ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic traded fifth-year big man Mo Bamba to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the NBA’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, multiple sources told the Orlando Sentinel Thursday afternoon.
The Magic acquired veteran guard Patrick Beverley, a future second-round pick and cash considerations for Bamba.
It’s unlikely Beverley will play for the Magic, sources told the Sentinel. He’ll likely be bought out or waived.
Beverley has a $13 million salary for this season as part of the 1-year extension he signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves last February before being traded to the Utah Jazz and eventually the Lakers during the offseason.
The Sentinel reported that Bamba was among the players most likely to be involved in a deal if the Magic made one ahead of the deadline.
That came to fruition.
Bamba, who the Magic drafted with the No. 6 pick in the 2018 draft, was the team’s third-longest tenured player behind Terrence Ross and Jonathan Isaac.
He’ll finish his Magic career with averages of 7.7 points (49.5% shooting — 56% on 2s, 36% on 3s), 5.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 18.3 minutes (266 games — 81 starts).
Bamba’s best season with the Magic came last year as a full-time starter in the last season of his 4-year, $24.1 million rookie scale contract.
He averaged career-highs in points (10.6), rebounds (8.1), blocks (1.7), assists (1.2) and minutes (25.7) in 2021-22 before re-signing with the Magic on a 2-year, $20.6 million partially guaranteed contract during this past offseason. He has a fully guaranteed salary of $10.3 million for this season.
After being a starter last season, Bamba played a different role for the Magic this year.
He was the main backup behind starting big Wendell Carter Jr. to kick off the season, playing in 19 of the first 20 games (18.7 minutes), including five starts while Carter was injured before missing five games because of back pain/spasms.
When Bamba returned, he was back to being the backup big behind Moe Wagner, who took over the starting role while Carter was out. And once Carter was no longer playing under a minutes restriction, Bamba’s role fluctuated.
He was a healthy scratch in 10 of the Magic’s 16 games before the league suspended him for four games because of his role in Friday’s fight between the Magic and Timberwolves.
“It’s hard to say,” Bamba responded to the Sentinel when recently asked how he’d evaluate his season. “I haven’t really gotten consistent minutes. Start of the year, we were trying to figure how the bench unit would look. But it was always tough because guys were out.
Bamba added on having a different role this season: “It’s tough. It’s easier said than done. Everybody’s always like ‘stay ready’ and you’re supposed to stay ready because it’s part of being a professional. But it’s harder than what it looks like.”
He averaged 7.3 points (49.5% from the field — 59.4% on 2s, 39.8% on 3s), 4.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1 block in 17 minutes (40 games — six starts) with Orlando this season.
Bamba, 24, showed improvements even in a more limited role compared to last season.
His 3-point percentage would be career high, helping show last year’s 38.1% accuracy wasn’t a fluke. Bamba’s been one of the better shooting big men over the last two seasons. He’s gotten better with finishing around the rim and as the roller in pick and rolls.
Bamba’s gotten better at contesting shots when not blocking them while also maintaining a high block percentage.
He can improve as an individual rebounder but has shown significant growth in multiple areas since getting more consistent playing time last season.
But after losing his spot in the rotation, Bamba will have an opportunity to play consistent minutes again with a Lakers team in need of shooting and big-man depth after they traded center Thomas Bryant to the Denver Nuggets.
