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In the latest episode of Full Court Magic, host Don Strouble 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 his thoughts:
"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 did a power rankings essentially for all 30 NBA teams following James' decision to sign with the 76ers, and I believe he had the Magic at 18th. 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 Banchero and Franz Wagner as a duo in Orlando, that this could be their last chance."
"No disrespect to Law or anything of that nature, I just don't agree with this at all. I think 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, 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. I understand that there's been talk of one or the other plays better when one or the other isn't on the floor, like whose team is it? Is it Paolo Banchero's? Is it Wagner's? Who's the first option? Who's 1A? Things of that nature, and I get it. But at the same time, 6'10" wings with the defensive versatility and the All-Star-caliber scoring potential of Franz Wagner, they don't just grow on trees. 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 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."
"This is not a front office that, as I've used this term before, deals in seismic transactions. This is not a front office that's going to go and move off of players that it considers integral to the franchise. Jeff Weltman, president of basketball operations, has made his views very clear on this group. He has staunchly defended this group, talked about when health is in their favor how good they could be. For all of his flaws and for better or for worse, that's not a guy who's going to move off of Wagner or Paolo, especially after just the first year under incoming head coach Sean Sweeney."
"If anything, I think it's more realistic that the Magic could move off Jalen Suggs, because Suggs has a depreciating contract. That playoff series for him against Detroit last season was just an absolute nightmare. Only averaged 11.1 points, shot sub-30% from the field and sub-25% from three—I believe it was 29% and 24.4% respectively in those metrics. There's kind of a bottleneck in that backcourt with him and Desmond Bane. Neither one are really true point guards. Obviously, Suggs is the better defender, but Bane is the better offensive player. So I really think that if there was a move to be made to break up this core in any way, it would be Jalen Suggs."
"It's tough to get ahead of ourselves when the 2026-27 season hasn't even played out yet. We know it's going to be more difficult, we know this Eastern Conference landscape is going to be lethal, but I just don't agree with the notion that Wagner or Banchero would be the first out the door if the Magic have another underwhelming campaign. Given the nature of how this organization works, there is going to be a chance for Sean Sweeney to do what he needs to do, and barring any catastrophes, once again, I just don't see any of those two guys going. I believe it would be someone like Jalen Suggs first, maybe a Wendell Carter Jr., so on and so forth. But yeah, I just disagree with Law Murray here."
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On Law Murray's power rankings and analysis of the Orlando Magic:
"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 did a power rankings essentially for all 30 NBA teams following James' decision to sign with the 76ers, and I believe he had the Magic at 18th. 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 Banchero and Franz Wagner as a duo in Orlando, that this could be their last chance."
On moving off Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner:
"No disrespect to Law or anything of that nature, I just don't agree with this at all. I think 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, 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."
On the value of Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero:
"They're both too valuable to the team when healthy. I understand that there's been talk of one or the other plays better when one or the other isn't on the floor, like whose team is it? Is it Paolo Banchero's? Is it Wagner's? Who's the first option? Who's 1A? Things of that nature, and I get it. But at the same time, 6'10" wings with the defensive versatility and the All-Star-caliber scoring potential of Franz Wagner, they don't just grow on trees. 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 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."
On the front office's philosophy and Jeff Weltman:
"This is not a front office that, as I've used this term before, deals in seismic transactions. This is not a front office that's going to go and move off of players that it considers integral to the franchise. Jeff Weltman, president of basketball operations, has made his views very clear on this group. He has staunchly defended this group, talked about when health is in their favor how good they could be. For all of his flaws and for better or for worse, that's not a guy who's going to move off of Wagner or Paolo, especially after just the first year under incoming head coach Sean Sweeney."
On potential trade candidates instead of Banchero or Wagner:
"If anything, I think it's more realistic that the Magic could move off Jalen Suggs, because Suggs has a depreciating contract. That playoff series for him against Detroit last season was just an absolute nightmare. Only averaged 11.1 points, shot sub-30% from the field and sub-25% from three—I believe it was 29% and 24.4% respectively in those metrics. There's kind of a bottleneck in that backcourt with him and Desmond Bane. Neither one are really true point guards. Obviously, Suggs is the better defender, but Bane is the better offensive player. So I really think that if there was a move to be made to break up this core in any way, it would be Jalen Suggs."
On expectations for the upcoming season and potential core changes:
"It's tough to get ahead of ourselves when the 2026-27 season hasn't even played out yet. We know it's going to be more difficult, we know this Eastern Conference landscape is going to be lethal, but I just don't agree with the notion that Wagner or Banchero would be the first out the door if the Magic have another underwhelming campaign. Given the nature of how this organization works, there is going to be a chance for Sean Sweeney to do what he needs to do, and barring any catastrophes, once again, I just don't see any of those two guys going. I believe it would be someone like Jalen Suggs first, maybe a Wendell Carter Jr., so on and so forth. But yeah, I just disagree with Law Murray here."
Join the Community! Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news! It's completely free to join, simply by clicking the yellow button at the top of the homepage. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members. Download the free Roundtable APP and stay even more connected!
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