The Sixers are not in a hurry to patch the hole left by Ariel Hukporti’s preseason Achilles tear.
Philadelphia’s frontcourt depth behind Joel Embiid now runs through Adem Bona, Dominick Barlow and Jabari Walker, but Marc Stein of The Stein Line reports the team is unlikely to bring in another big man - or any player on a standard NBA contract - before prorated minimum deals open up in early December. The main reason is financial: the Sixers are operating very close to their first-apron hard cap. They could free space with a salary-cutting trade or by waiving Walker, but neither move sounds especially close.
In Orlando, Anthony Black’s next contract also doesn’t appear to be moving anytime soon. Stein reports the Magic and Black have not had meaningful extension talks, and the financial picture helps explain why.
Orlando is already staring down a pricey future built around Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane. Black is coming off a breakout year, one that pushed his scoring from 9.4 to 15.0 points per game, but the bigger question hanging over the Magic is whether they can keep both Black and Suggs long-term.
Charlotte, meanwhile, may be preparing for a much bigger number with Brandon Miller. Around the league, Miller is still seen as a strong extension candidate for the Hornets, and Stein reports that some personnel believe his eventual deal could top the five-year, $208 million extension Amen Thompson signed with Houston. That would be a hefty wager on Miller’s offensive ceiling, especially with health and defense still part of the conversation.
Oklahoma City has already started extension talks with Cason Wallace, and the early numbers are in a very different range. Stein reports the discussions have been around $25 million per season, with Dyson Daniels and Christian Braun mentioned as comparisons.
Wallace may be aiming closer to the five-year, $155 million deal Keyonte George got from Utah. With Luguentz Dort gone from the roster, Wallace seems set for a bigger workload in Oklahoma City.
And in Dallas, Dwight Powell is doing whatever he can to keep his place. Stein reports that Powell has waived his right to block a trade if he makes the regular-season roster, which would give the Mavericks the ability to move him after Dec.
- His spot looked shakier once Moussa Cisse’s salary became guaranteed, but Powell has helped himself with a strong preseason and earned praise from Mavericks coach Dusty May.
In the end, that may count for more than the contract mechanics.
In Other News...
Magic Lineup Questions Got Louder Before The Cleveland Rematch
The preseason meeting with Cleveland offered Orlando a useful early look, even in a 119-105 loss that had the Magic chasing most of the night. James Harden set the tone for the Cavaliers with 24 points, but Orlando still found some offense from a few younger and deeper-rotation pieces, giving the staff something to evaluate before the games start to matter.
The bigger question was the lineup picture, since the Magic were shorthanded with several players out for rest, illness and injury, forcing others into bigger roles than usual. Jase Richardson and Tristan da Silva got the chance to start and both made their presence felt, and with Cleveland waiting again in the next preseason matchup, Orlando will have a chance to see what carries over once the roster is a little closer to full strength. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Still Look Like A Team Searching For Rhythm Under Sean Sweeney
The early preseason minutes have already offered a glimpse of how much Orlando still has to sort through under Sean Sweeney. The Magic are working through new coaching concepts while trying to build continuity and cleaner execution, and their first exhibition outing against Cleveland showed both sides of that process. There were encouraging stretches in ball movement and defense, but the offense still looked like a group learning how to play with more precision.
That challenge gets a little steeper with the roster adjustments around the second preseason game, since Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black remain out as they get closer to their debuts and Jonathan Isaac is away for personal reasons. For a team trying to find rhythm quickly, every missing rotation piece matters, especially when the first game already exposed how much work remains on the offensive end. The Magic have time, but not a lot of it, to make the new pieces fit. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Cap Crunch Puts Pressure On Anthony Black's Place In Core
The Magic have spent much of the offseason trying to preserve the shape of a playoff roster that helped move the franchise forward, but the math is getting tighter by the day. According to Marc Stein of The Stein Line, Orlandos payroll commitments to Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane are making it difficult to add another long-term deal right now, even for a young guard who remains part of the bigger picture.
Anthony Black is at the center of that squeeze, with Orlando weighing how to keep its core intact while staying flexible enough to manage the cap. An extension on the table is still possible, and one in the neighborhood of Wendell Carter Jr.s deal has not been ruled out, but the current path points toward a more complicated timeline that could leave Black headed for restricted free agency next summer if the picture does not change. [Read more 🡒]