Markelle Fultz enters free agency wanting to stay with Magic

For Markelle Fultz, the seventh season of his NBA career was a rollercoaster ride.

The Magic point guard opened the year as a starter, sat out a large portion of it due to injury and ultimately finished it coming off the bench for Orlando.

Fultz, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer, remained true to himself throughout, but his role on Jamahl Mosley‘s squad changed throughout a season that saw him in and out of the lineup.

“I had my ups and downs,” he said recently. “I had my little bumps and bruises on my knee and arms. I’m just glad I was able to finish the season out healthy.

“Of course, I missed some games during the season but being able to finish the year off with my brothers, have that experience of the playoffs and make it to a Game 7 was huge for me,” he added. “I’m just grateful.”

After starting all 60 games he played for the Magic in 2022-23, Fultz made 43 appearances this season with only 18 starts.

The left knee, which is the same one that Fultz had surgery on to repair a torn ACL eight games into the 2020-21 season, kept him off the court again. He missed 39 games due to injury, including 27 games (Nov. 6, Nov. 11-Jan. 5) due to what the team described as left knee tendinitis.

Even when he was able to play, there was a clear difference in Fultz’s shooting from a season ago. After attempting 87 3-pointers in ’22-23 (the second-most in his career), he only shot 18 long-range attempts this year.

And it wasn’t just a drop in 3s. Fultz’s midrange percentage dipped from a career-high 42.6% to 32.2% in far fewer tries (162 to 62).

His 7.8 points were nearly half of his career-high 14.0 points from last season, and his 2.8 assists were a career low.

Quick-witted Joe Ingles brought perspective to upstart Magic

Still, he received consideration as one of the NBA’s top teammates (one of 12 finalists for the award) and provided Orlando perspective as one of the only four players in the locker room with past postseason experience.

But now the Magic have a decision to make.

Knowing the type of player Fultz can be when healthy, will the franchise work to re-sign him? Or will Orlando move on from the former No. 1 pick who the team acquired from Philadelphia in a 2019 trade?

Fultz made his wishes clear during the organization’s exit interviews.

“I definitely want to be a part of it,” he said when asked if he wanted to be a part of the Magic’s future. “They [welcomed] me with open arms here. They’ve been very supportive of me through all the ups and downs that I’ve had on and off the court.

“Of course, you want to be a part of a young group who’s doing great things,” he added. “I built a lot of great relationships here — not only with the staff but the organization. I’m very open for everything and I’m super excited.”

Fultz is also realistic about the situation he finds himself in after five injury-riddled seasons in Orlando.

“I understand it’s a business,” the 26-year-old guard said. “I understand some guys are going to be gone [and] some coaches might be gone. You never know.

“You obviously hope for the best, but understand that you can only control what you can control, and in my eyes, I always try to do that.”

Jason Beede can be reached at