By all accounts, Terrence Ross provided the rebuilding Orlando Magic with the ideal veteran presence during the 2021-22 season. But Ross has made one thing clear: He’d like to continue his career elsewhere.
Before the season ended, Ross told the Orlando Sentinel he expected to be traded in March 2021 when the Magic traded former franchise mainstays Nikola Vučević, Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier ahead of the trade deadline to launch a rebuild centered around younger talent.
A deal for Ross didn’t materialize and he finished the 2020-21 season in Orlando.
“They kind of were making that move already when they started trading the other guys,” Ross told the Orlando Sentinel. “They just didn’t get around to me. They told me that’s what they were planning to do with me.”
Ross, 31, entered the 2021-22 season as one of Orlando’s few veterans — along with Gary Harris and Robin Lopez — while most of the roster was composed of players 24 years old or younger.
Early in the season, he had a prominent role in the rotation coming off the bench, averaging 10.6 points in 24.2 minutes in 51 of 60 games before the All-Star break.
Ross was among the few Magic players who was expected to be available for a trade ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline. It was reported by The Athletic, citing unnamed sources, that Orlando wanted draft capital — such as a first-round pick — for Ross.
When asked what he wanted heading into the deadline, Ross responded, “Maybe, just like, a new beginning.”
Ross wasn’t traded and his role diminished after the break in light of the Magic prioritizing giving their younger players more opportunities to develop.
He played in 12 of the final 22 games, averaging 7.4 points in 17.9 minutes. Ross said he was told of the plan to scale back his playing time, along with that of Harris, in early March.
Ross finished the season averaging 10 points in 23 minutes — both of which were his lowest marks since the 2017-18 season when he was limited to 24 games because of a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee and a non-displaced fracture of his right tibial plateau.
His field goal percentage (39.7%) and 3-point percentage (29.2%) were career lows. Ross finished with a career-high 15.6 points in 29.3 minutes (46 games) in 2020-21.
Despite the diminished role, players and coaches said Ross continued to have a positive influence for the Magic.
“The great part about Terrence is he’s a pro,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “That’s the beauty of him. He understands exactly [what’s happening], allowing some of these young guys to get the playing time and moving in and out of lineups, but he’s always kept himself ready. He always does a good job of communicating with myself, our staff and our players. He’s just been a pro. That’s what we’ve asked of him and he’s done that.”
Although he’s made it clear he’d like to be in a different situation, Ross said he hasn’t explicitly requested a trade.
He’s entering the last season of a 4-year, $54 million contract ($50 million guaranteed) he signed with the Magic during the 2019 offseason. Ross, who’s the longest-tenured Magic player in having been in Orlando since February 2017, has an $11.5 million salary for 2022-23 — about $1 million more than the projected standard mid-level exception ($10.3 million).
Unless he signs an extension — which is seemingly unlikely since it’d put a six-month trade hold on Ross — he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason.
“We’re definitely in different spots,” Ross said. “I feel like I’m a part of that old regime, and they’re going in a different direction. I don’t know what they’ve got in store for me. It’s hard to say. They don’t really let me know too much about what they’re doing. I’m kind of here just along for the ride.”
When asked if he planned on having conversations with the Magic’s front office about wanting to be traded, Ross responded: “They know that. They’re well aware of that, so there’s no point. They’re going to do what they want to do regardless.”
Ross reiterated his desire to be in a different situation during a recent appearance on the Buckets podcast.
“They’re in a rebuild and I’m kind of past that stage,” Ross said. “If I was younger or on the contract before this, it’d be a different story. But I’ve kind of already done that. I’m 10 years in. Time is kind of going against me at this point. I don’t want to stay in another rebuild.
“It’s been great here. I’ve had fun. I’ve had my chance to be a part of something where it was me and a couple of other guys to take it as far as we could. We had some good runs. We had fun. But I’m ready to transition to something else.”
What kind of situation would Ross want to be in?
“At least being on a contender and just helping a team and bringing some of the knowledge I have of being a vet,” Ross said on the Buckets podcast. “Coming off the bench and get buckets.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Khobi Price at khprice@orlandosentinel.com or follow him on Twitter at @khobi_price.
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