The Magic are targeting opening night for Jalen Suggs to make his regular season return to the court, according to president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman.
Suggs, who is recovering from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear, last played for Orlando on Jan. 25 and it was his lone appearance after Jan. 3. For the whole season, he appeared in a career-low 35 games.
“There’s still a long way to go before we get there, but he’s worked really hard,” Weltman said about Suggs during the team’s media day Monday at the AdventHealth Training Center. “He’s made a lot of progress, he’s in an incredible mind space, and he’ll be a participant in whatever parts of training camp [high performance director] Arnie [Kander] deems.
“Through that, we’ll remain targeting opening day ,and we’ll remain hopeful that becomes available to him and if not, somewhere right around there,” Weltman said.
Suggs said he originally had in mind to be ready for the start of training camp, which opens Tuesday, but the plan is for him to ramp up throughout camp, Weltman said. The hope is for him to appear in at least one of Orlando’s four preseason games before opening night Oct. 22 at Kia Center against Miami.
“Even having that discussion gives you the window a little bit into how we’re looking at his timeline,” Weltman said.
The same can’t be said for backup center Moe Wagner, who is recovering from a torn left ACL. Wagner suffered the left knee injury in late-December before undergoing surgery in early January.
“Moe’s timeline is different,” Weltman said. “He’s further away. You guys know there’ve been unfortunately a series of ACLs in the last decade of the NBA and an associated timeline with that. But you guys also know Moe Wagner. So, he’s not your normal guy.
“He’s attacking it. and we’re hopeful he can beat that timeline,” Weltman added. “What that looks like exactly is too soon to say.”
Wagner said he’s working to get back in shape rather than rehabbing the injury itself now more than nine months removed from surgery.
Magic center Moe Wagner is pictured during Orlando Magic Media Day at the AdventHealth Training Center on Monday. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel)
Although he’s looking forward to returning to action, Wagner isn’t skipping any steps.
“You want to get this right,” he said. “You only have one body [and] you only have one career. I’m not rehabbing every day, four hours, to just get it almost right. I want to get it all the way right. I’ve taken care of this for nine months now and I’m going to get this all the way right, believe me.
“Regardless of the circumstances, when I’ll play, you’ll know that I’m ready,” he added.
Suggs shares a similar mindset.
“I’m really approaching every day with the intention to do everything in my power so that I can be available and ready for the squad come Game 1,” the guard said. “That would be ideal, but the every day process of coming in here, getting my body work done, coming in the weight room making sure I get my strength training and prepare every part of my body. It sounds like a lot and it has been a lot, but it’s all been so purposeful.
“I can’t wait for the final result to come, to kind of be out of that space, to step back into playing and put everything together that this summer has allowed me to work on — my body, mind, spirit, pace, speed, control — all of that will come together in due time.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
