magic security guard Anthony Black is eligible for a rookie scale extension until October 19. At Monday’s media day, he said he was not sure whether a deal will be reached before that deadline, but he did not stress that either way.
Basketball president Jeff Veltman says the team hopes to extend Black, but he acknowledged the Magic are in dire financial straits, according to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel.
“Always hoping, but I don’t know what that means. We are in more difficult conditions than in previous years” said Veltman.I know he has great reps. We believe he is a bright young player in this league who will continue to get better and better and we will be in constant conversation with his people until the deadline. And we hope we can achieve something.
“But if not, we expect Anthony to have a great year. (Extensions) are not always done right now. Sometimes they are executed later, so we’ll see. But I don’t want to make any predictions or anything like that. I know you know that both parties have the best intentions.”
If Black doesn’t sign an extension in the next few weeks, he will become a restricted free agent in 2027 when he is offered a qualifying offer.
Here’s more about magic:
- Head coach Sean Sweeney presented Black’s injury information (minor ankle sprain) and the second-year forward Noah Penda (fixed hamstring) on Friday, Bied writes for The Orlando Sentinel. Sweeney said Black has “definitely made progress” and is “feeling good,” though he suggested he hasn’t been practicing full contact. “They are both very close to being back and ready to go” Sweeney said of the pair of players.
- Sweeney, a first-time NBA head coach who spent last season as the top assistant in San Antonio, said he was encouraged by what he saw of the Magic during training camp, according to Bidde. “I learned that we have talented players” said Sweeney.I certainly had the feeling that we had it, but I learned that we have it personally. I really like the level of communication we’ve had and I’ve learned that about our players. Overall, I thought there would be more of an effort to get them to do things and really push them, but they pushed themselves, which is a great sign. The way they communicate with each other is powerful.”
- According to Beede, Sweeney recently nominated Tristan da Silva as a player who has a high level understanding of spacing in attack. The third-year forward was asked what that entails. “For me personally, this is really something I can do“, he said on Friday.”You know, you can’t miss open shots. Actually hunting them. This is a big thing because it allows you to free up space for other players to attack.”
- Sophomore guard Jace Richardson said he has been working on putting on some muscle this summer after being “picked up a bit” as a rookie for the 2025/26 season, tweets Bidet. Richardson said he has adapted a more physical approach to the game. “Just being the first guy to shoot, the first guy, being aggressive every time on the ball, especially being 94 feet (from the basket),Richardson said. “Just being an irritant, a person that annoys you the whole game. So just working on it every day.”
