Magic Sign C Wendell Carter Jr. to a 4-Year, 50M Extension

[Knightro]

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[MagicFan101]

I don’t see how anyone here can complain about this. That is a heck of a deal for Orlando considering the $80M+ deals we like to give out lately.

[JBSouthpaw]

fair price, needs to stay healthy, not too high where we can't draft over him if necessary.

Let's see if Mo pouts or performs.

[BlueBlazer]

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Very solid deal imo.

[Knightro]

It's fine. Not great, but certainly not terrible.

Carter is a lower end starter with some potential for more and this is lower end starter money. I'm not upset about it, but I'm not over the moon either.

[Flannerz]

Doesn't seem too bad a deal

[Xatticus]

That's a good number. It's only going to work out to about 7% of the cap and it gets rid of his cap hold. We'll see how he gets on, but he should provide enough utility to meet those terms, so this isn't all about development regardless.

[Bergmaniac]

Decent deal for both sides.

[Def Swami]

I would have waited to the end of the season to make a decision on Carter vs Bamba. I think it's interesting that the Magic decided to extend Fultz, Isaac, and now Carter, when they could have played the seasons out and waited. I probably would have played it more conservatively and kept options open. I'm afraid of locking this team into a team full of mediocre players on long term salary. But, it's a good number overall and for $50 million over 4 years, that's kind of a decent deal on a center, and he's probably more tradeable under this contract than without it.

Is there a world where the Magic bring back Bamba next year? I'm having a hard time seeing the Magic locking up that much money in centers we're not sure can start yet.

[SOUL]

Not bad!

[IllMagic04]

I would have waited to the end of the season to make a decision on Carter vs Bamba. I think it's interesting that the Magic decided to extend Fultz, Isaac, and now Carter, when they could have played the seasons out and waited. I probably would have played it more conservatively and kept options open. I'm afraid of locking this team into a team full of mediocre players on long term salary. But, it's a good number overall and for $50 million over 4 years, that's kind of a decent deal on a center, and he's probably more tradeable under this contract than without it.

Is there a world where the Magic bring back Bamba next year? I'm having a hard time seeing the Magic locking up that much money in centers we're not sure can start yet.

I agree. I woulda waited. They must think hes gonna have a good year in then would have gotten 80 mil. So yea it does kinda feel like we are choosing him over Bamba. I cant imagine tying up 100 mill in 2 centers. This decision should have waited

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[The Effect]

The deal in itself is fine

But this likely means that bamba is pretty much gone, and to me, i think if i was choosing between the 2, id take bambas potential and athleticism over carters steady average game

[The Effect]

I would have waited to the end of the season to make a decision on Carter vs Bamba. I think it's interesting that the Magic decided to extend Fultz, Isaac, and now Carter, when they could have played the seasons out and waited. I probably would have played it more conservatively and kept options open. I'm afraid of locking this team into a team full of mediocre players on long term salary. But, it's a good number overall and for $50 million over 4 years, that's kind of a decent deal on a center, and he's probably more tradeable under this contract than without it.

Is there a world where the Magic bring back Bamba next year? I'm having a hard time seeing the Magic locking up that much money in centers we're not sure can start yet.

I agree. I woulda waited. They must think hes gonna have a good year in then would have gotten 80 mil. So yea it does kinda feel like we are choosing him over Bamba. I cant imagine tying up 100 mill in 2 centers. This decision should have waited

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i mean, we were paying vuc 100m by himself, so i dont think its out of the questions to pay 2 guys 50m each, but i dont think the FO wants to pay bamba

[Magic_Kingdom]

I thought they would wait until the end of the year on Carter and Bamba, but this deal was likely too good to pass up. Carter would’ve gotten more money than this in today’s market if he had a decent season, and he looks good in preseason. Better than last year.

[Knightro]

12.5M is also very tradeable if Bamba were to blow up and have a great season and he was the guy they wanted to move forward with as the long-term piece at C and not Carter.

[MagicTownBaller]

I don't think this means Bamba is gone at all. I think they just wanted to lock WCJ on a decent deal. $50M isn't even bad for 10 years ago for a starting Center, now it's completely justified.

Also, what if Bamba and WCJ can play together and they play well and Franz is more of a 3? Does this mean Isaac is gone.

[Xatticus]

I would have waited to the end of the season to make a decision on Carter vs Bamba. I think it's interesting that the Magic decided to extend Fultz, Isaac, and now Carter, when they could have played the seasons out and waited. I probably would have played it more conservatively and kept options open. I'm afraid of locking this team into a team full of mediocre players on long term salary. But, it's a good number overall and for $50 million over 4 years, that's kind of a decent deal on a center, and he's probably more tradeable under this contract than without it.

Is there a world where the Magic bring back Bamba next year? I'm having a hard time seeing the Magic locking up that much money in centers we're not sure can start yet.

I don't know if this is an indication that they are making a decision, but I don't see any reason why this signing needs to be evidence of such. There are 48 frontcourt minutes at each position. You can't count on 2k minutes from anyone in our frontcourt and there are nearly 8k frontcourt minutes to go around. If everyone ends up being healthy and there is a playing time crunch, then that is a wonderful problem to have, but I certainly wouldn't count on that being the case.

To put this into perspective... Vucevic's first extension in Orlando was 4 years at $50M. Since that extension was signed, the cap has risen by $42M. The biggest difference between the two was that Vucevic was eating up significantly more minutes up to that point, so we will see what we get from WCJ. I think WCJ has the potential to be a much more useful player, but that won't much matter if he can't give you 2k minutes on an annual basis.

For me, it's just about accumulating assets and WCJ is an asset at present. He should remain an asset under the terms of this contract. Hammond doesn't sound enthused about Bamba's future, but I'm sure some of that is the residual taint from the constant bitching of Clifford. If Bamba gets consistent minutes this year, he will pile up stats. If that happens, you can expect some positive attention from the media and pundits will be claiming that it is starting to click for him and that he is turning the corner. Bamba's prospect status will recover and he will again become an asset. We can let the market decide whether or not we keep him at that point, but I think that the WCJ extension only strengthens Orlando's position on those negotiations.

I think if WCJ waits on this extension and has a good season, then he would've had the potential to earn quite a bit more when he hit free agency. I suspect he got that all out of the way and signed this extension because he is finally happy where he is. I think he is staking his claim to a featured spot in our rotation in the same way that Vucevic did when he signed his extension. A lot of talented bigs never do find a forever home. We will find out as the season plays out if the same holds true for Bamba. Make no mistake though, if Bamba is averaging 3+ blocks per game and knocking down 3-point shots, there will be some money out there for him at the end of the year.

[89Magicfan]

They’re making Bamba work for that extension.

[Magic_Kingdom]

My guess is that the same extension is on the table for Bamba. I don’t think they would do one and not the other to start the season. That is not to say Bamba has earned it, I just don’t think the front office operates that way. If they had decided on Carter over Bamba I think they would’ve traded Mo this summer. Now they have established the market and if Mo wants more he’ll have to earn it this year.

[OrlandoMagic]

How much longer until the draft