Peyton Siva signs with Orlando Magic: Analysis
By Sam Vecenie
After being released by the Detroit Pistons, Peyton Siva has signed a deal with the Orlando Magic, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
"The Orlando Magic have reached agreement on a contract with point guard Peyton Siva, a league source told Yahoo Sports.Siva averaged 2.2 points and 1.4 assists as a rookie with the Detroit Pistons last season. The former University of Louisville star was drafted with the 26th overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NBA draft, but didn’t have a guaranteed contract for next season with Detroit."
Siva will receive a non-guaranteed deal, according to Joshua Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel. Robbins then goes on to state that the Magic will waive Siva after training camp, and send him to Erie in the D-League. By doing so, they’ll keep his rights and get to continue to develop him. For his efforts, Siva will receive a small guarantee to supplement his D-League salary.
This is pretty much a no-lose situation for the Magic. If Siva performs well in training camp and he’s picked up by someone else after they waived him, they’ve only given up a small guaranteed salary to take the shot. If he ends up falling through waivers, they’ll have the rights to a guy that has potential to be a solid backup point guard in the NBA in the future.
I was and continue to be a pretty big fan of Siva. He’s a defensive nuisance that can make any other opposing point guard’s life a living hell, and a smart offensive player that doesn’t turn the ball over. The biggest thing for him to work on at this point is simply his shooting ability in order to make defenders have to respect that part of his game. Given that shooting is actually correctable aspect of a prospect’s game, I think there is a good chance that Siva ends up being a backup point guard at some point during his career.
Whether or not it’s for the Magic, we’ll see. Given that their roster seems ripe for trades, Siva may come in handy for them this season rather than in the future if they end up clearing out contracts.