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In the latest episode of Full Court Magic, I react to the idea that this could be the last chance for Orlando Magic forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to win together, where Jalen Suggs fits into future plans and more. Below, you can see some of my thoughts:
"I just wanted to bring you guys some quick thoughts about this off-season and about what we've seen, you know, in terms of movement in the Eastern Conference and how it affects the Magic, and obviously, I went and did an episode on this after LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, but I saw something interesting recently. Law Murray of The Athletic, you know, did power rankings essentially for, you know, all 30 NBA teams following James' decision to sign with the 76ers, and I believe he had the Magic at 18th, and what I found interesting about his analysis, which was very short and sweet, was that he believes that this season is the last chance for Paolo Bancaro and Franz Wagner as a duo in Orlando.
That this could be their last chance, and, you know, no disrespect to Law or anything of that nature, I just, I don't agree with this at all. I think that, you know, the Magic are in this situation where the East is going to be a lot tougher, and you could make an argument that the Magic's roster might not be good enough for the expense that comes with it, you know, and that they were handicapped by those first apron restrictions that limited what they could do in this free agency cycle.
All of those things can be true, but I just don't see the Magic moving off of Wagner or Banchero, especially because both of them are still so early on in their rookie max deals, that I just don't see it. They're both too valuable to the team when healthy, and I understand that there's been talk of, oh, you know, one or the other plays better when one or the other isn't on the floor, like, you know, whose team is it? Is it Paolo Banchero’s? Is it Wagner's? You know, who's the first option? Who's 1A? You know, things of that nature, and I get it, right?
I do, but at the same time, 6-10 wings with the defensive versatility and the all-star caliber, excuse me, scoring potential of Franz Wagner, they don't just grow on trees, and they're not readily available all the time, and when you've sunk this much capital into someone like him, it's not someone you move off of. You're certainly not moving off of Paolo Banchero, someone who is considered the face of the franchise and, you know, realistically the number one option of this team that just started his rookie max deal.
You're not going to move off of him either, and, you know, this is not a front office that, as I've used this term before, deals in seismic transactions. This is, you know, not a front office that's going to go and move off of players that it considers integral to the franchise, and, you know, Jeff Weltman, President of Basketball Operations, has made his views very clear on this group. He has, you know, staunchly defended this group, talked about, you know, when health is in their favor, how good they could be, and, you know, for all of his flaws and, you know, for better or for worse, that's not a guy who's going to, you know, move off of, you know, Wagner or Paolo, especially after just, you know, the first year under incoming head coach Sean Sweeney."
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"I just wanted to bring you guys some quick thoughts about this off-season and about what we've seen, you know, in terms of movement in the Eastern Conference and how it affects the Magic, and obviously, I went and did an episode on this after LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, but I saw something interesting recently. Law Murray of The Athletic, you know, did power rankings essentially for, you know, all 30 NBA teams following James' decision to sign with the 76ers, and I believe he had the Magic at 18th, and what I found interesting about his analysis, which was very short and sweet, was that he believes that this season is the last chance for Paolo Bancaro and Franz Wagner as a duo in Orlando.
That this could be their last chance, and, you know, no disrespect to Law or anything of that nature, I just, I don't agree with this at all. I think that, you know, the Magic are in this situation where the East is going to be a lot tougher, and you could make an argument that the Magic's roster might not be good enough for the expense that comes with it, you know, and that they were handicapped by those first apron restrictions that limited what they could do in this free agency cycle.
All of those things can be true, but I just don't see the Magic moving off of Wagner or Banchero, especially because both of them are still so early on in their rookie max deals, that I just don't see it. They're both too valuable to the team when healthy, and I understand that there's been talk of, oh, you know, one or the other plays better when one or the other isn't on the floor, like, you know, whose team is it? Is it Paolo Banchero’s? Is it Wagner's? You know, who's the first option? Who's 1A? You know, things of that nature, and I get it, right?
I do, but at the same time, 6-10 wings with the defensive versatility and the all-star caliber, excuse me, scoring potential of Franz Wagner, they don't just grow on trees, and they're not readily available all the time, and when you've sunk this much capital into someone like him, it's not someone you move off of. You're certainly not moving off of Paolo Banchero, someone who is considered the face of the franchise and, you know, realistically the number one option of this team that just started his rookie max deal.
You're not going to move off of him either, and, you know, this is not a front office that, as I've used this term before, deals in seismic transactions. This is, you know, not a front office that's going to go and move off of players that it considers integral to the franchise, and, you know, Jeff Weltman, President of Basketball Operations, has made his views very clear on this group. He has, you know, staunchly defended this group, talked about, you know, when health is in their favor, how good they could be, and, you know, for all of his flaws and, you know, for better or for worse, that's not a guy who's going to, you know, move off of, you know, Wagner or Paolo, especially after just, you know, the first year under incoming head coach Sean Sweeney."
Want more? Click on the link below to watch the whole episode!
Continue reading...
