Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reported that Anthony Black and the Magic did not agree on a rookie-scale extension before Monday's deadline, and the rest of the week's reporting was about who will be in uniform Wednesday. Orlando's own numbers back the cap worry, match the Penda timeline, and settle nothing on Wagner.
The Black extension story checks out against the payroll.
Beede reported the two sides could not agree before Monday's 6 p.m. deadline and that Black is headed toward restricted free agency after the season. RealGM carried the same expectation that the Magic would not extend him, and Philip Rossman-Reich at Orlando Magic Daily tied the outcome to a looming cap crunch. The numbers agree with him. Orlando's payroll is $218.1M, above the first apron and well past the $200.4M tax line, with Wagner, Banchero, Bane and Suggs each already at $32.4M or more. What the reporting does not support is any idea that Black is on his way out. Restricted free agency leaves Orlando the right to match, and Black, 22, scored 15.0 points a game in 64 appearances last season with 3.7 assists. The number that decides his value is 33.3 percent from three. That is the step he has to take.
Penda's timeline is as vague as the reporting says it is.
Beede broke the news that Penda partially tore his right hamstring in Friday's preseason finale against the Heat, and added that it is a different part of the hamstring than the strain from training camp. RealGM and Hoops Rumors both reported he could miss significant time. Penda told Beede on Sunday that the hamstring feels really sore and that he does not know how long he will be out. The injury list is more specific than the player: Penda is listed out with a return date of November 18, the same date attached to Izaiyah Nelson's left ankle. Rossman-Reich wrote that Penda and the team are looking forward, a fair frame for a 21-year-old in his second year. Nothing reported this week contradicts that date.
Wagner, Richardson and Isaac are all still open questions.
Beede reported that Wagner left Friday's game with right shoulder soreness, that the team is continuing to evaluate it, and that Sweeney said Wagner took part in some of Sunday's practice. Beede also reported on Richardson's back and spoke with Isaac about his left knee. Orlando's injury report lists all three, plus Black's right ankle, with the same return date: October 21, the opener. That is a date, not a clearance. No report this week said any of the four will play, and none said they will not.
The opener arrives with both teams rested and Orlando thin.
ESPN noted the Magic open at home against the Hawks on Wednesday, and Rossman-Reich wrote that Orlando faces familiar injury concerns to start the season. The schedule offers no excuse either way: both teams come in on four days' rest. Atlanta went 46-36 last season behind Jalen Johnson's 22.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 7.9 assists a game, and has Mouhamed Gueye and Henri Veesaar out. Orlando's roster is down to 17 names after waiving Malaki Branham, JD Davison and Kevin Knox II. The test for a 45-37 team with a 0.6 net rating is whether it can start the year without leaning on bodies it does not have.
Did Anthony Black sign an extension with the Magic?
No. The Orlando Sentinel reported the sides did not reach a deal before Monday's deadline, so Black is headed toward restricted free agency after the season, where Orlando can match offers.
Will Franz Wagner play in the Magic opener against the Hawks?
It has not been decided publicly. He is listed with a right shoulder issue and an October 21 return date, and the team was still evaluating him as of Sunday.
