Magic Rumors: James Ennis III Agrees to 1-Year Contract to Return to Orlando

James Ennis III has agreed to return to the Orlando Magic on a one-year deal, per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.

Ennis declined his $2.1 million player option for the 2020-21 season Tuesday, per Charania, but he will stay in Orlando for at least one more year.

The 6'7" wing averaged 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last year for the Philadelphia 76ers and Magic. Philadelphia dealt him to Orlando on Feb. 6 for a second-round draft selection.

Ennis came off the bench in Philadelphia but entered the starting lineup for the Magic, who reached the NBA playoffs for the second straight season.

Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday that Ennis "most likely will slot into the starting small forward spot" for the Magic as he did last year.

Ennis returns to a Magic team that has added UNC guard Cole Anthony via the NBA draft and picked up ex- Charlotte Hornets guard Dwayne Bacon on a two-year deal, per Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports.

It's largely been a quiet offseason for the Magic, who will return much of the personnel from their 2019-20 season barring trades.

Of note, Markelle Fultz, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Vucevic, big man Mo Bamba and power forward Jonathan Isaac are all under contract for 2020-21.

Therefore, it looks like Orlando is more or less running it back from last year.

Although the Magic finished just 33-40, that may not be a bad thing. 

For starters, the Magic will hope to enjoy a full year of a healthy Markelle Fultz, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft. Injuries curtailed the start of his career, but he's showed promise after Philadelphia traded him to Orlando, averaging 12.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.

The Magic will welcome back Ennis, an All-Star big man in Vucevic and a 40 percent three-point shooter in Fournier, in addition to talented young big men in Bamba and Isaac (when the latter returns from a torn left ACL).

The wild card is Aaron Gordon, who regressed in 2019-20 during an injury-plagued year.

Gordon's field-goal, three-point and free-throw percentages all dipped, and his scoring average did as well.

At his best, Gordon can at least threaten to post 20 points and 10 rebounds in any given night. He's only 25 years old, so perhaps the best is yet to come for the ex-Arizona star.

Orlando will look to make the playoffs for the third straight season in 2020-21. Schedules have not yet been released, but the season will start Dec. 22.