Report: Magic decline 4th-year option on Hezonja

The Orlando Magic declined the fourth-year option on forward Mario Hezonja, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Magic selected Hezonja fifth overall in the 2015 draft. He's the second top-five pick from that draft to have his option turned down after the Philadelphia 76ers declined to pick up No. 3 pick Jahlil Okafor's.

Hezonja, who would've been due $5.2 million in 2018-19, will instead enter unrestricted free agency next summer.

Like the Sixers with Okafor, the Magic explored potential trades for Hezonja over the past few months, but couldn't find a workable deal. They were in talks with the Sacramento Kings as recently as this weekend, sources told Wojnarowski.

The athletic 6-foot-8 Croat has failed to carve out a meaningful NBA role since a promising age-20 season with FC Barcelona convinced the Magic to bet big on him. His rookie year was predictably bumpy, but he at least hit 35 percent of his 3-point attempts. His sophomore campaign saw him regress badly, as he shot just 35.5 percent from the field and 29.9 percent from beyond the arc.

He's shown signs of rebounding this season (at least as a shooter), going 11-of-22 from the field and 5-of-8 from deep in limited minutes, but still doesn't seem to have caught up to the speed of the NBA game at either end of the floor. The Magic may still try to re-sign him if they like what they see this season, but with a handful of their young players seemingly taking meaningful leaps, Hezonja may no longer figure into the team's long-term plans.