Bol Bol Waived By Magic, Suns Frontrunners To Sign

Bol Bol is now a free agent after clearing waivers, as the Orlando Magic declined to guarantee his contract. The Magic traded for Bol in February 2022, and re-signed him during the 2022 offseason, as the contract included a non-guaranteed salary for 2023 into 2024. The 23-year-old inked a two-year, $4.4 million deal and will have to find another team, as it would be his third team in his NBA tenure.

The 7’2″ center forward should have plenty of interest on the market, as a few teams stand out as candidates to bring in the South Sudanese big man.

The Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks are two teams that have needs at those spots. Other teams that also could use a young big man are the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs, and the OKC Thunder.

But the Phoenix Suns, who are looking to make a serious championship run next year, make the most sense and seem the most interested in the former 2019 second-round pick from Oregon. According to Shams Charania, NBA Insider from The Athletic and Stadium, Bol could be joining the likes of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Deandre Ayton and recently acquired Bradley Beal.

Bol was drafted by the Miami Heat, who then sent over his draft rights to the Nuggets back in 2019, where he spent three seasons in Denver. Three years later, Bol was involved in the three-way trade with the Spurs and the Celtics. However, before even debuting in Boston, he was sent to the Magic, as he had his best statistical season before getting cut from the team on July 4th.

Orlando decided to exercise options on Gary Harris and Markelle Fultz prior to free agency but decided to not do the same with Bol.

He averaged 9.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block in 21.5 minutes, starting in 33 games out of the 70 Bol appeared in for the Magic last season. Orlando agreed with Bol to have his guarantee date pushed back, but it ultimately led to the release of the center forward.

Bol was healthier and more consistent for Orlando, as his 1,505 minutes played more than tripled his career total minutes (328) that he played in his first three years in the NBA. His season overall, despite making 32 consecutive starts, still had its highs and lows. Bol came off the bench for a few games from mid-January through mid-March but was out of the rotation completely for seven games before closing the season back on the court.

Still, Bol was a fan favorite at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. In his high school recruiting cycle back in 2018, the big man from Sudan was considered a 5-star prospect and after a rough start with the Nuggets, he displayed his talent with the Magic this past year as one of the taller players in the NBA.

It shouldn’t be long before Bol finds his third new team entering year five of his young NBA career.

Article by Andrew Kim

Projected Summer, 2023 Graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in Media Studies/ Journalism from Mercy College.