Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
Last updated: 9/30/2019
2025 Free Agents - Cory Joseph
On offense, Joseph is not a great outside shooter, which allows defenses to go under pick-and-rolls. He shot 41% from three during two and a half seasons with the Pistons, but is only a career 35% shooter from downtown, so I would not expect that level of shooting to continue, and thus far he has shot poorly in a small sample during '23-'24. Joseph has some craft, as he knows how to put his defender in jail in the pick-and-roll, and has nice touch on floaters and overall makes the right reads with the ball in his hands. Joseph is an adequate defender, but is not super disruptive - his block and steal rates were below average in '22-'23 after previously performing decently in those areas in past seasons, and his steal rate only bumped back up slightly in '23-'24. He's also not a lockdown defender that can stay in front of the best ball-handlers. At this point in his career, Joseph is best served as a third point guard or fourth/fifth guard in the backcourt rotation, and those guys generally are just worth the minimum, so I would be surprised if he got more than that as a free agent in 2025. He will be almost 34 years old when free agency starts, so his career could be over soon, but Joseph being a very well-liked guy could help him extend his career.
Summary
Joseph has a $3.5 million team option for 2025-2026, and if that option is declined he will be an unrestricted free agent with a $2.3 million cap hold and Non-Bird Rights. Due to the increase in the salary cap being fairly high, his minimum salary for '25-'26 is slightly above what his team option amount is for. Additionally, if he re-signs with Orlando on a one-year minimum contract, his cap hit will only be $2.3 million instead of $3.5 million, so him re-signing instead of opting in is mutually beneficial if the Magic want to bring him back. If Joseph opts for free agency, the Magic will be somewhat limited in their means of re-signing him. Since they will only have his Non-Bird Rights, the most they could offer him using the Non-Bird Exception is a contract starting at $4.4 million. Alternatively, the Magic could re-sign Joseph using their MLE or BAE (if available) if he demands more than $4.4 million. That won't really matter though, because if he's worth more than the minimum and the Magic want to retain him, they'll just pick up his option. Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Joseph as even teams without cap space could likely use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. It's also likely he only gets minimum offers, and may not even get fully-guaranteed offers.
Cap Considerations
Patty Mills (1 year minimum, 2024) Kyle Lowry (1 year minimum, 2024) Reggie Jackson (1 year minimum, 2024)