ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic sent point guard Tyus Jones and two future second-round draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for cash considerations, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced late Wednesday.

What You Need To Know

The Magic traded point guard Tyus Jones to the Hornets, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced late Wednesday

They also sent two future second-round picks to Charlotte and received cash considerations in the deal

The move gets Orlando’s payroll below the NBA luxury tax for this season

The trade also leaves the Magic with just 13 players on their standard roster, so they will have to add another player within 14 days to get to the league-minimum 14 players 

The second-round picks are the least favorable between Boston and Orlando in 2027, and the Magic’s pick in 2028.

The move drops the Magic below the NBA luxury tax level for this season. In the 2025-26 season, any team with a payroll above $187.895 million is taxed $1.50 per dollar on the amount it exceeds that level. As of early Wednesday, the Magic’s total payroll for this season was $193,471,232. Jones’ contract for the season was valued at $7 million, so the trade dropped Orlando’s active payroll to $186,471,232, putting them $1,423,768 million below the luxury tax level.

Under the terms of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, any team that exceeds the luxury tax level in three of the four previous seasons also is hit with a repeater tax, which starts at $2.50 per dollar over the luxury tax and can escalate. The Magic’s payroll is expected to jump over the tax rate significantly next season when forward Paolo Banchero’s contract extension will jump significantly. Banchero is still on the terms of his rookie-scale contract this season and is being paid $15,334,769, but the Magic signed him to a maximum contract extension in the offseason, and his salary will jump to $41.5 million in 2026-27.

Wednesday’s trade puts off the start of the countdown on the repeater tax for the Magic to at least next season, if they don’t make any moves next season to get below the tax again.

The move also leaves Orlando with only 13 players on its roster, and the NBA collective bargaining agreement requires teams to have at least 14 players on their standard rosters. The Magic have 14 days to sign another player to get their roster back up to 14 players.

The Magic signed Jones over the summer to give them a veteran point guard and another 3-point shooter. He played in 48 games this season with Orlando, starting eight, and averaged 3 points, 2.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds in 15.7 minutes per game. Jones, a career 37.3% 3-point shooter, shot 29.4% with Orlando this season and only took about 2.1 attempts per game.

Orlando drafted guard Jase Richardson out of Michigan State in 2025, and the trade could free up more playing time for the rookie.