{"id":579464,"date":"2026-02-03T12:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T12:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/579464\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T12:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T12:12:17","slug":"picks-cap-space-exceptions-and-real-limits-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/579464\/","title":{"rendered":"Picks, Cap Space, Exceptions, and Real Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orlando Magic have found themselves in the middle of the East once again. The Feb. 5 trade deadline is vastly approaching, where there isn’t much smoke surrounding the Magic outside of the possibility<\/a> of salary-dumping Tyus Jones’ $7 million contract. <\/p>\n

Here’s our Orlando Magic FAQ with over 48 hours left until the deadline!<\/p>\n

How many tradable draft picks do the Magic own?\"Desmond<\/p>\n

Feb 1, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) dribbles past San Antonio Spurs guard De’aaron Fox (4) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images | Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Courtesy of the Desmond Bane-Grizzlies trade, the Orlando Magic have very little draft capital to work with.<\/p>\n

Their 2026 pick is owed to either Phoenix, Washington or Memphis, which can be explained<\/a> here. Additionally, their 2028 first-round pick was dealt in the Bane deal, but re-routed to Portland on draft night in the trade to move up five spots (from No. 16 to 11) to draft Cedric Coward.<\/p>\n

Their 2030 pick is in Memphis’ possession. As a result, the Magic can only trade their 2032 first-round pick, and will have swaps available in 2027 and 2031. Technically, they can also swap their 2029 pick, but that pick is intertwined with the Grizzlies.<\/p>\n

See: Not much draft capital … at all. As good as Bane’s been since the slow start, should they have buyer’s remorse?<\/a><\/p>\n

How much cap space does the Magic have?\"Orlando<\/p>\n

Jan 26, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero (5) rebounds in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Magic don’t currently have any cap space.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Magic are $5.6 million above the $187.9 million luxury tax threshold, but are $1.2 million below the $195.9 million first apron, where they are hard-capped as a result of signing Tyus Jones for more than the non-taxpayer’s portion of the mid-level exception. <\/p>\n

They can not exceed that aforementioned apron threshold at any point this season under any circumstance. That significantly limits their maneuverability ahead of the deadline unless they shed salary.<\/p>\n

Do the Magic have any exceptions?\"Orlando<\/p>\n

Oct 12, 2025; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic mascot Stuff The Magic Dragon holds a flag with the Orlando Magic logo before a game against the Miami Heat at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Since the Magic didn’t use all of their mid-level to sign Jones, they could theoretically acquire a player using their NTMEL, should that player fit within the remaining $7.1 million (for this season only).<\/p>\n

The Magic also have the slightly cheaper $5.1 million bi-annual exception. Though if they decide to use it this year, they can’t in 2026-27.<\/p>\n

That said, as I mentioned above, the Magic are nearing the hard cap. So any move using their NTMLE or BAE would have to follow as a result of a salary dump. <\/p>\n

Orlando does not have any current trade exceptions, but could create one if it dumped, say, Jones without any salary coming back.<\/p>\n

Does the Magic have an open roster spot?\"Orlando<\/p>\n

Jan 6, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Orlando Magic guard Tyus Jones (2) looks on during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

The Magic currently has an open roster spot. They have 14 players on roster, one short of the maximum 15. <\/p>\n

However, if they dipped below that 14-player minimum, they would have two weeks before they needed to sign a player — or convert one of their two-ways (Orlando Robinson, Jamal Cain, Colin Castleton) to a standard.<\/p>\n

More Orlando Magic OnSi Stories:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Orlando Magic have found themselves in the middle of the East once again. The Feb. 5 trade…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3780],"tags":[7,6,682,468,3892,683],"class_list":["post-579464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-washington-wizards","tag-basketball","tag-nba","tag-washington","tag-washington-wizards","tag-washingtonwizards","tag-wizards"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116006639873049757","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}