Magic and Anthony Black unlikely to reach extension before deadline, Marc Stein reports

The Orlando Magic and guard Anthony Black are not expected to agree on a contract extension before the rookie-scale deadline, Marc Stein reported in his newsletter The Stein Line. According to Stein, the two sides have yet to hold serious negotiations. The Magic have not commented.

That would send one of Orlando’s most improved players into restricted free agency next summer. Black is playing this season on a $10.1 million team option that the club exercised in October 2025, and players coming off rookie-scale deals have until Monday, October 19, the day before the regular season begins, to sign an extension.

The cost of Orlando’s core

Stein reported that the Magic’s hesitation is mostly about money committed elsewhere. Long-term deals for Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner are already on the books, and a significant raise for Black would push the payroll higher still. Stein also pointed to a question that has hung over the roster for months: whether Orlando can afford to keep both Black and Suggs, two guards whose value leans on defense.

Not every report has been this pessimistic. Jake Fischer had earlier said he expected the Magic to find a way to get a deal done, so the latest word marks a shift rather than a long-settled outcome. Nothing prevents talks from picking up before the deadline.

Why Black’s case is stronger now

The sixth overall pick in 2023 made his biggest jump last season, his third in the league, going from 9.4 points a game as a sophomore to 15.0, according to Stein. Black, 22, is a 6-foot-7 guard who can defend several positions, and his growth as a scorer is the main reason his next contract figures to be expensive.

Restricted free agency would still give Orlando control. The Magic could match any offer sheet Black signs next summer, which lets them wait to see how his production holds up before committing. The risk is that another team sets his price for them.

What comes next

Orlando, beaten 119-105 at Cleveland on Sunday (box score), hosts the Cavaliers in a preseason rematch on Tuesday, October 13, at 7:00 p.m. ET. Follow it in the Game Center.