Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - Caleb Houstan
Houstan was a five-star recruit coming out of college, but his freshman season at Michigan did not go all that well, and he ended up being a 2nd round pick in the 2022 draft. At 6'8", Houstan had promise as being a large wing that can shoot at defend. He shot a decent 35.5% from 3 at Michigan, and as a rookie he shot 36% in the G-League and his limited NBA minutes. That improved slightly to 37% in '23-'24. Houstan doesn't have a ton of playmaking ability. He doesn't have a great handle, and his 2-point percentage has been really poor in college, the G-League, and the NBA. However, it has been on an extremely small sample size. A whopping 93% of Houstan's shot attempts in '23-'24 were 3-pointers. He's not very athletic, so he'll need to develop more craft to finish below the rim. If Houstan is primarily just going to be a shooter, he probably needs to hit closer to 40% from 3 in order to stick around in the NBA. Defensively, Houstan has potential for being a big, versatile wing defender, but hasn't quite lived up to that yet. He gives solid effort on defense and can use his length, but isn't a great point of attack defender. He also isn't disruptive, as he gets very few steals and blocks. His below-average athleticism also hurts him as a defender. Houstan will still only be 22 years old as a potential free agent in 2025, so he's still very young.
Summary
Houstan has a $2.2 million team option for 2025-2026, and the Magic may decline this option to make Houstan a restricted free agent in 2024, rather than picking up the option and having Houstan hit unrestricted free agency in 2026. If the Magic decline the option, Houstan will be a restricted free agent with a $2.7 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer. However, the Magic could refuse to tender the QO, which would make Houstan an unrestricted free agent in 2025. I don't think the Magic will feel the need to lock Houstan down on a long-term deal in 2025, and would expect them to simply pick up his option or let him walk in free agency. If his option is declined, other teams will have multiple ways to sign Houstan as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or possibly even the Taxpayer MLE or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him to an offer sheet (although you rarely ever see offer sheets below the full MLE). However, Houstan being a restricted free agent will greatly lower his interest among teams, as they will worry that the only way to pry him away from Orlando would be to overpay him. If the Magic don't give Houstan a QO, this likely means he could be had for the minimum.
Cap Considerations
Jose Alvarado (4th year minimum team option picked up, 2024) Max Christie (4 years, $32 million, 2024) Aaron Wiggins (5-1 years, $45 million, 2024)