Out of all the surprises early on during this 2017-18 NBA campaign, the stellar play of the Orlando Magic is right near the top of that list. Expected to be a bottomfeeder in the East, the Magic have instead come out of the gates hot, posting a 5-2 record through 7 matchups.
However, one of the bigger question marks on their roster is third-year wingman Mario Hezonja. Hezonja was though to have heaps of upside when he was selected 5th overall in the 2015 draft but has instead played a limited role that caps his potential.
With a decision to make on his future, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the Magic have declined the fourth-year option on Hezonja:
Orlando has declined the fourth-year option on Mario Hezonja, fifth overall pick in 2015 Draft, league sources told ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 31, 2017
With Orlando declining Hezonja’s option, the 6’8″ Croatian will become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end in July. Hezonja’s name had been brought up in trade talks but with those apparently stalling, the Magic went ahead and made the decision to decline his option that would’ve guaranteed him $5.2M next season.
Still only 22 years old, Hezonja could bring back some slight interest if the Magic were to continue pursuing a trade. The deadline still sits months away and while it isn’t the most popular time for trades by any means, we’ve already seen some marquee names involved in rumors such as Jahlil Okafor, Eric Bledsoe and now Hezonja.
The likeliest case for Hezonja would be him inking a new contract with a different club at season’s end as the Magic seem to have already found their answers on the wing in Evan Fournier, Terrence Ross, and Jonathon Simmons.
