The Magic exercised Jamal Cain’s $2.58 million club option for the 2026-27 season ahead of Monday’s league-wide deadline, the team announced on Monday.
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Had Orlando declined the option, Cain would’ve become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday at 6 p.m., which is when NBA teams may begin negotiating with free agents from other clubs.
Instead, Cain is set to return to the Magic, a team he first joined last summer on a two-way contract. He later signed a standard deal for the remainder of the season in March, which included a second-year team option.
The second-year option is non-guaranteed and becomes fully guaranteed on Jan. 10, 2027, according to Spotrac.com.
The decision to pick up Cain’s option comes on the heels of the start of NBA free agency and follows Orlando’s choice to waive veteran forward Jonathan Isaac over the weekend. The Magic enter free agency with four standard-contract roster spots open and sit roughly $2.8 million above the first apron, with a projected $9.8 million in space below the second apron.
Cain, 27, carved out his role on the Magic as a versatile defender who could guard multiple positions and knock down open 3-pointers on the other end of the floor.
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The 6-foot-7 forward played a career-high 40 regular season NBA games, averaging 9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per night while shooting 38% from beyond the arc across the final 17 games.
He then appeared in all seven of Orlando’s first-round playoff games against the Pistons, starting the final three after Franz Wagner suffered a right calf strain in Game 4.
Before he joined the Magic full time, he averaged 20.1 points, 2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks during 32.8 minutes per night in nine G League games with Osceola as a two-way player.
Cain spent the first three years of his NBA career on a two-way contract, appearing in 81 NBA regular season games with Miami and New Orleans, before signing with the Magic.
He played in 150 career college games during four seasons at Marquette (2017-21) and one at Oakland University (2021-22). As a fifth-year senior, he was named Horizon League Co-Player of the Year and earned Horizon All-League First Team honors.
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]