According to a report by the Orlando Sentinel on Wednesday, the Orlando Magic will not exercise the $7.3 million fourth-year team option on Jett Howard's rookie contract. Howard will become a free agent after this season.

Jett Howard, 22, is a 6'6" (1.98m) swingman who was selected 11th overall in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft by the Orlando Magic. To date, he has played 80 regular-season games, averaging 3.7 points, 1.0 rebound, and 0.6 assists in 9.8 minutes per game, with a 36.9% field goal percentage and a 29.4% three-point percentage.

Dwight Howard had extremely limited playing time and a relatively weak on-court impact during his first two seasons with the Magic. In contrast, Antoine Black and Tristan da Silva performed much better. Black became a key rotation player for the Magic in his rookie season, and has played 151 games to date, averaging 20.9 minutes, 7.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists, with a field goal percentage of 43.8% and a three-point percentage of 34.3%.

Da Silva, the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2024 NBA draft, has also performed well in the rotation. To date, he has played 78 games for the Magic, averaging 7.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 21.9 minutes per game, with a field goal percentage of 41.2% and a three-point percentage of 33.3%.

Given their outstanding performances, the Magic recently exercised Black's fourth-year team option and Da Silva's third-year team option. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, both will remain with the team until the 2027/28 season.