Bol Bol Waived by Magic; Started 33 Games for ORL in 2022-23
Ahead of his fifth season in the NBA, center Bol Bol will be in search of a new home.
The Orlando Magic announced on Tuesday that they waived the 7'2" big man. Bol appeared in 70 games with 33 starts last season in his first full year in Orlando.
This past season, Bol averaged career highs of 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, 1.0 assists and 21.5 minutes per game while shooting 54.6 percent from the field. However, he had a year of highs and lows, as he once started 32 consecutive games before being relegated to a bench role between January and March. He also fell out of the rotation for seven games before returning toward the end of the year.
Bol began his career with the Denver Nuggets after being acquired from the Miami Heat in a draft-day trade. He was traded to the Boston Celtics in January 2022 and then to the Magic the following month, though he didn't play for the team that year while recovering from foot surgery. Orlando re-signed him to a two-year, $4.4 million deal last July with a non-guaranteed salary for the 2023-24 campaign.
The 23-year-old was one of three Magic players who had options on their contracts for next year. While Orlando exercised the options on veteran guard Gary Harris and former No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz, Bol's guarantee date was pushed back while the team still pondered its decision on bringing him back.
Now that he's on the open market, Bol will likely see interest from teams seeking frontcourt depth. The Oregon product has a unique combination of skills, so he should be a solid contributor in the right situation.
