NBA rosters are largely set for next season. A few teams are looking at how to fill the final slot on their roster, and a few interesting names are still available — Christian Wood, Kelly Oubre Jr., Terrence Ross — but for the most part teams are just rounding out their rosters for camp and landing potential G-League players.
Enter the Orlando Magic, who just signed reigning Dunk Contest champion Mac McClung to an Exhibit 10 contract. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the news and Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel confirmed it was an Exhibit 10, or training camp deal.
The Orlando Magic have a full 15 players on their roster plus they have filled their two-way slots, there are no roster spots available. (Technically Jonathan Issac’s contract is only partially guaranteed for this season, but they will keep him on the roster and see what happens if he can be healthy for an entire campaign.)
An Exhibit 10 contract is a training camp deal with an incentive for that player to sign with a team’s G-League franchise. Technically an Exhibit 10 contract is a non-guaranteed one-year deal for the league minimum, however, the key provision is a bonus of up to $75,000 (usually for the full amount) if a player signs with the club’s G-League team after being waived at the end of training camp. It’s not impossible for a player on an Exhibit 10 contract to make the team’s roster, but it’s unlikely (and in the case of the Magic would mean they decided to waive a player under contract and eat his salary).
McClung has lived on the fringe of making an NBA roster for a few years, but despite his unquestioned athleticism has played in just four games over the past couple of years. He did score 20 points in a game for the 76ers last April in a win against Brooklyn. McClung will likely play for the Osceola Magic this season and try to earn another call-up to the NBA.
McClung also has said he would defend his Dunk Contest title.
