The Orlando Magic may look far from a playoff team on paper, but the team is clearly building for the future after trading their stars in Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon late last season. The team acquired a whole lot of draft capital but their most notable acquisition was Wendell Carter Jr. from the Chicago Bulls.
Now, Orlando is making sure the young center is part of their franchise for the foreseeable future after inking him to a four-year extension worth $5o million, per TheAthletic’s Shams Charania. The deal is reportedly fully guaranteed and rightfully so, as Carter Jr. has shown signs of promise.
Through 141 regular-season games (22 with Orlando Magic), the 22-year old has averaged 11.0 PPG, 8.2 RPG, while shooting an efficient 50.6% from the field. In this year’s preseason, Carter Jr. has averaged 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1 block.
Staying on the court will bode well for Carter Jr. as it would for any player as he has missed time with injuries through his first three seasons. Now Orlando has paid him as in the top-half of highest center salaries in the league, so best believe they hope he can perform like that.
It’s clear the Magic were keen on doing this deal as Carter Jr., the No. 7 pick of the 2018 draft, becomes the sixth player from that draft class to sign an extension between now and Monday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline.
