as the new head coach of the Magic in June and opens his first training camp as an NBA head coach this week. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Sweeney, 42, made it clear when he was formally introduced earlier this summer he values character, competition, connection and the game itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a competitor,\u201d he said in June<\/a>. \u201cI want to do things with integrity, and I want to make sure we\u2019re connected in how we play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sweeney faces his initial test running an NBA training camp as a first-time head coach. It\u2019s an opportunity for him to set the standard early.<\/p>\n

Will Anthony Black sign an extension before the season?<\/p>\n

The summer has come and gone, and the 2023 lottery pick is still without a rookie-scale contract extension. The deadline to reach an agreement is 6 p.m. on Oct. 19, the day before the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

If a deal can\u2019t get done, Black would become a restricted free agent next summer.<\/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 unrestricted if Orlando opts not to qualify him, which would allow him to sign with any team.<\/p>\n

\"OrlandoMagic guard Anthony Black averaged a career-high 15 points last season. (Stephen M. Dowell\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

A handful of fellow 2023 first-rounders have recently agreed to extensions with their respective teams including Houston\u2019s Amen Thompson (five years, $208 million), Detroit\u2019s Ausar Thompson (five years, $155 million) and Utah\u2019s Keyonte George (five years, $157.5 million).<\/p>\n

Black missed time down the stretch last season because of a left lateral abdominal strain, but 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

When will Orlando round out its roster?<\/p>\n

Similar to last season, the Magic open training camp with 14 out of 15 standard contract roster spots filled.<\/p>\n

Orlando waited until February to fill last year\u2019s open roster spot when it signed veteran guard Jevon Carter, who re-signed with the franchise in July.<\/p>\n

The Magic could decide to wait until after the Feb. 11 trade deadline to sign its 15th standard contract player, or fill it ahead of opening night if a player on a two-way contract or Exhibit 10 deal impresses in camp.<\/p>\n

Orlando has three two-way players signed: rookie second-round pick Izaiyah Nelson, center Colin Castleton and forward Alex Morales. The team has three players on Exhibit 10 contracts: JD Davison, Malaki Branham and Kevin Knox II<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Waiting to sign a player, however, offers financial flexibility. Orlando is only $2.5 million under the league\u2019s second apron, a salary threshold set at $221,686,000 by the collective bargaining agreement. Signing a player later in the season would allow the salary to be pro-rated, meaning it would incur a smaller cap hit.<\/p>\n

\"BostonMagic center Nikola Vucevic ended last season with the Boston Celtics. (Matt Slocum\/AP file)
\nWhat\u2019s the role of Nikola Vucevic?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been five seasons since Vucevic last suited up for the Magic and a lot has changed. Turning 36 on Oct. 24, Vucevic is past his prime but he believes he still has plenty left in the tank.<\/p>\n

In a combined 64 regular-season games with Chicago (48) and Boston (16) last season, the 6-foot-11 center averaged 15.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists during 28.4 minutes per night.<\/p>\n

Although he\u2019s further along in his career, Vucevic was also the team\u2019s only free agent addition<\/a> following the departure of Moe Wagner, who signed with the Brooklyn Nets. In a frontcourt that features Wendell Carter Jr. and Goga Bitadze, how much will be asked of Vucevic and how much he can offer remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the status of Izaiyah Nelson?<\/p>\n

After the Magic picked Nelson in the second round<\/a> of June\u2019s draft, the USF Bull suffered a fracture in his left ankle July 12 in a Las Vegas Summer League game against the Trail Blazers.<\/p>\n

At the time of the injury, the team said Nelson would undergo surgery and would be expected to return to basketball activities in three or four months. That would be sometime in the October or November, potentially after the regular season begins.<\/p>\n

\"MagicMagic rookie Izaiyah Nelson suffered a fracture in his left ankle during Las Vegas Summer League. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda\/Orlando Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Before he got hurt, Nelson signed a two-way contract with the Magic, meaning he could go between the NBA and G League. Two-way players can appear in up to 50 NBA regular seasons and aren\u2019t eligible for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Given the type of contract he signed, it was unlikely Nelson was going to play a large role with Orlando as a rookie. Following his injury, his spot is even more in question.<\/p>\n

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Magic are almost back. Orlando hosts media day Monday inside the AdventHealth Training Center and starts training…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":862436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[2558,355,11950,5262,219873,99],"class_list":["post-862435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nba","tag-orlando-magic","tag-social","tag-social-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}