ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic have assigned 2022 second-round draft pick Caleb Houstan to the Osceola Magic, the team's NBA G League affiliate, the team said Thursday morning.
Houstan had appeared in eight of the Magic's 13 games this season, averaging just 5.3 minutes per appearance. He scored six points in Orlando's third game of the season at Memphis.
He did not appear in Wednesday's win over the Indiana Pacers.
NBA teams can assign players with less than three years of service to their G League affiliates an unlimited number of times throughout the season. In this case, the Magic retain Houstan's player rights and can recall him at any time.
Osceola's roster may expand up to 13 players when Orlando players are on assignment, per league rules. However, assigning a player to the G League does not free up a roster spot on Orlando's club while Houstan is not with the team.
Houstan's assignment is likely a byproduct of rookie Tristan da Silva's output thus far 13 games into his career. The Magic's No. 18 pick from the 2024 NBA Draft has played nine games and started seven since Paolo Banchero's torn right oblique sidelined him for an indefinite period of time.
That, combined with Jonathan Isaac's healthy and impactful start to the year, likely gives the Magic comfort to send Houstan to the G League and develop further. There, he'll have the opportunity to play more immediately and learn through game repetitions.
Through two full seasons and part of this one, Houstan has appeared in 118 games in his career. This will be his first time in the G League since the 2022-23 season when he appeared in 11 games for the Lakeland Magic.
In 29 minutes a game during that stint in his rookie season, he averaged 15.5 points and 4.6 rebounds.
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