Former Indiana Pacers big man Goga Bitadze signs with the Orlando Magic

Former Indiana Pacers center Goga Bitadze has signed with the Orlando Magic. The Magic announced the agreement on Monday.

Bitadze, who the Pacers waived last week in a string of transactions, was drafted by Indiana with the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. The Pacersfelt it was picking the best player available and viewed Bitadze as a piece that could grow into a key rotation player.

Those plans never materialized. Bitadze was stuck behind Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis for a few seasons, and he wasn't ready for a role on a competitive team. When the Pacers pivoted to a rebuild, they acquired Isaiah Jackson in the draft, and not long after they added Jalen Smith. In the end, the timing was rarely right for Bitadze to have a role, and his impact was never quite what the blue and gold needed.

"Well, I think it’s partly my fault in the fact that, for some reason a lot of centers were given to us as part of packages. I still think Goga is going to be a nice NBA player. I felt like early on he was a worker but he was kind of learning. I thought this year he worked as hard as he’s ever worked. I’m hopeful," Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard said when asked why the Bitadze pick didn't work out for Indiana. "When you draft a player you’re always a little bit more attached to him. But at the end of the day, Goga was doing the right things at the right time and I’ll give you this. Normally, when it looks like a guy is going to get waived, you can get a lot of calls. We got a lot of calls on Goga to say, ‘What is he like?’ He is going to get picked up. 100%. He’s going to get picked up."

Pritchard was right. Bitadze did get picked up, and by a younger Orlando team that is also building toward the future. The Magic have frontcourt depth already, but fewer true centers. Bitadze's deal with Orlando is for two years, and the second season contains a team option, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

During his four seasons in Indiana, Bitadze averaged 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 170 appearances. His most successful stretch for the Pacers came after the All-Star break in 2022, when he averaged 11.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game across 15 outings. He was solid as the blue and gold's backup center during that stretch.

"On Goga’s next stop, he’s gonna do well. He’s a player that’s improved," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said last week. "It was a tough spot for him because we ended up with a lot of guys at the 5 position. But he’s a very good player and I think he’ll do very well on his next stop."

Bitadze played on one Pacers team that reached the postseason and another that qualified for the play-in tournament. The Pacers used the roster spots created by waiving Bitadze, as well as Terry Taylor, to pick up Jordan Nwora and George Hill from the Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana's roster is currently full.