The Magic made a handful of training camp-related transactions Wednesday night.
First, Orlando signed Ace Baldwin Jr., Ricky Council IV, Jarron Cumberland and Au’Diese Toney to Exhibit 10 contracts, a league source told the Orlando Sentinel. Then, the Magic waived those four players and signed free agent forward Kevin Knox II to an Exhibit 10 deal, a league source said.
The team finalized those moves when Orlando also announced its training camp roster, which stands at 20 players, including three two-way players. Knox will be with the team for training camp, the Sentinel learned.
But why did the Magic first sign four players to Exhibit 10 deals and then immediately waive them? There’s a financial incentive involved for the players throughout the process.
An Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed deal that allows players to join an NBA team for training camp. If a player on an Exhibit 10 contract is waived and then spends at least 60 days with the team’s G League affiliate (in this case the Osceola Magic), they’d earn a bonus worth up to $91,000 this upcoming season.
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A player on an Exhibit 10 deal could also earn a standard NBA contract depending on how they perform in training camp and the preseason, but that path is generally less likely. The Magic have one standard contract roster spot open entering camp, but sit roughly $2.5 million under the league’s second apron, a salary threshold set at $221,686,000 by the collective bargaining agreement.
Teams could also convert an Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way contract, which allows players to go between the NBA and G League for up to 50 NBA games (although they’re not eligible for the postseason). Teams can sign up to three two-way contracts, and the Magic currently have all three spots filled: Colin Castleton, Alex Morales and rookie second-round draft pick Izaiyah Nelson.
But neither Knox nor guards Malaki Branham and JD Davison, who both signed an Exhibit 10 with the Magic earlier this month, are eligible to sign a two-way contract. Only players with three or fewer years of NBA service are able to sign two-way contracts.
While Branham and Davison both have four years of NBA experience, Knox has seven. He’s bounced around the NBA and G League in the time since he was drafted ninth overall by the Knicks in 2018.
The University of Kentucky product has appeared in 320 career NBA regular season games with New York, Atlanta, Detroit, Portland and Golden State, averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds during 17.5 minutes per night. He has also played in 49 career G League regular season games with Rip City, Santa Cruz and Windy City, averaging 23.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists during 34.1 minutes per contest.
After signing Knox, the Magic have 20 players on their roster: 14 standard-contract players, three two-way players and three on Exhibit 10 deals. Although NBA rosters are limited to 15 standard-contract players during the regular season, teams are allowed to carry up to 21 players during the offseason. While two-way players don’t count toward the 15-man maximum during the regular-season, they do during the offseason.
With their training camp roster set, the Magic open camp under new coach Sean Sweeney at the AdventHealth Training Center on Tuesday.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
