Plenty of free agency contracts made sense this offseason, including that of the Golden State Warriors three major acquisitions in De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield.
Then there's those contracts that were shocking but for a good reason from a team perspective -- the market dictated that Tyus Jones and Gary Trent Jr. were ultimately available for minimum contracts, proving huge steals for the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks respectively.
Then there's those contracts that don't make a whole lot of sense, even if there's not too much downside for the team. One former Warrior player fits into that basket, at least considering the season he was coming off.
The Orlando Magic giving former Warrior Cory Joseph a two-year contract is/was bizarre
This time last year Cory Joseph was viewed as a savvy veteran signing for Golden State on a one-year minimum contract. The veteran point guard could come in and be a reliable third option behind Stephen Curry and Chris Paul, and even potentially play beside one of them given his capacity as a catch-and-shoot threat.
Unfortunately the reality was very different. Joseph struggled to make any meaningful impact, having quickly drawn criticism from fans in the limited minutes he did play. The Canadian averaged 2.4 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists across 26 games for the Warriors, shooting 35.9% from the floor and 31% from three-point range.
The numbers show Joseph's minutes weren't a complete disaster from a team perspective, but by February Golden State were happy to trade him in a cost-cutting move that also netted them a late second-round pick. The Indiana Pacers quickly waived Joseph before playing a game, and he didn't land on another team either over the remainder of the season.
So after comfortably his worst year since his rookie season, and being another year older, you could have been mistaken for thinking Joseph's career may have been in some trouble. But instead he wound up on the Orlando Magic by mid-July, not just on a one-year contract but with a team option on the second year as well.
Unsurprisingly for Warrior fans, it was hard for their Magic counterparts to be overly excited. Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily wrote that "Joseph being part of the rotation would probably hint at something going terribly wrong." At the same time it's hard to be overly critical -- Joseph does give a young team some veteran experience and knowledge with their final roster spot.
Why did it have to be a two-year contract though? There was simply no need for that from the Magic's perspective, and they're highly unlikely to pick it up unless Joseph's locker room presence really does prove that valuable. Even then, it's hard to see them having too much competition if they just wanted to bring him back on a new deal in free agency next offseason.
It's not as if the Warriors or really anyone should particularly care about the Magic signing Joseph, but it's still one of the underrated oddities of the summer given his form last season.
