The Magic Insider

Magic Suspensions Coming After Team Leaves Bench in Brawl vs. Pistons?

The Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic were involved in a fight during Wednesday's game that could lead to several players being disciplined by the league.

Jeremy Brener

Magic Suspensions Coming After Team Leaves Bench in Brawl vs. Pistons?
Magic Suspensions Coming After Team Leaves Bench in Brawl vs. Pistons? /

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic is awaiting news on the fallout from Wednesday night's brawl with the Detroit Pistons that resulted in the ejections of Moe Wagner, Killian Hayes and Hamidou Diallo.

Towards the end of the first half, Wagner appeared to shove Hayes into his own bench after diving for a loose ball.

Wagner was then shoved by Diallo and punched in the back of the head by Hayes, which resulted in a stoppage of time during the game and several Magic players coming off of the bench to mediate the situation.

Suspensions are almost certainly coming for Wagner, Hayes and Diallo, the primary instigators, but according to the NBA rule book, players who leave the bench ontro the court during a game are also prone to discipline. It's a rule several Magic players broke, but they knew the potential consequences.

"Obviously we're aware [that we could be suspended]," Franz Wagner said. "Normally something like that happens on the court and not in front of the other benches. That was part of our worry as teammates. You don't want your teammate alone amongst the whole other team."

Cole Anthony, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Gary Harris, Kevon Harris, R.J. Hampton, Admiral Schofield and Franz Wagner all left the bench area and could face fines and/or suspensions from the league. 

Should these players be suspended, it could put the Magic in a difficult spot to field a team with the league-minimum eight players. Should that happen, the league would likely suspend as many players that it can while still allowing Orlando to play eight players. Those not suspended for the first game this were to happen would be out for the next game.

The Magic play again tomorrow against the Washington Wizards, meaning a decision could come as early as today. If the league decides to take more time to review footage and make decisions, then the suspensions could take place for the team's back-to-back on Jan. 4th and 5th.

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Jeremy Brener
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.

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