Desmond Bane

... as we're recording this.

I do still wonder, though, was there, like, not a way for them to get m- more real, actual shooting here? Is Sean Sweeney gonna be anti-shooting as well? Just, you're, like, could they have been the team, or was Simone Fontencio just so Miami pilled? Like, could they have been the Simone Fontencio team just to have some- someone, anyone who could come in and get up more threes just because right now there's Desmond Bane [laughs] who's basically, like, had a, like, a cr- his three-point volume dipped in Orlando because of course it did.

Yeah.

Like, just because of, I know there were some role shifts and, like, the on-ball usage stuff talked about that in the Magic look ahead.

Jalen Suggs is a good guard.

Desmond Bane wasn't the missing piece last year, but maybe he still can be.

Like, I, I think they have the talent to be a lot better than they were last season.

Now, I think they've got the right coach.

[laughs]

And then they shipped him off for-- Granted, I mean, they shipped him off for Desmond Bane, and, you know, I think you would do that pretty easily, uh, anytime, anytime you can.

But-

Yeah

Not just because guys were hurt, but it was because guys didn't play together as much.

Even if you want to go all the way back to the Steven Adams stuff and Ja Morant with Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks, and those guys.

Even if you want to go more recently, do you remember when the Grizzlies drafted Zach Edey? And we spent so much time talking about, oh, man, Ja Morant and Zach Edey are going to be playing together and what's it going to look like? And you got a little tease the rookie year.

But year two, this was supposed to be the year.

Everybody got excited about that.

And we never saw it materialize.

We never really got to see Ja Morant share the floor with Desmond Bane, uh, with, I mean, they wouldn't have probably got Cedric Coward if Desmond Bane was still around.

But Zach Edey, Jaren Jackson Jr., Cedric Coward, that group, like part of the last era we're going to reflect on is we never really got to see things materialize.

Yeah, but the team around them.

We're talking about having Wendell Carter, Jalen Suggs, who can't shoot, and shout out Desmond Bane, who is very good.

But like, we're not talking about them being carried or anything.

Do you think that it's funny that-

Orlando.

Wendell Carter Jr., Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, and t- and, uh, Jalen Suggs.

Do you have hopes for them simply because there were high hopes for it last year and it didn't stay healthy, basically? Mostly Franz.

Yeah, I would still...

There's a lot of different situations with Jalen Suggs where he's not-- He doesn't have a very reliable three-point shot, and his mid-range jumper is not e- not, is equally unreliable as far as an offensive player.

So, not saying Jalen Suggs makes the Orlando Magic play four on five in the half court, but he is arguably, of the four guys you would place on the floor next to him in Desmond Bane, Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr., Jalen Suggs in a half court offensive setting is arguably the weakest link of that group.

Because you could at least place Wendell Carter Jr. at the nail as a lob threat underneath the basket and as an offensive rebounder.

You have Paolo Banchero and, and Franz Wagner who are your primary ball handlers and creators within the mid-range area and off the wings.

And then you have Desmond Bane who's easily the team's best floor spacer and somebody who can create off the dribble in certain scenarios, uh, when needed to.

So Jalen Suggs is the only person that you kind of struggle to find a way to actually call plays for him where he can be the play initiator and finisher of said play, um, while all being on ball, right? Versus Anthony Black, his backup, who has a little bit more upside as a mid-range scorer, somebody whose athleticism pops a little bit more within the half court as a slasher, backdoor cutter, things of that nature, right? So, that's one of those interesting things because for Jalen Suggs, he finds himself in a situation where like, I mean, he's, he truly is the heartbeat of this team.

You know, he is somebody who really embodies what the Orlando Magic organization is trying to do, the kind of player they want to draft.

No one's saying that Tyus Jones is better than Jalen Suggs.