In the 2013-14 college basketball season, Iowa State forward Melvin Ejim was one of the best players in the entire nation. Ejim was one of only two players in the country, along with Jabari Parker, to average 17 points and eight rebounds per game. Despite his massively successful season, Ejim still went undrafted in the 2014 NBA Draft and was forced to play last season overseas. Ejim will be getting his shot with the NBA now, as the Orlando Magic have reportedly invited him to training camp, according to Pro Basketball Reporter David Pick.
Ejim's deal with the Magic reportedly includes some guaranteed cash and Ejim has reportedly accepted the Magic's invite. Last season, Ejim played with Acea Roma in Italy and had a pretty good season averaging 7.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 24 minutes per game while shooting 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from three.
The reason Ejim wasn't drafted out of college is that he is a classic tweener. Ejim played power forward at Iowa State and was able to dominate there at the college level, but at just 6 foot-7, he likely doesn't have enough size to play power forward at the NBA level. Ejim also likely doesn't have the athleticism or shooting ability to be able to play small forward, so his NBA prospects weren't great at draft time. The NBA is moving more towards position-less basketball and small ball, so now is a better time than ever for Ejim to play in the league.
Although Ejim is just a training camp invite with limited guaranteed money, he does have a realistic shot of making the Magic roster. As of right now, the Magic have 16 players signed, and Ejim is one of three that doesn't have a fully guaranteed contract. The other two without fully guaranteed contracts are Roy Devyn Marble and Keith Appling. Ejim will likely be competing with those two guys for one of the final two roster spots if the roster stays as it is right now.
The Magic still do have some cap room, and the "Room" exception to sign players so the roster staying as it currently is might now be likely. Of the three unguaranteed contracts, Appling is probably the most likely to be cut as he is the fourth point guard on the roster after Orlando acquired Shabazz Napier recently. If Ejim were to be cut, the Magic would likely send him to their D-League affiliate.
