Sources: Magic to send second-round pick to Toronto as compensation for hiring Jeff Weltman

The Orlando Magic will send the Toronto Raptors a 2018 second-round draft pick as compensation for hiring new president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, league sources told The Vertical.

Orlando will send Toronto the least favorable of its own or the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick owed to them, league sources said.

The Magic control the Lakers’ second-round pick in 2018 as part of the four-team deal that sent Dwight Howard to Los Angeles in 2012.

Toronto president Masai Ujiri is working to replace Weltman as Raptors general manager, with assistant GM Bobby Webster a strong candidate to be promoted into the vacancy, league sources said.

Weltman spent five years in Toronto under Ujiri. Weltman hired Milwaukee Bucks GM John Hammond as general manager in Orlando.

Toronto promoted Weltman to general manager with a significant pay raise a year ago, and ultimately used that as leverage in extracting the draft pick out of Orlando. Weltman left Toronto for Orlando to have ultimate decision-making power over basketball operations, which Ujiri holds in Toronto.

The move invoked the NBA provision that Toronto and Orlando are not permitted to trade players with each other until the earlier of May 24, 2018, or the conclusion of the 2017-18 season for either organization, league sources told The Vertical’s Shams Charania.

In 2013, the Boston Celtics’ deal sending Doc Rivers to the Los Angeles Clippers also came with a one-year trade restriction between both teams.

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