Magic Reportedly Eyeing Yet Another Former Duke Basketball Player

Former Duke basketball big man Wendell Carter Jr. joined the Orlando Magic in March 2021 via their trade with the Chicago Bulls. Then last summer, the Magic acquired another Blue Devil one-and-done by drafting power forward Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick.

So far, so good.

Carter and Banchero served as the full-time starting frontcourt last season for an Orlando Magic squad that started slow but finished strong on its way to a respectable 34-48 record with a young roster. Banchero became the fourth Duke basketball talent in history to win NBA Rookie of the Year.

So it would make sense if the Magic hoped to add another former one-year Blue Devil to the mix. And per a report this week from Heavy NBA insider Sean Deveney, the franchise has one in mind as this summer's free agency draws near:

"The Magic, according to league sources, have their eyes firmly on Toronto [Raptors] free-agent guard Gary Trent Jr., a solid two-way guard who averaged 17.4 points last season and made 38.4 percent of his career 3-point tries."

Deveney even quoted an unnamed Eastern Conference executive as saying the 24-year-old Trent would "be a good bet as their top priority in free agency...if they want to go all in."

Gary Trent Jr., a teammate to Carter in Durham before becoming an early second-round pick to the Portland Trail Blazers at the 2018 NBA Draft, has never averaged fewer than 16 points per game across his three seasons with the Raptors.

Throwback: Duke vs #25 Miami back in 2018 comeback victory.

Gary Trent Jr 30 points 9-14 FG
Trevon Duval 17 points 7-11 FG
Wendell Carter 15 points 14 boards
Marvin Bagley III 13 points 12 boards pic.twitter.com/XZYjLzMJjr
— Blue Devils (@BlueDevils) February 6, 2023

Entering this year's draft on June 22 and the start of free agency a few weeks later, no team in the league has more than two former Duke basketball players on tap for next season.

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