Is Orlando Magic Big Man Wendell Carter Jr. Underpaid?

Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. is the 116th-highest paid player in the NBA for the approaching season.

Orlando Magic big man Wendell Carter Jr. might have one of the most valuable contracts, not just on the Magic's roster, but in the entire NBA going into the 2023-24 season. 

Bleacher Report included him in its All-Underpaid first team for the upcoming NBA season. 

"Wendell Carter Jr. isn't just underpaid. He's underrated," Bleacher Report writes. "Last year, during his first full season in Orlando, he averaged 15.2 points and 2.3 assists while connecting on 62.4 percent of his twos and 35.6 percent of his triples, all the while displaying off-the-charts versatility. Need him to dot the corners? No sweat. Slip screens? Easy peasy. Come off a pindown to pop a mid-range J? No problemo. Trail in transition above the break? You got it."

Carter Jr. found himself in Orlando after the Magic traded Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu to the Chicago Bulls for himself, Otto Porter, a 2021 first round pick and a 2023 first round pick. Those two first round picks turned into Franz Wagner and Jett Howard.

Wendell Carter Jr. was traded to the Orlando Magic at the trade deadline during the 2020-21 NBA season.  / USA Today Sports

His current contract pays him $13 million for the 2023-24 season, $11.9 million for the 2024-25 season and $10.8 million for the 2025-26 season after which he will become an unrestricted free agent if he isn't extended before then. Carter Jr.'s cap hit for the upcoming season is the 116th highest in the NBA. 

The 24-year-old big man is entering his sixth season in the NBA after Chicago drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 Draft. In five seasons, he has averaged 12.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists along with 0.8 blocks and 0.6 steals.