Free agent forward Amile Jefferson will return to the Orlando Magic over a one-year deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The deal is expected to be a two-way contract, much like last season — now sealing the two-way avenue after signing Josh Maggette last week to the first slot available, according to Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel.
The Magic managed to bring back star center Nikola Vucevic as well as Terrence Ross on free agent deals and scooped up Al-Farouq Aminu as one of the available big men, which threatened Jefferson's probability of returning to the team.
The Duke product spent most of last season playing for the Magic's G-League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic, for which he posted 18.1 points, 11.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 33.2 minutes per game.
Jefferson only appeared in 12 games for the NBA team and he could likely find himself looking for scarce minutes to play, as the Magic have a nine-man frontcourt that he'd have to mow through to carve a spot in the rotation.
At 6-foot-9 and 222 pounds, Jefferson prospects as a points-and-boards power forward, but the Magic are already pretty deep at the position with starter Aaron Gordon and Aminu as the primary backup.
The 26-year-old is too lanky to get viable minutes at center and not versatile enough to fetch a spot at small forward, as he's yet to prove capable of shooting the three efficiently.
This signing was likely made in hopes of having some sort of insurance in case of injury for the frontcourt, which should only bode as more experience for the 26-year-old.
Follow Us
Subscribe