Gary Harris returns to Magic on two-year deal

Gary Harris returns to Magic on two-year deal

Roughly 24 hours after signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year deal, the Orlando Magic will be bringing back guard Gary Harris to a two-year, $14 million deal, ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report Monday.

Free agent guard Gary Harris has agreed to a two-year, $14 million contract to stay with the Orlando Magic, sources tell ESPN. Harris will be returning for his fifth season with the Magic — his 11th in the NBA. pic.twitter.com/fNKRq6d8Yu

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2024

Harris was one of the team’s top shooters; it was a fairly low bar, as they were the seventh-worst 3-point shooter, but Harris knocked down 37.1 percent of his long-range attempts and has sunk 39.2 percent of his 3s since getting traded to the Magic back in 2020-21.

This is a sizable pay cut from Harris’ $14 million salary from a year ago; he’s projected to make $6.7 million in 2024-25 followed by $7.3 million in 2025-26, according to Spotrac. He moved to a bench role last year after starting in nearly 90 percent of his games since his rookie season.

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Who knows how Caldwell-Pope influences Harris’ role in Orlando? Even though Markelle Fultz is a free agent, the Magic have a crowded backcourt as it is with Cole Anthony, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black, who had a disappointing rookie campaign last season. Though he does add requisite shooting that not many outside of Pope, rookie Tristan da Silva and Suggs provide.

Harris opted for continuity with an organization he’s succeeded in, even in an abbreviated role. His contract will also be movable at any point over the next two seasons if his role continues shrinking. According to Spotrac, the Magic sill project to have over $15 million in cap space that it can use–how will they go about business? Let us know in the comments!

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This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for updates.

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