He's absolutely a needle mover. He immediately gives the Magic the 2nd-best roster in the East this coming season. In 27 career playoff games, he has a TS% of 58.1%. That's pretty solid efficiency for a guard playing in the Western Conference playoffs. If we had Desmond Bane in the playoffs instead of Jalen Green, we would have at least made the 2nd round and would have had a good shot at the Western Conference Finals.
The Orlando Magic had a worse spacing problem than Udoka and I think they were in the bottom 5 or 8 of Worst Offense but great Defense. KCP also came in and shot worse, so unless they hire some really great Offensive coordinator, the problem is not just getting one single SG. Their problem goes deeper than that but their six 6'11 guys are fun to say the least.
Their season was spoiled by major injuries to Paolo, Franz, Mo Wagner and Suggs. Banchero is a good bet to make a leap offensively and Desmond Bane is a huge upgrade at SG. I don't anticipate they'll become a top-10 offensive team but they'll be much improved with just the above occurring. That's a really good team all of a sudden. I'm jealous that their GM had the balls to make the deal and ours did not. Bane would have been nearly perfect for the Rockets and his contract situation is much better than Booker or KD.
It all hinges on Paolo becoming that Top 5-8 ish superstar, otherwise everything is moot and they are like the New York Knicks. Wagner is interesting though, if he can crack the Top 25, then of course they are a force to be reckoned with. They might make it farther than 1st or 2nd round because Boston would become weaker.
Franz is already a top-15 player. Of all the NBA stars, he's among the best defensive players. His 3-point efficiency he's otherwise a terrific player. I don't know that Banchero will ever become a top-5 player but there haven't been too many humans that size who can dribble, shoot and pass. His efficiency needs to improve but I think there's a lot of potential there. I like the trio of Wagner, Banchero and Bane. I think healthy Jalen Suggs is a terrific fourth starter. That's a really interesting team. I can imagine them being the number 2 seed in the East next season.
He does have short arms but that dude looks like someone who could rip the arms off another human being without much effort. He and Lu Dort are just two guys no one should ever want to fight.
People forget that the Rockets and Magic are on the same rebuild timeline and had a similar result in the playoffs. OKC is a year ahead of our timeline and shows. Keep in mind the NBA is heavily rigged. Don't get mad when the NBA doesn't let you advance in your first year back in the playoffs. Don't try to throw away the team just because the playoffs didn't go the way you wanted.
I figured this was the case. JJJ is coming up for a big extension so GM probably decided to pivot with what was offered for Bane since they've already had this team together for sometime and peaked a few years ago. Might as well rebuild a little while also freeing up some money for the inevitable large JJJ extension.
Yeah I agree as well. Let’s see if Magic can make any other moves. But overall, Magic has been a **** organization and they may never be a contender ever again lol.
I have a theory that the shorter your arms are, the more likely you'll have a good/tight handle. I think it also helps with a quicker shot release. The T-Rex arms might not be so bad.
Bane played 69 games last season, but only 43 and 58 in the two seasons prior. Suggs has played more than 53 games once in his career. Franz missed 22 games this year. And Paolo only played 46 games this year. On paper, the talent is impressive - but will they actually even share the court together for more than a handful of games in a season?
