Magic Buy Out Terrence Ross After No Trade; R.J. Hampton Next?

The NBA Trade Deadline has come and gone. With the Orlando Magic buying out impending free agent Terrence Ross, is R.J. Hampton next?

Jeremy Brener | Feb 11, 2023

Magic Buy Out Terrence Ross After No Trade; R.J. Hampton Next? /

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is saying goodbye to the two longest-tenured players for the franchise, trading Mo Bamba to the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday and buying out Terrence Ross on Saturday.

The Magic is in a unique position firmly planted in the middle of the lottery teams in the league. The team holds a .411 win percentage, which is three games back of the play-in tournament and 8.5 games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets and Detroit Pistons, who are in contention for the league's worst record.

The team is in no man's land, which explains their reason to be a seller instead of a buyer for this year's trade deadline.

With Bamba and Ross gone, R.J. Hampton and Gary Harris are the only players without a guaranteed contract for next season currently on the roster ... assuming Patrick Beverley is also bought out.

Harris missed Thursday's game with right adductor soreness, but he's expected to return to the starting lineup soon. However, Hampton has fallen out of the rotation completely.

Hampton, 22, is averaging 5.7 points per game while playing primarily in garbage time situations. Should he be bought out, it's hard to see him joining a contender and receiving considerable playing time. He might end up deciding that riding out the rest of the season with the Magic could be in his best interest.

However, Hampton has promise. In his last G League game with Lakeland, Hampton scored 30 points. He's averaging 22.7 points per game in his tenure with Lakeland, proving that he has a lot of talent. The question is whether or not that talent will be recognized on an NBA level with the Magic or a different team.

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Published Feb 11, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.