Orlando Magic Add Luke Ridnour to Backcourt
Jan 2, 2014; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz point guard
Trey Burke(3) defends against Milwaukee Bucks point guard
Luke Ridnour(13) during the first quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
The Orlando Magic continue to revamp their backcourt as they have agreed in principle to a two-year deal with point guard Luke Ridnour.
The deal isn’t official yet, but it will reportedly be for two years, the second of which isn’t guaranteed.
Luke Ridnour's 2-year deal with Orlando is for $5.5M, per source. Non-guaranteed 2nd year. @JoshuaBRobbins first reported Magic agreement.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 17, 2014
The fact the second year isn’t guaranteed isn’t a surprise as the Magic are expected to be players in free agency next season so having the option to clear Ridnour’s contract next offseason with no penalty is important. It also makes Ridnour good trade bait when the trade deadline hits next season.
Ridnour also adds experience to what is a fairly inexperienced Magic backcourt.
Victor Oladipo aside, the Magic also have rookie guards Elfrid Payton and Devyn Marble. Magic GM Rob Hennigan did pen veteran Ben Gordon to a two-year deal earlier in the offseason. Long time point guard Jameer Nelson was also released earlier this month, as was Ronnie Price.
Ridnour figures to be the third point guard but that’s assuming Oladipo does in fact play some point guard again this year. His natural position is shooting guard.
Ridnour split last season between the Charlotte Bobcats (Hornets) and the Milwaukee Bucks averaging 5.0 PPG.
He’s also spent time in Minnesota and Seattle during his 12-year career and has career averages of 9.4 PPG, 4.6 APG and 2.3 RPG while hitting over 43 per cent from the floor.
A backcourt of Payton at PG and Oladipo at SG is considered the future for the Magic.
The Magic currently have 14 players on their roster but Marble remains unsigned. Teams are allowed a maximum of 15 players on a roster so this likely means the Magic are done in free agency unless something dramatic happens.
Along with Gordon, the Magic have also signed Channing Frye and claimed Willie Green off waivers. They also acquired Evan Fournier from the Denver Nuggets in the Arron Afflalo trade.
Once the signing is official, Ridnour will be the oldest player on the roster at 33 years old.