October 1, 1997
Only weeks away from the preseason, the Orlando Magic are facing a dilemma the likes of which they've never seen before. Too much talent. The Magic currently have 17 players going into training camp, a number that has to be whittled down to the NBA limit of 12 on the roster.
The off-season brought the resigning of free agents Derek Strong, Gerald Wilkins, Danny Schayes and Nick Anderson, as well as the signing of free agent Bo Outlaw and the draft of rookies Johnny Taylor and Jason Lawson. These moves, along with the trade for Derek Harper and Ed O'Bannon and the return of starters Horace Grant, Rony Seikaly and superstar Penny Hardaway, allow the Magic to bring their deepest roster ever to the court this season.
Training camp will officially begin on Oct. 3rd, with the first preseason game of the year following on the 10th at Houston. The first preseason home game will be played Oct. 14th against the San Antonio Spurs. The regular season for the Magic will begin on Nov. 2nd at Boston, with the first regular season home game, against the Toronto Raptors, scheduled for Nov. 8th.
| No. Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | Birthdate | From/Year | Yrs |
| 25 Nick Anderson | F-G | 6-6 | 228 | 01/20/68 | Illinois '89 | 8 |
10 Darrell Armstrong | G | 6-1 | 180 | 06/22/68 | Fayetteville State '91 | 3 |
11 Brian Evans | F | 6-8 | 220 | 09/13/73 | Indiana '96 | R |
54 Horace Grant | F | 6-10 | 245 | 07/04/65 | Clemson '87 | 10 |
1 Anfernee Hardaway | G | 6-7 | 215 | 07/18/71 | Memphis '93 | 4 |
12 Derek Harper | G | 6-4 | 206 | 10/13/61 | Illinois '83 | 14 |
8 Jason Lawson | C | 6-11 | 240 | 09/02/74 | Villanova '97 | R |
0 Amal McCaskill | C | 6-11 | 235 | 10/28/73 | Marquette '96 | R |
31 Ed O'Bannon | F | 6-8 | 220 | 08/14/72 | UCLA '95 | 2 |
45 Charles Outlaw | F-C | 6-8 | 210 | 04/13/71 | Houston '93 | 4 |
24 Danny Schayes | F-C | 6-11 | 260 | 05/10/59 | Syracuse '81 | 16 |
4 Rony Seikaly | C | 6-11 | 253 | 05/10/65 | Syracuse '88 | 9 |
20 Brian Shaw | G | 6-6 | 200 | 03/22/66 | Cal-Santa Barbara '88 | 8 |
33 Derek Strong | F | 6-9 | 240 | 02/09/68 | Xavier (Ohio) '90 | 6 |
17 Johnny Taylor | F | 6-9 | 220 | 06/04/74 | Tenn-Chattanooga '97 | R |
42 David Vaughn | F-C | 6-9 | 240 | 03/23/73 | Memphis '95 | 1 |
21 Gerald Wilkins | G-F | 6-6 | 225 | 09/11/63 | Tenn-Chattanooga '85 | 12 |
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