New Faces, New Places: Channing Frye Signs With Orlando Magic
The Player: Channing Frye
The Team: Orlando Magic
The Contract: 4 years, $32 million
How does it affect the cap situation?
According to Spotrac, the Magic will be $13,913,471 under the cap after inking Frye and veteran shooting guard Ben Gordon to their agreed upon deals (assuming their cap hits are equivalent to the average annual value of their contracts). Magic GM Rob Hennigan should have plenty of funds available to pursue more free agents as the NBA’s version of Black Friday continues throughout this free agency period.
How does it affect the luxury tax?
With such a young team, the Magic have no incentive to pay the tax, and it’s extremely doubtful they’ll get anywhere near the threshold this season.
What’s next?
After trading productive shooting guard Arron Afflalo to Denver for Evan Fournier and second round pick Roy Devyn Marble, the Magic look to be in rebuilding mode once again. Orlando has a great stockpile of young pieces whom Frye should have no trouble playing alongside. His outside shooting paired with Nikola Vucevic’s rebounding and presence in the paint is a solid frontcourt pairing. Channing, who was a leader in the Phoenix locker room, was no doubt brought to Orlando to help mentor the young core of Victor Oladipo, rookie Aaron Gordon, big man Vucevic as well.
Moving forward, the front office may look to acquire another veteran who can both contribute and shoulder some of the leadership/mentoring duties on a short term deal. Head coach Jacque Vaughn is still unproven, so it is certainly in the Magic’s best interest to surround their cornerstones with solid veterans who can help them realize their full potential.
