JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – Kai Sotto is at the doorstep of his NBA dream.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino center will begin banging on that door Sunday (Monday, Manila time) when the Orlando Magic Summer League team plunges into their first practice.
But even before Sotto could start his push, the small opening got slimmer after the Magic brought back two of their big men from last season.
Orlando picked up Goga Bitadze’s $2.06 million team option a day before the June 30 deadline. On Saturday night (Sunday, Manila time), they decided to bring back Mo Wagner on a two-year, $16 million deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 6-foot-11 Wagner, a skilled big man from Germany and older brother of Magic’s rising star Franz Wagner, has found a home with the Magic after bouncing around in the league since the Los Angeles Lakers selected him 25th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Wagner thrived with the Magic last season, averaging 10.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 57 games, including 17 starts.
Bitadze, the 18th overall pick in 2019, put up 5.8 points and 5.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 15 minutes across 17 games this past season.
Wagner and Bitzadze are expected to back up anew Orlando’s starting center Wendell Carter, Jr.
The Magic also signed veteran forward Joe Ingles to a two-year, $22 million deal hours into free agency, bringing their roster to 14 players with guaranteed contracts. The oft-injured Jonathan Isaac has a partially guaranteed $17.6 million salary for next season. It will be fully guaranteed by Jan. 10, 2024, depending on how he recovers from his season-ending adductor injury.
Bol Bol is on standby as the Magic is delaying guaranteeing his $2.2 million contract for next season to an undisclosed date.
Each NBA team is allowed to bring 20 players to the training camp but will need to trim it down to a maximum of a 15-man lineup for their opening night roster and three on two-way contracts.
Currently, the Magic have only shooting guard Kevon Harris on a two-way deal, meaning Sotto can earn one of those two remaining slots if he makes a good impression in the Summer League.
Sotto and the Magic Summer League squad will fly to Las Vegas on July 5 and face the Detroit Pistons on July 8 in their first game at the Thomas and Mack Center inside the University of Nevada campus. They are scheduled to play at least five games. After the Summer League, any NBA team can pick up Sotto and bring him to the training camp.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based website Heavy.com.