ORLANDO – ``Beyond excited’’ was the way that Orlando native and former UCF standout point guard B.J. Taylor described signing with the Orlando Magic for the upcoming MGM Resorts 2019 NBA Summer League.

The Magic are likely expressing the same sort of giddy emotions what with center Mo Bamba – the No. 6 pick in last year’s NBA Draft – having recovered enough physically to also be included on the team’s summer league roster.

Bamba, whose promising rookie season ended prematurely on Jan. 31 because of a stress fracture in his left tibia, is a part of the Magic’s roster for summer league action, which runs from July 5-15 in Las Vegas. The team will begin practice in southwestern Nevada on July 2 and then play at least four games against the San Antonio Spurs (July 5, 11 p.m. ET, NBA TV), Denver Nuggets (July 7, 8 p.m. ET, NBA TV), Miami Heat (July 9, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2) and Brooklyn Nets (July 10, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

In other news from Tuesday, the Magic announced that they picked up the third-year option on small forward Wes Iwundu’s contract. The 24-year-old Iwundu became a valuable piece of the Magic’s regular rotation this past season, averaging 5.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 68 regular-season games. Also, among players to contest at least 400 shots during the regular season, Iwundu ranked first on the Magic and fifth overall in the NBA in field goal percentage allowed at 40.5 percent. That put him in the same company as Milwaukee superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (40.1 percent allowed), Denver’s Torrey Craig (39.8 percent allowed), Toronto’s Pascal Siakam (39.7 percent allowed) and Miami’s Derrick Jones Jr. (39.1 percent allowed).

In five playoff games against the eventual World Champion Toronto Raptors, Iwundu made six of 18 shots, three of nine 3-pointers and all nine of his free throws.

Chuma Okeke, the No. 16 pick of last week’s NBA Draft by the Magic, won’t participate in the Summer League as he continues to heal from a torn left ACL suffered in the NCAA Tournament on March 29. Okeke was injured late in a dominant performance (20 points, 10 rebounds, three 3-pointers and two steals) in Auburn’s shocking rout of top-seeded North Carolina in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Magic were high enough on the 6-foot-8, 230-pound Okeke’s talent to make him the No. 16 pick in last week’s NBA Draft even though he likely won’t make his NBA debut until after February’s NBA All-Star Game.

``We expect him to be back some time during the season and we’ll let that kind of, as we always say, happen as it happens,’’ said Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman, who took a similar tact with Jonathan Isaac and Bamba the past two seasons when they struggled with injuries in their rookie years. ``There’s no rush, there’s no rush whatsoever. We are drafting him to be a long-term player for the Orlando Magic.’’

Melvin Frazier Jr., who appeared in 10 games last season for the Magic after being the No. 35 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, is also out after needing a surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right tibia. The Magic were hopeful that the explosive 6-foot-6, 200-pound Frazier Jr. could use the summer league play to show off the strides he’s made as a rising two-way player.

``It’s a shame because he was off to a great summer and he really had a focus and an intensity and was really putting in good work,’’ Weltman said of Frazier Jr., who averaged 12.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 38.5 percent from 3-point range in 18 G League games last season. ``It’s really too bad. But, that being said, I can tell you that (Frazier Jr.) is in a great place mentally. (Recently) he was form shooting and he’s trying to expedite the process. He was very committed, and I think he was primed for a big summer. But he understands now that there are other ways to improve while he’s going through this. He remains very focused and committed and we’re still very high on him.’’

It is uncertain how much – if at all – Bamba plays in the Summer League games, but the Magic have been delighted with how he’s recovered from the early-February procedure needed to repair his leg and how he’s attacked his rehab program this summer. The 7-footer has worked out daily as the Magic’s Amway Center headquarters with assistant coach Mike Batiste and head strength and conditioning coach Luke Storey.

``Mo has embraced all of the extra work that was put on his plate from the day he was sidelined,’’ said Weltman of Bamba, who was given charting and scouting duties by head coach Steve Clifford during regular-season games to continue his development while out injured. ``And I think our coaching staff and Coach Clifford did a great job with him to have him grow in ways that he might not have been able to, had he not been injured. And now he’s back and he’s on the court working out and he’s added a lot of weight. He’s committed himself to having a great summer. I think seeing (Jonathan Isaac) do it last year was a good example for Mo to see and to see how that translated onto the court. Mo’s off to a very good summer.’’

Bamba averaged 6.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.36 blocks in 16.3 minutes over 47 games this past season with the Magic. His 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in his first game as a professional helped the Magic defeat the rival Miami Heat at the Amway Center. He had a career-best 15 points on Nov. 9 versus Washington and a high of 12 rebounds on Dec. 31 in Charlotte.

Bamba, who previously held the record for the longest wingspan ever recorded at the NBA Draft Combine at 7 feet, 10 inches, blocked at least one shot in 36 games and had two or more blocks 19 times. He swatted a career-best five shots on Oct. 30 against the Sacramento Kings.

Former Lakeland Magic players Braian Angola-Rodas, Devin Davis, Jeremiah Hill, Amile Jefferson, John Petrucelli and Gabe York are also on the Magic’s summer league roster. Jefferson, who intrigued the Magic much of the past year after averaging18 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks with Lakeland, will be given every chance to show off an offensive game that he’s worked to expand.

Taylor joins the Magic following stellar basketball careers at Orlando’s Boone High School and UCF. A 6-foot-2 point guard, Taylor ranks seventh all-time in UCF history in scoring (1,618), sixth in assists (324) and sixth in 3-pointers made (180). He led the Knights in scoring in 48 of the 104 games he played and averaged 15-plus points a game for three straight seasons.

Taylor will be fighting to impress a Magic franchise that is searching for outside shooting and a dependable backup point guard behind veteran starter D.J. Augustin.

``Beyond excited to announce I have signed to start my professional career with my hometown team @OrlandoMagic!!’’ Taylor tweeted last week. ``Extremely grateful and thankful for this opportunity! #PureMagic’’

Brown, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound power forward, is a native of Deltona, Fla., and he played a major role in UCF going 24-9 this past season and earning the program’s first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament. In 33 games, while used mostly as a reserve, Brown averaged 4.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.03 blocks. He ranks seventh in school history in blocked shots (97).

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.