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2022 Free Agents - Bol Bol

Summary
Bol fell far in the 2019 draft due to concerns over his health and work ethic, and has yet to show much of the potential that many believed he had when he was one of the top prospects in the 2018 high school class.

While Bol has some ball-skills, he doesn't have a good enough handle to be someone that you actually want to handle the ball on a regular basis. He can shoot, including hitting shots off the dribble, but doesn't do so very efficiently. Similar to Kristaps Porzingis, he has a high center of gravity, which makes it difficult for him to get deep post position, which somewhat negates his height advantage.

On defense, Bol's length makes him a real shot-blocker. He can simply get a hand on shots that others cannot, including blocking jump shots without having to be right near the shooter. However, his lack of strength makes it difficult to play him at center, because he would get bullied in the post and on the glass by the stronger centers in the league.

Bol has shown flashes in the G-League and in Summer League, but has yet to really make an impact for the varsity squad. Bol had surgery and missed the majority of the '21-'22 season, which meant another season without playing rotation minutes.
 
Cap Considerations
Bol will be a restricted free agent with full Bird rights, a $3.9 million cap hold, and a $2.5 million Qualifying Offer. However, the Magic may not tender him a QO, making him an unrestricted free agent. If a player has a smaller cap hold than his starting salary, his team can use cap space to sign-free agents before using Bird Rights to re-sign its own free agents. Since Bol hasn't proven to be worth more than his QO (or more than the minimum, for that matter), Bol's cap hold will not play a factor.

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Bol as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, Room MLE, or Bi-Annual Exception to sign him. There's also a chance that Bol ends up settling for the minimum. However, if Bol is a restricted free agent, that could lower his interest among teams, as they will worry that the only way to pry him away from Orlando would be to overpay him. Most likely though, Bol will be an unrestricted free agent with only minimum offers.

Potential Teams: Pistons, Thunder, Magic, Hornets, Raptors

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million (non-guaranteed) with the Pistons

Actual Contract: 2-year, $4.4 million (2nd year non-guaranteed) with the Magic

Bol re-signed with the Magic on a two-year contract. I was surprised that this was above the minimum, but the additional cost has no real impact on the Magic, and the 2nd year is non-guaranteed to match with several other players on the roster.

Last updated: 7/10/2022

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