Magette said Okeke is progressing in his recovery, according to Nathan Kingof Auburn Sports.
But these sound like encouraging signs for the soon-to-be-Magic rookie.Okeke originally tore his ACL on March 29 in the NCAA Tournament against the The Magic surprisingly made Okeke the 16th overall pick in the draft. The trip seemed well worth it.Josh Magette’s time on the Orlando Magic’s main roster was short-lived. He is not involved with practices on a daily basis. But he is still on his own rehabbing away from the team. Several of his Magic teammates have kept in contact with him, including then-two-way contract player Josh Magette (the Magic have since cut him).During his time with Lakeland, Magette had an opportunity to get to know Okeke. https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020/01/29/chuma-okeke-injury-update-torn-acl-orlando-magic-g-league/ That certainly seems to be the case with how he has played. In that G-League run, Frazier made only 28.2 percent of his threes and 55.6 percent of his free throws. 16 overall in June, but he is still recovering for a torn ACL suffered during the NCAA Tournament.
The move allowed the Magic to keep an open roster spot available for a player that can contribute this season.Okeke has spent much of his time rehabbing with the Magic’s G League affiliate in Lakeland, roughly one hour west of Orlando. So much still remained in front of the Orlando Magic — more than simple survival like it has for the last month. He underwent surgery in early April and is now two months into his rehabilitation. I think he’s going to be able to get a full, full year of just being able to make sure he gets his knee strong, and then be able to resume playing.The Magic view Okeke as a potential player that can impact games on both ends of the floor.
He’s got a great attitude, really professional for being such a young guy. https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2020/01/29/chuma-okeke-injury-update-torn-acl-orlando-magic-g-league/ He scored or assisted...Heeding advice from the coaching staff, Rui Hachimura played aggressively on Friday but the effort was not enough as the Washington Wizards fell to the Phoenix Suns in the season restart opener.Hachimura scored a team-high 21 points and eight rebounds in the 125-112 loss. Head coach Steve Clifford believes Okeke is a perfect fit with the team as a player that is versatile on defense and can help stretch the floor on offense.The organization has not provided an update on Okeke but president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said during his introductory press conference that Okeke is a player of the future and they will not rush him back into action early.Okeke could eventually play some in the G League with Lakeland but it is evident the Magic have high hopes for him in the future and believe he can develop into a key player.Sign up for the The Rookie Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morningJa Morant didn't have his best stuff early on Friday in the season restart opener but the rookie nearly willed the Memphis Grizzlies to a victory before falling to the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime, 140-135.Morant struggled to open up after tallying just two points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field in the first half. He is making great progress and I look forward to watching him play the game he loves again!He is not technically a part of the Orlando Magic right now.
Even more surprisingly, they opted to defer his rookie year.