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What is krack alakin hardwar Knocks listeners, I am Damp Valley coming at you

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once more without my fantabulous co host
Adam Promo. We're in the stretch run

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of our Team look Ahead series.
We're up to the Orlando Magic, and

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I'm speaking with none other than Keith
Smith. He's a contributor to spot Rack

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Celtics Blog. He's also on Spotify
Green Room. He has a YouTube show

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slash podcast called The Front Office Show. You should check them out on Twitter.

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You can follow them at front Office
Show spelled exactly as a silence,

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and follow Keith on Twitter at Keith
Smith NBA. Again. He covers the

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league at large, but he is
based out of Orlando. Knows a bunch

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about the Mavericks. The conversation was
incredibly insightful. Before we get started,

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just the usual housekeeping notes, please
please, pretty please with whatever your preferences

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on top actual sugar, Stevia,
nothing, something healthy, whatever. Remember

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to rate, review, and subscribe
a Hardwood Knox wherever you get your podcast

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download and every episode helps us a
ton. If you head over to iTunes

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whether or not you use it,
and search Hardwood Knox and throw us a

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five star rating and also write a
review. Those two things help us out

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as well looking at the rankings and
the charts, just to help us continue

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getting the podcast out there. If
this is your first time listening to Hardwood

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Knox because you are just a very
enthusiastic Orlando Magic fan, or you just

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want to hear Keith and I wax
poetic about RJ. Hampton, slash jail

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and sugs. Maybe you're just here
at random. Congret that's awesome. If

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you're here at random. If anyone's
here at random, let me know that's

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fun. On Twitter at damp Valley
if they v all but consider throwing us

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that permanent subscription. We cover the
NBA at large. Like I always say,

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we are pleasantly sub mediocre and modestly
insufferable. Follow us on Twitter at

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Hardwood Knox. We are on YouTube
YouTube dot Com search Hardwoknox. We will

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come right up, and we're on
Instagram at Hardwood Underscore Knox. Also,

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before we get started, Wendell Carter
Junior has signed a four year, fifty

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million dollars extension. As regular listeners
know, I've had a backlog of these

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podcasts and Keith and I end up
recording a couple of days before he signed

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that extension, and we both talked
about Wendell Carter Junior, and I want

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to echo some of those thoughts here. I don't think we've gotten any of

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the details. Ironically, Keith is
probably the guy who has like all that

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MANU shut down if there's any special
options or guarantees. But it's a four

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year, fifty million dollar deal.
I don't know that Wendell Carter Junior signs

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that unless it's fully guaranteed. That
just feels like a number where if it

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follows just the regular base, he's
never going to be making fourteen million dollars.

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That makes me wonder if there's a
player option on that final season twenty

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twenty twenty six, which would be
his age twenty six campaign. Maybe there

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is, Maybe there isn't. My
guests would be I'm just gonna say no

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because I feel like Orlando would as
a team, would probably want to try

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and lock him down as long as
possible to give them flexibility. I love

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this gamble by them. I think
I'm very curious to see what it says

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about Mobamba's future. There can still
pay two centers. I think that's also

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a luxury here is that I'd be
a little bit surprised now if Mobama does

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get an extension. But now that
you're starting center for let's just say moving

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towards and making eleven point two million
dollars, that's not really that much at

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all, And even to the larger
context of the just a front court in

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general. You know, Jonathan Isaac's
number is not astronomical. He's in the

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first year of that four year,
eighty million dollars extension that he signed,

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and so sort of moving forward,
you're what you're looking at is you're just

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gonna pay. You know, you're
starting front court under thirty million dollars basically

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per year if you go up depending
on what. Jonathan Isaac has some guarantees

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in there. I think he's guaranteed
four years and sixty nine point seven million

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dollars. I probably should block this
number up in front of me. I

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just the price from the team.
I want every player to get paid.

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I wish Windell Clarter Junior got double
whatever. I don't think he's worth double

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at the moment, but you get
the gist. This is a nice and

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I think it's good for window Karter
Junior by the way who has not just

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had the career that people expected when
they were called him baby Al Horford.

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This preseason specifically, it felt like
he's playing more like baby Al Horford,

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right down to still not taking enough
shots. When he's catching the ball,

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especially towards the perimeter, he's not
looking at the baskets as much as you

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would like. I would still say
a little bit more than he was in

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Chicago. He did take three point
two three point attempts per thirty six minutes

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in the preseason, knock them down
on a forty four point four percent clip.

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Again, we're dealing with a four
game sample size here, so I

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don't want to get four or nine
from three. Is just not this huge

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sample size. Leving he said he
was more aggressive. If he wasn't looking

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at the basket, he was at
least putting the ball on the floor.

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I still think he can be a
really good passer. I don't know he's

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never gonna be a type of big
that's a defensive anchor, but he has

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some squishiness to him, some switch
to him, portability to him. However

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you want to frame it, and
when you look at who moving forward,

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the frontline partner should be for him
and Jonathan Isaac. He doesn't need to

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be just the backbone of a defense
since Isaac is sort of that defensive system

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to himself type guy. And so
I think this ends up being a really

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good gamble of Orlando because if he
doesn't pan out, this is you look

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at that salary and it's basically gonna
be like mid level money moving forward once

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the cap goes up, and you
know, a couple of years, we're

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already thought looked a mid non tax
person middle exception is already around ten million

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dollars. He's making just a few
million over that throughout this entire contract.

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That's for the team. Again,
that seems like it could be great value

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if he ends up hitting and it's
just like this league average or better better

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than average starting center. I think
there's still a chance for that this this

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dude is twenty two years old.
This ends up being huge for the team,

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makes it easier flesh out the rest
of their roster. They've taken some

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gambles. I think even Jonathan Isaac
was a gamble. Just now looking at

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his health track record, we know
the false contract is a little bit of

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the gamble and showed a lot in
Orlando, but he's also working his way

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back from a torn acl like like
Isaac and you still your offense is going

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to be inherently limited even when he's
hitting those mid range jumpers. If he's

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going to be your primary guy and
now they've jail and sugs in there,

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I like the thought process behind this. Again, I am curious to see

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what it means from Obamba. I
don't think it rules out him coming back.

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I doubt you're gonna pay you two
bigs that much money. And like,

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if Mobama is a good season,
could he end up making more than

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Modelcarter Junior if a number is like
well short of Wendel Carter Junior, where

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it's like you are you doing three
and twenty four from Obama? It's not

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an astronomical price. It's very immovable
contract. I do think if he doesn't

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sign an extension, I wouldn't call
this fad a complete But my guess would

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be that he gets traded by the
end of the season. That those are

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just my thoughts on Wendel Carter Junior, and it echoes a lot of not

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speaking on behalf of what Keith said, But we got into that a little

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bit with the discussion. I just
wanted to make that note since again Wendel

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Carter Junior did sign the extension after
Keith and I chit chatted. But with

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all this out of a white let's
get to the actual conversation about the Orlando

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Magic. We went in depth,
We went kind of long. It was

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about an hour. It was fun. It's a great convo. Please stay

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tuned to check out depending on when
you're listening to this. Because of the

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way you know, ad locators work
and what I wanted to put this up

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on a Saturday. There will be
timestamped in the description, or you can

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check it out at Hardwood Knox once
it's promode there on Twitter, there's going

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to be timestamps on it. But
let's get to talking a bunch of Orlando

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magic with Keith Smith. Keith,
thank you so much for coming back to

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the Hardwood Knox podcast to school me
on some Orlando Magic talk before we dive

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right in. First and foremost,
how are you doing. I'm good man,

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and thanks for having me back.
I appreciate it's always a fun to

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go deep on the magic. Yeah, they are. You know. I

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was doing the outline that I was
sending to and they're just a team where

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everything feels so decentralized, where I
just wanted to ask me about like every

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single player individually, because I've almost
no idea where they stand long term with

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the Magic. I think probably the
best place to start is with Marko Folts

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and Jonathan Isaac, both of whom
are recovering from torn left ac ellendrys.

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Do we have any sense of when
we can expect even either one of them

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to take the court for the squad. We really don't, and that's kind

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of unfortunate because they're pretty key guys
for this team, and that the hope

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was that Isaac would have been ahead
of Folts. He got hurt months out

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of when Folts did, but when
training camp rolled around and media day came

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and went, and it was he's
still not ready to go and it's going

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to be some time. And now
there's been snippets and things shared on social

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media of the two of them doing
encore work and the like, but it

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always seems to still be individual work
off to the side, nothing in the

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team setting and those kind of things, and basically the team has never put

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any kind of timeline on it.
It's something that Jeff Waldman doesn't really believe

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in because he doesn't want guys pushing
themselves too hard to meet a timeline.

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So he basically his only updates have
been both of them are doing well,

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they're doing everything that's asked, and
we hope to see him on the court.

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So which is about his non answer
as you can give. And that's

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kind of where we're at right now. So we we don't know when we're

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gonna see these guys play again,
and it's probably gonna be at least a

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little while into the season. My
my rough guess has been sometime around the

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holidays. Yeah, that's like I
guess that would be. That's all.

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That's roughly twelve months from when both
of them tore their their acls. It's

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just weird to be, you know, ten months into the process essentially,

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and it doesn't feel like there's any
concrete updates on on either one of them.

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Since the timeline for return on those
a CL injuries normally seems to be

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like between ten and twelve months or
eight and twelve months. I thought there'd

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be like just something more leading into
you know, when training camps opened.

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Yeah, yeah, I'm with you
one, Isaac, you know, he

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had had the knee injury prior to
the bubble and then really kind of blew

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out the rest of the knee in
the bubble, and that was the the

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unfortunate part was he was getting back
from that initial injury and now he's back

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into a position where it's he's going
to work through still whatever was your residual

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from that now added this on top, and that's I think why they're being

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kind of careful. He's a guy
that they did signed long term to an

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extension, so they've got him under
contractor the twenty four twenty five season,

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so I think they're just trying to
be very cautious with not getting him back

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too early because I think their hope
as the magic is, hey, when

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we get this guy back, hopefully
we can get him back. And that's

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it. Now he's back and we're
not running into any of this other stuff

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because outside of Jalen Sugg. So
I know we're probably gonna talk quite a

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bit about he's easily the most important
player in the franchise. Right now.

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Let's talk about Jalen Sugg's number five
pick. I think a lot of people

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were surprised that he fell to number
five. As good as Scotty Barnes has

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looked with the Raptors, and you
know, I would have taken him at

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number four. How much agency over
Orlando's offense does he get right away?

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And I think it's easy to say
a lot, but I'm like, looking

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beyond what they might need him to
do as a score. Is this someone

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who's going to be tasked with just
a ton of half court initiation and just

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table setting for others right out of
the gate? Yeah, like the way

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you put that and ask that question
of you know, how much is kind

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of on him a really kind of
captain the offense? Right? Because it's

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one thing to throw a young score
in there and say, hey, go

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do your thing. I think a
lot of guys are to some level capable

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of that. But when it is
really, hey, we're going to run

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the offense through you, and we
need you to be our half court initiator,

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we need you to bring the ball
up, all those things, that's

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that's when it gets a little harder. Now, I still think the answer

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is a lot, as you said, so I promise to not copping out

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and taking the easy answer, but
I just think it's this team could be

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really ugly offensively on some nights because
it is they're probably most proven creator off

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the dribble at this moment is probably
coll Anthony in his second year, and

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that's that's probably not a good thing
when it's a second year guard as your

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your most proven guy off the bounce. But I think what they're gonna do

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is, and especially until Folks is
back, it's gonna be Anthony and Suggs

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and they're gonna say, hey,
we're gonna run stuff through you guys.

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And then I think the third guy
that they'll try to run some stuff through

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quite a bit is Wendell Carter Junior. They put in some actions where it's,

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hey, we're going to run some
of that stuff. That the the

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things that if you remember back to
when he was drafted, there was a

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lot of Al Horford comps with him. You're starting to see those start to

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come back out again because they're kind
of putting it on him of hey,

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we're going to run elbow actions through
you, We're going to run high post

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stuff through you, that this is
where it's going to be Dave. They

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even their last preseason game messed around
with him, starting with Moo Bamba that

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that was something. It definitely was
something it was very unexpected. But I

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think it's kind of setting the tone
for the regular season, which is going

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to be We're going to try a
whole lot of stuff to see how these

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pieces fit and hopefully that I'll guide
our decision making as we move forward.

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But I think the challenge for this
team is going to be that scoring.

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In that scoring creation, whether it
be create a shot for yourself or create

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a shot for others, They're gonna
have to scheme for a lot of their

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baskets versus you know, running your
standard pick and rolls and isolation actions.

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And when it goes that way,
it's gonna be Suggs who's doing a lot

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of it, because I think even
as a rookie, he's probably the guy

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who has the most promise and most
talent right now and he doesn't even have

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like the safety net that and I'll
put safety net in air quotes. If

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this was you know, a video
podcast of Jail and Green and Houston,

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where there's even Kevin Porter Junior shown
flashes a point guard last year. There's

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DJ Augustine there. You know,
you have Eric Gordon there, there's just

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you mentioned Cole Anthony, they've rj
Hampton. I guess when Mark l.

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Faults is healthy, he sort of
helps of the he ate some of that

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burden. But is there any you
know, it's not even a sense at

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this point, but who would you
like to see him log a majority of

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his minutes next to in the back
court? That might just help streamline his

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role. Yeah, it really is. There's no clean answer to that.

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They did we I asked. I
was the one that asked the question of

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Jeff Wellman after they drafted Sugs of
now you've kind of a lot of guys

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who overlap quite a bit with Sugs
and Anthony and Fults eventually in Hampton and

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even to some extinct, Gary Harris
as another guy who's probably best as on

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the two line. He's not someone
who's gonna move over to the one very

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often. And he gave a really
good answer of talked a lot about how

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more and more teams are playing with
dual ball handlers, dual point guards called

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whatever you want there, and he
said, and we think we might have

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guys with size in Suggs and in
Hampton, maybe they can play three guys

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at once who can do those kind
of things And he spoke about out how

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so much right now is about finding
ways to create offense and make the game

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easier for everybody else and in those
kind of things. So I think we're

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gonna see quite a bit of Suggs
Anthony in Hampton together at times. I

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want to see Sucks play with all
of them, I guess is the easy

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answer. I like Gary Harris as
a player, I don't really like him

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all that much for this Magic team
because I just don't see what the future

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is there. I think he's probably
one of the more likely to be traded

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players on this roster, So I
don't know that I want to invest a

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ton of time with Sugs Harris backcourt. And they also think Harris, just

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out of necessity, is going to
play a lot out of position as a

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three, more so than the two
where I think he really fits. But

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yeah, it's so give me Sugs
and Anthony minutes quite a bit. Give

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me some Sugs and Ampthy minutes,
Give me some Sugs and Folds minutes when

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Folks gets back. Just let's see, because it's that that's kind of where

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we're at this year. Yeah,
it's funny how Harris and Terrence Ross even

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they just you have to consider them
threes almost with the way that this roster

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is built right now, is there
and it doesn't have to be a head

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to head thing. But when you
look at just because they have so many

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guards, who intrigues you more long
term for this team. Between RJA Hampton

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and Cole Anthony, I'll preface this
with we know it both brings. I

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find myself just far more intrigued with
RJ. Hampton's game. There's like a

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suave like smoothness to the way that
he plays with them, with some flair,

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and I think we saw a lot
of that in that preseason game against

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the Spurs. But I'm just curious
as to where you land between those two.

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Yeah, and it's not that Cole
Anthony is like this, you know,

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wise and old veteran that's so much
older than RJ. Hampton, but

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he is a year older than Hampton. So I I lean Hampton myself too,

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or we've already heard that he's still
kind of growing. They think he's

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now maybe a legit six four or
six five. They think he may still

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have another ech in him to grow, which that would be huge for just

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his overall versatility of his game.
But yeah, I think he's a really

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fun guy because I think I have
doubts how much effectiveness Cole Anthony will bring

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to a team, especially when it's
trying to be a good team. As

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an off ball player, where I
think Hampton can function off ball, I

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think just the time he spent in
Denver, he learned the the what am

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I trying to say, the value
of off ball movement. He learned making

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cuts at the right time and in
the right places, in those kind of

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things. The value that has and
I think that's shown up a little bit

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with Orlando. Last year was kind
of messy just because the end of their

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season was such a disaster. But
this year in the preseason again playing off

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Wendell Carter Junior, where they're running
some of that action off of him,

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you can see Hampton has that probably
figured out better than everybody else. And

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I think just that ability to play
both on and off the ball that really

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intrigues me with him. Is So
this question is kind of pointless, but

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I just find it funny because you
look at last year's roster, Will this

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year's team have anyone that averages six
assists per game? Or who do you

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project to even lead this team and
assist per game. That's a tough question.

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Yeah, probably, I don't know
that they'll get to six. I

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think Anthony and Sucks both could get
there, and so I'll say, yes,

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someone will. Who will be,
I don't know, but I will.

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I do think someone will get there, or they'll have maybe three four

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guys in the four to five range
per game. And now that maybe where

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where kind of comes from, just
because I don't know how much it's gonna

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be. Here's our one ball handler
that that's gonna do most of the initiation,

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just because I think that's going to
be so split up throughout the year.

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They did not have anyone get there
last year. But I think when

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you you know, you had like
four Ya, Vouch and Gordon there for

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00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,279
part of the season, they combined
for like twelve assists per game between them

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without having them, I'm with you. I think someone gets to six this

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year. Not really an important question, but just sort of speaks to the

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odd baldness of this proser looking at
the long view, and let's say he's

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able to stay healthy. Is Chumokeki
the third most important player on this team?

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And what should be some realistic expectations
for him heading into this year.

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Yeah, that's a really fun question. I'm gonna say, No, I

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think it's I think it's Sugs,
Dan Isaac, then probably Hampton, and

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then maybe Chumokeiki. I think they're
still trying to figure out what they have

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in him. He had kind of
an interesting year last year. There was

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a thought of when he came into
the league, you know, hey,

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this guy may be able to play
some two, and then I think as

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he rehabbed through injury and just as
the league just continues to downsize, there's

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00:19:52,680 --> 00:19:56,119
more of a thought of, hey, maybe he could play some four now,

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and in his real position is probably
really the three. But I think

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he showed some off the dribble shooting
ability that we didn't necessarily expect him to

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00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:10,000
have. He really competes defensively.
I'm not going to say he's a good

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00:20:10,039 --> 00:20:14,160
defender yet, but he's he gets
aft thirt he can hold his own against

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00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:18,599
most perimeter guys, and then he
does okay against the bigs who are aren't

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00:20:18,680 --> 00:20:22,279
just going to back him down and
put him in the goal. He does

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00:20:22,319 --> 00:20:26,319
okay there. So I think he's
right there with Hampton, behind Isaac and

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Suggs is somebody to They're really looking
to see the challenges. He's hurt right

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now, and this is even this
early in the year, this preseason time,

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00:20:37,799 --> 00:20:41,759
this is a development time he's missing, and that's that's kind of rough

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00:20:41,759 --> 00:20:45,559
because you want to have him out
there, especially while Isaac isn't out there.

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That was an opportunity for him to
play twenty five thirty minutes a night,

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and then when Isaac comes back,
we'll see it gets a little harder

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00:20:52,039 --> 00:20:56,480
to make sure he gets that may
turn into fifteen to twenty minutes a night,

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And for this team, it's all
about development, So you really want

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to make sure he's out there getting
all he can, and he's just you

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00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,839
know, continuing to work through some
injuries right now. Yeah, it's it

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always seems like he's I guess probably
because he missed his rookie season. Technically,

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00:21:10,279 --> 00:21:11,640
it always feels like he's working through
something. But I am with you,

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00:21:11,720 --> 00:21:15,119
he had I did not know that
he had any semblance of an author

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00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,839
dribble jumper to his game. He
was also just a little bit better moving

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00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:22,799
without the ball than I expect him
to be, and so I remain intrigued

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00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:29,279
with what he's going to be long
term. What specifically you already mentioned Wendell

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00:21:29,319 --> 00:21:32,319
Carter Junior. What specifically do you
think he needs to show to the Magic

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00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:36,160
this year too for them to view
him as part of their their long term

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00:21:36,200 --> 00:21:38,920
core. He's almost like, you
know, maybe they can play Bomba and

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00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:42,839
Wendell Carter Junior together a ton,
but it almost feels like it's going to

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00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:48,119
be an either or situation and you
have both who are extension eligible right now,

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and I'm just I'm very insured to
see you know, you mentioned some

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00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:56,119
of the actualization of the Wendell Carter
Junior to Al Horford comparisons and how this

329
00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:00,440
team is going to run some of
its offense through him. You think that

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00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:03,359
they already view him as maybe part
of that core piece. And is there

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00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,160
any specific part of his game again
that you're looking to see whether it improves

332
00:22:07,519 --> 00:22:11,680
or is at least augmented this year. Yeah, I think they view him

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as potentially part of that. I
don't I don't think they're locked in and

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00:22:15,039 --> 00:22:18,880
I don't think they're locked in on
Mobamba either. Now Bamba that has a

335
00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:23,240
little bit more organizational equity just because
they drafted him. They really talked him

336
00:22:23,279 --> 00:22:26,920
up when they drafted him, and
then his first couple of years in the

337
00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:30,039
league he's shown basically nothing. He
just hasn't been very good, and the

338
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,880
team has almost always been better without
him on the floor than they have been

339
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:37,759
any of the minutes he played.
And he was kind of force fed minutes

340
00:22:37,799 --> 00:22:42,039
early on Steve Clifford. You could
tell that was one of those where he

341
00:22:42,079 --> 00:22:47,559
didn't really want to play Mobamba as
much as he kind of had to early,

342
00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:52,039
and it was he would much have
rather have played ken Birch than Mobamba.

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And then I think even last year
after the the Vouchevitch trade, I

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00:22:56,759 --> 00:22:59,960
think it was all right, hey, we did this trade with the idea

345
00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:03,279
mug gets minutes, and then I
think that might have factored into the ken

346
00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:06,759
Birch buy out, a little bit
of they we're going to take that take

347
00:23:06,759 --> 00:23:08,400
that tool off your tool belt there, and you're not allowed to use it

348
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anymore. So off he goes kind
of the old moneyball approach of you can't

349
00:23:12,559 --> 00:23:17,160
start paying you tonight because I traded
him. I think that was a little

350
00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:19,480
bit of the thought process there was
we're going to force this, and I

351
00:23:19,519 --> 00:23:26,480
think the idea with this preseason all
the way into the regular season is going

352
00:23:26,519 --> 00:23:30,839
to be if either one of them
wants to accept an extremely team friendly extension.

353
00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,279
You know, we're talking something that's
in the eight nine million range,

354
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which I don't think either guy would
ever do to start off with. Then

355
00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:42,200
we're gonna let this play out all
year. We'll have restricted rights, and

356
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:45,799
we'll figure it out. And I
think part of to answer the Wendell Carter

357
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,039
part of it needs to be one
of the two you needs to shoot it

358
00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:55,440
well from outside if we're gonna try
this playing you together stuff. If not,

359
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,279
then then it's really becomes an open
competition between the two of you.

360
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,519
But I do know they like Robin
Lopez. They want to get him in

361
00:24:02,559 --> 00:24:04,640
the mix too. I know we'll
talk about him a little bit more later,

362
00:24:04,759 --> 00:24:11,160
but I think with Wendel Carter,
the idea for him is they show

363
00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,319
we can run some stuff through you
offensively, because we know we can't do

364
00:24:14,359 --> 00:24:17,880
that with Bamba. But then you
really have to show you can anchor the

365
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:22,640
back line of the defense and hold
your own in there and be a plus

366
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:26,960
rebounder and in all those things that
we need out of a big because he's

367
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:32,400
never going to be that great of
a shooter and passer on the offensive end

368
00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:34,920
to offset if he can't defend.
So that's gonna be something he's gonna have

369
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,880
to really show to make sure he
sticks with this team beyond this year.

370
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:45,240
I've been impressed by a lot of
what I've seen from Wendell Carter Junior in

371
00:24:45,279 --> 00:24:48,000
preseason. I like this, and
maybe it's a it's a role thing and

372
00:24:48,079 --> 00:24:52,119
expectations thing in Orlando, but he
just seems to be playing a lot freer.

373
00:24:52,160 --> 00:24:55,039
I'd probably still like him to look
at the basket more when he's catching

374
00:24:55,079 --> 00:24:57,480
it on the perimeter, but he
does seem to be acting more decisively.

375
00:24:57,519 --> 00:25:03,079
I think he hit a trailer three
in transition against the Pelicans. I'm a

376
00:25:03,079 --> 00:25:06,920
lot not that I was ever necessarily
out on him, but like I'm more

377
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,480
bought into him where it's almost it
feels like he was drafted again, where

378
00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:11,880
I don't know if he's gonna be
part of the Magic long term, but

379
00:25:12,119 --> 00:25:17,519
I'm interested to see what we get
of a full season of Wendell Carter Junior

380
00:25:17,599 --> 00:25:21,400
unleashed. Yeah, I'm with you. He also had a really nice play

381
00:25:21,759 --> 00:25:26,599
in the game against Spurs where he
drove a close out the defender, in

382
00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,799
my opinion, closed a little too
hard considering it's Wendell Carter junior, but

383
00:25:30,839 --> 00:25:33,519
he kind of gave him a little
show and go, put it on the

384
00:25:33,519 --> 00:25:37,039
deck for a couple dribbles, and
then dimed up Obama right under the hoop.

385
00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:41,599
Obamba finished Bambadas. He's prone to
doue turned the finish into a little

386
00:25:41,599 --> 00:25:44,799
bit more of an adventure than it
probably needed to be. But it was

387
00:25:44,839 --> 00:25:48,240
a nice read and pass by Carter
on the move. And though those are

388
00:25:48,279 --> 00:25:52,559
the things that are encouraging, and
then, like half of this roster or

389
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,960
more, he has to stay healthy
too. He's a guy who's continually had

390
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,400
these, you know, kind of
nagging injuries that have kept him off the

391
00:25:59,440 --> 00:26:03,400
floor. And I think Orlando would
love it if they could get seventy to

392
00:26:03,599 --> 00:26:07,720
seventy five games out of Bamba and
Carter together to really wage that head to

393
00:26:07,799 --> 00:26:11,000
head to figure out, all right, what is it we have here?

394
00:26:11,319 --> 00:26:14,720
Because you've got to kind of decide
are we committing to one of these guys?

395
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:18,240
Committing to both of them probably is
a little bit of an overkill.

396
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,119
N Let's say, you know,
kind of say, Dared, we're just

397
00:26:21,119 --> 00:26:23,680
going to split the difference and we'll
both take you know, nine million a

398
00:26:23,759 --> 00:26:26,400
year, and there it is.
There's our forty eight minutes of center play

399
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:32,079
for the next three years or so. But or is the answer, which

400
00:26:32,119 --> 00:26:34,000
it's looked like for most of the
first few years of their career, it's

401
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,440
neither one of these guys. So
they're really hoping one of the two will

402
00:26:37,440 --> 00:26:44,279
step forward. This question will probably
just resolve itself because of the two primary

403
00:26:44,279 --> 00:26:48,279
players we're talking about in Wendell Carter
Junior and Obamba. You figure, I

404
00:26:48,279 --> 00:26:49,839
think at this point, yes,
you want them to play in seventy plus

405
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,400
games, but you probably expect them
to miss a fair amount. But what

406
00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,680
how does the center rotation get juggled
with those two and Robin Lopez who would

407
00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:00,440
you guess as the player? And
I feel like it's a matter between Robin

408
00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,359
Lopez and Mobamba that would get squeezed
if all three of them are healthy.

409
00:27:04,559 --> 00:27:08,920
Or is that sort of the point
behind playing Windell Carter Junior Mobamba together,

410
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:12,359
is that then you ensure that you
get ample minutes for all three of these

411
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:17,240
guys. Yeah, So that's where
it gets really kind of interesting because they

412
00:27:17,279 --> 00:27:22,160
do, like Franz Wagner playing some
at the four, and then Moe Wagner,

413
00:27:22,279 --> 00:27:25,440
his brother. They also like what
he brought, and he probably played

414
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:29,559
the best basketball of his career with
Orlando at the end of last season.

415
00:27:30,039 --> 00:27:32,920
Now you can look at that and
say, well, yeah, pointless stats

416
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,960
at the end of a junk season, but he still played well. And

417
00:27:36,039 --> 00:27:40,599
without Isaac, who is probably the
best four, well not probably, he

418
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:44,279
is the best four on this roster. If they have some real issues,

419
00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:47,000
I think, yeah, exactly,
yeah, then we're really in trouble.

420
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,519
But I think that's where you start
to look at and say, all right,

421
00:27:49,519 --> 00:27:53,920
how do we manufacture the four minutes? And then we know we're covered

422
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:59,440
at the five because at the five, between Bomba, Carter, and Lopez,

423
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:03,240
you've got forty eight minutes of what
they feel should be quality center play.

424
00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:07,079
It really, to me, how
that shakes out depends on or can

425
00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:11,079
we get away with Carter at the
four for fifteen minutes a night, Then

426
00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:15,160
then it's either of the Wagner's in
there, and that's kind of how that

427
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:19,039
goes until Isaac is back, and
if we can what does that look like.

428
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,759
I think the idea for Robin Lopez
is it's probably ten to fifteen minutes

429
00:28:25,799 --> 00:28:29,160
a night is his maximum that you're
going to see him play, and that

430
00:28:29,279 --> 00:28:33,359
may even be nights where it's,
you know, Bomba starts, Carter comes

431
00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,200
off the bench, or vice versa. I think it probably would be Carter

432
00:28:37,279 --> 00:28:41,839
starts, Bomba comes off the bench. But Bomba's starting to show some stuff

433
00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:45,160
this preseason. But I think that's
more the idea there is, all right,

434
00:28:45,200 --> 00:28:51,000
well, then what we'll do is
those two guys will play probably twenty

435
00:28:51,039 --> 00:28:55,240
four twenty minutes each. Call it
there, and then maybe Carter gets a

436
00:28:55,279 --> 00:28:57,640
few more because he slides over and
plays a little bit, a little bit

437
00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,759
at the four, and that's how
you Getpez up to ten to fifteen minutes.

438
00:29:02,319 --> 00:29:06,400
But the idea behind Robin Lopez signing
here was it was it was kind

439
00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:10,200
of interesting. The thought was,
Hey, bring him in and he's going

440
00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:14,200
to beat the crap out of those
two in practice every single day and they're

441
00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:18,400
gonna be better players because of it. The whole hope was Robin Lopez can

442
00:29:18,440 --> 00:29:22,000
do that, and then if some
team wants center help and wants to trade

443
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:27,119
a second round pick at the trade
deadline because they need a big Robin Lopez

444
00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:32,440
at five million is a very easily
movable trade. Then from Lopez's side,

445
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,119
it was all right, you know, am I gonna go somewhere else and

446
00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:37,359
be a third big and do all
this stuff? And he likes that idea

447
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:42,000
of I can be that veteran guy
and then people joke about and laugh about

448
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:48,400
it. But this dude loves Disney. So for his ability, his opportunity

449
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:52,920
to live here and be that close, I mean he tweets just about every

450
00:29:52,119 --> 00:29:56,720
off day that the team has.
Then he's at one of the Disney parks

451
00:29:56,759 --> 00:30:00,440
or the Universal Parks and all that
stuff. By all it o, he's

452
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:03,440
living in his brother's house, which
is actually all Walt Disney World property,

453
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,960
so that's also kind of crazy.
So yeah, so for him, he's

454
00:30:08,039 --> 00:30:11,759
kind of getting the chance to him
in a place where I'm really gonna be

455
00:30:11,759 --> 00:30:14,680
happy and I'll make the best of
it while I'm here, and I'm gonna

456
00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,799
help these young guys get better.
And I don't think he's the kind of

457
00:30:17,839 --> 00:30:21,039
guy who's gonna reason. He kind
of think if he maybe goes a week

458
00:30:21,119 --> 00:30:23,920
without playing meaningful minutes, because I
think he just knows where he's at at

459
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:27,319
this point in his career. Yeah, for sure, and I think it

460
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:32,839
juggling him is probably a lot easier
while Jonathan Isaac is out and you don't

461
00:30:32,960 --> 00:30:34,519
have to worry about, you know, those twenty five, let's say to

462
00:30:34,559 --> 00:30:37,480
thirty minutes per game wherever he winds
up playing. When he comes back at

463
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,519
the four, just gone, like, there's just more minutes there to experiment

464
00:30:41,559 --> 00:30:44,880
if you really wanted to. Where
does Franz Wagner fit into all this this

465
00:30:44,960 --> 00:30:47,480
season? Though? Do you?
I guess the first question is do you

466
00:30:47,519 --> 00:30:49,319
expect him to get real minutes with
this team this year? And do you

467
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:55,039
have early impressions of what he can
do really well at the NBA level.

468
00:30:55,799 --> 00:30:59,039
Yeah. It's kind of funny,
Dan, as you start to build out

469
00:30:57,519 --> 00:31:03,599
this rotation, you start running out
of minutes really quickly because it's like Eric,

470
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:07,480
well, not everybody can play,
you know, every single night,

471
00:31:07,519 --> 00:31:11,039
and I think they do. It
sounds weird because they're obviously a very bad

472
00:31:11,079 --> 00:31:15,119
team, but there are a lot
of guys who need to play and you

473
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,519
want to see play, and Franz
Wagner's right in that mix. And I

474
00:31:18,559 --> 00:31:23,559
think the challenge with him is it's
finding out what is he is? He

475
00:31:25,319 --> 00:31:29,400
a three four is he a four? Is he a more of just a

476
00:31:29,559 --> 00:31:33,480
three? And that's going to be
what I think early on again, while

477
00:31:33,559 --> 00:31:37,240
Isaac is out, and especially if
Okiki's out, he's going to have his

478
00:31:37,319 --> 00:31:41,720
opportunities to play and play quite a
bit because they don't have anybody else who

479
00:31:42,119 --> 00:31:47,200
is really a three four on this
roster. He's the only thing that even

480
00:31:47,279 --> 00:31:51,359
resembles that right now. So I
think you're going to see him get a

481
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:53,880
ton of minutes early on, and
we'll start to get a real sense of

482
00:31:55,319 --> 00:31:57,279
or what is this guy and what
can he do? And I think that's

483
00:31:57,319 --> 00:32:01,039
actually a good thing because then by
the time Isaac is back o'keki's back,

484
00:32:01,640 --> 00:32:05,480
then it's all right, this is
where he's going to slot in and go.

485
00:32:05,839 --> 00:32:07,519
And I think what you're kind of
hoping for if you're the magic is

486
00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:15,480
your three four rotation gets taken care
of between Isaac, o'keke and Franz Wagner

487
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:19,440
with a few leftover minutes at the
four baby, and then a handful of

488
00:32:19,519 --> 00:32:22,640
leftover minutes at the three when you
go small with guys like Harris Hampton a

489
00:32:22,799 --> 00:32:28,480
Ross sliding up to that spot.
I did, and this is the only

490
00:32:28,519 --> 00:32:30,920
team that I've actually asked this question
for in the outline because they're so confusing.

491
00:32:31,359 --> 00:32:34,799
I asked you for what you might
think would be there. And they

492
00:32:34,799 --> 00:32:37,759
don't have to be beholden to ten
guys when they're fully healthy. Yeah,

493
00:32:37,119 --> 00:32:39,680
and I don't think that they will
be. But what do you expect?

494
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:43,599
You know, Mark el Falls and
Jonathan Isaac are healthy, healthy, how

495
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:46,599
how do you think they're like?
Top ten in minutes played winds up looking

496
00:32:47,519 --> 00:32:51,599
yet no one can see me,
but I'm doing the shrugging man emoji,

497
00:32:52,079 --> 00:32:55,880
you know the internet, because who
knows? All right? I think I

498
00:32:55,920 --> 00:33:01,920
think the blessing and the curse for
Jamal Mosley is there is no pressure on

499
00:33:02,039 --> 00:33:07,000
him to do anything. But let's
see steady development of these young players.

500
00:33:07,359 --> 00:33:10,000
So I think if he even went
into a night where it was all right,

501
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:15,079
hey, it's now, we're into
February, let's say we're not exactly

502
00:33:15,119 --> 00:33:20,279
pushing overly hard. I'm not going
to play Terrence Ross tonight. There's just

503
00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,960
no reason too. He's not going
to play that freeze up minutes for everybody

504
00:33:22,960 --> 00:33:27,720
else and we go. Or if
it's Carter and Bomba both are doing their

505
00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:30,880
thing, Lopez doesn't play tonight,
Fine, no problem. I think those

506
00:33:30,920 --> 00:33:35,119
guys at this point in their career
they kind of understand where that is at.

507
00:33:35,440 --> 00:33:38,880
I think they'll eventually you in transition
to that with Gary Harris as well,

508
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,839
where we'll be, all right,
kay, where we've got other younger

509
00:33:42,839 --> 00:33:45,960
players who are here long term we're
going to look at. So here's what

510
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:50,720
I'll say is so, assuming when
Folts and Isaac are healthy, I'll say

511
00:33:50,759 --> 00:33:58,039
it's the starting group. Most nights
will probably look something like Folts, Sugs,

512
00:33:58,079 --> 00:34:01,160
Isaac. I think those three are
almost guaranteed. One of the two

513
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:08,119
bigs Carter Obamba and then O'kekei or
Gary Harris, depending on where they're at

514
00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:13,079
in that point of the season,
that guy probably plays the three, and

515
00:34:13,119 --> 00:34:16,719
then maybe Franz Wagner if he really
shows out and shows he's worth it.

516
00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:22,840
Then off the bench you're gonna get
Anthony and Hampton are both definitely gonna play

517
00:34:22,360 --> 00:34:27,719
major minutes every night. Ross will
play his twenty four minutes or so a

518
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:31,599
night as an offensive guy. Whatever
big doesn't start out Obamba and Carter,

519
00:34:32,079 --> 00:34:37,679
and then that last spot probably ideally
would go to Franz Wagner if he's not

520
00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:42,320
starting or maybe it's it's o'kekei kind
of in that last spot. And then

521
00:34:42,360 --> 00:34:45,440
that leaves guys like Michael Carter Williams, who's heard he's probably not gonna play

522
00:34:45,519 --> 00:34:50,960
very much this year. And then
that's where Robin Lopez clearly at that point

523
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,360
to the third big each One Moore
is just kind of there as a veteran

524
00:34:53,400 --> 00:34:58,199
bench guy. Mol Wagner is at
the end of the bench, and those

525
00:34:58,199 --> 00:35:00,679
guys probably won't play very much.
So I think that's gonna be where it's

526
00:35:00,679 --> 00:35:05,280
apt. But I think how they
get a lot if you look at it,

527
00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:08,000
if you pulled up their basketball reference
sheet at the end of the year,

528
00:35:08,119 --> 00:35:12,800
I think you're gonna see a whole
ton of guys in the fifteen to

529
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:15,480
thirty minute per night range. But
you're gonna have to really look at the

530
00:35:15,519 --> 00:35:19,000
games played because they think there's gonna
be a lot of guys who live on

531
00:35:19,039 --> 00:35:22,000
this team, maybe play sixty games
just because I don't think they're gonna push

532
00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:25,239
highs like overly hard or folds when
they get back. And then I think

533
00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,719
some of the veteran guys, there's
just gonna be nights where it's you know

534
00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:30,159
what, we're not playing you tonight
because we just don't need to. Well,

535
00:35:30,360 --> 00:35:34,119
you know, let's really call this
season what it is. It's about

536
00:35:34,159 --> 00:35:37,800
development more than winning. Yeah,
just this roster in Oklahoma cities, like

537
00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:44,159
the hierarchy just does not exist.
Yeah, it's kind of anarchy. I

538
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:45,880
meant to ask you this, do
you think, friends Wagner can actually log

539
00:35:46,119 --> 00:35:50,440
a good amount of minutes at the
three at the NBA level. I'm not

540
00:35:50,679 --> 00:35:52,280
offensively, I think it'll be fine. I'm just very curious as to whether

541
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:58,599
he can hang there defensively. Yeah, I think he might struggle a little

542
00:35:58,639 --> 00:36:04,199
bit defensively. I got really nervous
in Summer League when he was guarding Jonathan

543
00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:07,880
comingo one on one and Commiga took
him right off the dribble, right to

544
00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:09,920
the rim and put his shoulder into
him, send him about a row deep

545
00:36:10,199 --> 00:36:14,920
under the basket and just dunked it
with complete and it was like he wasn't

546
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,840
even there. It was. It
was that that play more than any others.

547
00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:22,320
That go, boy, that's not
good against a fellow rookie and a

548
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,039
kid coming out of the gili Ignite. Now on the flip side, you

549
00:36:25,039 --> 00:36:29,559
can say, ah, well Kamiga
had that experience of playing against pros and

550
00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:34,039
he is a little bit stronger probably
than the average rookie coming in and those

551
00:36:34,159 --> 00:36:37,320
kind of things. So, but
you asked the right question, is Kiddy

552
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:42,320
hang defensively? Because if he can, then sure he'll play a ton at

553
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:45,280
the three, because that's really the
number one thing this team is lacking is

554
00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:50,920
a true three players. So hey, if he can, great. If

555
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,639
he can't do to hang there defensively, then you probably have to use them

556
00:36:54,679 --> 00:36:58,480
more at the four, and that
starts to become a little bit more messy

557
00:36:59,159 --> 00:37:02,559
offensively. Most people are going to
focus on he needs to make shots that'll

558
00:37:02,599 --> 00:37:07,119
come with time. I'm not worried
about that part of it. If he's

559
00:37:07,119 --> 00:37:08,679
going to be a wing, he
has to be able to do something off

560
00:37:08,679 --> 00:37:13,360
the dribble. At least it needs
to be a catch, attack and close

561
00:37:13,400 --> 00:37:15,719
out, make two dribbles, make
a pass, catch the ball on a

562
00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:19,119
swing, move it to the right
place. Those kind of things that you

563
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:22,840
rely on for your perimeter wing players
versus kind of being the last add of

564
00:37:22,920 --> 00:37:25,880
catch and then shoot. He needs
to be somebody who can be involved in

565
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:30,360
keeping the ball moving. That's what
I'm looking for from him on offense more

566
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:32,760
than I'm worried about him doing much
as a as a shooter, because I

567
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,880
do think that will eventually come and
not be an issue. Yeah, Summer

568
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:40,000
League, he was certainly an issue
that was that was a rough go for

569
00:37:40,079 --> 00:37:44,920
him in Summer League. But do
you have any clues or insight into what

570
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:49,599
we can expect the team's identity to
be under Jamal Mosley. Yeah, They're

571
00:37:49,639 --> 00:37:52,880
gonna play really, really hard,
and I think I do think they're going

572
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:57,719
to actually defend. Okay, they'll
have some of the missteps and there'll be

573
00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:00,280
some breakdowns just because they're so young
and I haven't been together at all,

574
00:38:01,079 --> 00:38:05,920
so that'll happen. But I think, especially when Isaac is back, they

575
00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:09,760
can put a pretty good defensive group
on the floor that I think can give

576
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:14,840
even some of the better teams problems
because assuming Isaac is back to what he

577
00:38:15,000 --> 00:38:17,159
was, that's a guy who could
win Defensive Player of the Year. He's

578
00:38:17,280 --> 00:38:22,000
that good defensively. Gary Harris is
a tough, rugged defender. I think

579
00:38:22,079 --> 00:38:28,480
SUGS is probably going to be a
little bit ahead defensively versus his offense.

580
00:38:28,559 --> 00:38:31,639
To start, his timing as a
shop blocker for a guard is unreal.

581
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:37,239
I think he could average a block
per game. He's just got that good

582
00:38:37,360 --> 00:38:43,079
athleticism, sense of timing and all
that. You can bomba can still do

583
00:38:43,159 --> 00:38:45,800
some stuff as a shop blocker,
rim protector. We know Robin Lopez is

584
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:51,800
still a pretty solid defender. Foltz
has been a pretty good defender throughout the

585
00:38:52,119 --> 00:38:57,079
part of his career. Cole Anthony, he gets a little crazy sometimes defensive.

586
00:38:57,079 --> 00:38:59,760
Everybody does get after it. So
I think that's going to be their

587
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:02,320
idea any more than anything is.
I think there's gonna be a night where

588
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,840
if you look at the standings as
a really good team and you're like,

589
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:09,079
all right, we're going to Orlando. That's a win on a random Tuesday

590
00:39:09,119 --> 00:39:13,320
in January, and you show up
and just assume you're going to roll the

591
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:17,280
ball out and win. They might
surprise a team or two just by playing

592
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:21,800
with greater effort level. Then I
think teams are used to seeing in the

593
00:39:21,840 --> 00:39:23,679
regular season, and I think because
they're so young, they'll be able to

594
00:39:23,679 --> 00:39:28,159
bring that night night in, night
out. And that's now. Should that

595
00:39:28,159 --> 00:39:32,559
get everybody's super excited. That's tough
because you're saying your team plays really hard,

596
00:39:32,639 --> 00:39:36,639
but playing hard is a skill.
It is an attribute that not everybody

597
00:39:36,679 --> 00:39:38,480
shows. So I do think that
they will have that and they will get

598
00:39:38,519 --> 00:39:43,719
after it. We've I think there's
probably one of two answers here. We

599
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,400
talked about both of them. But
whether it's a specific position or skill set,

600
00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:52,039
what is this team's biggest weakness right
now? The offensive end of the

601
00:39:52,079 --> 00:39:55,679
floor, I mean all of it. Who's going to make shots for them?

602
00:39:57,119 --> 00:40:00,360
How are they going to create shots? It's just it is it's just

603
00:40:00,400 --> 00:40:04,280
a mass. I mean we talked
about it off the jump. It's it's

604
00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:07,159
Anthony and Suggs are the only guys
who can really, uh, you know,

605
00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:12,480
consistently create offense until Folts is back, and then Foltz has even been

606
00:40:12,559 --> 00:40:15,960
somewhat limited because teams been until he
shows he's gonna knock down jumpers, we'll

607
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:21,679
play him to do that they really
need, especially early on. I think

608
00:40:21,719 --> 00:40:24,840
what we're going to see is a
guy like Terrence Ross is gonna play considerable

609
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:29,679
minutes early on just because he's such
a good shooter, and they're gonna need

610
00:40:29,679 --> 00:40:31,719
that out there. And I think
what you want to do is you don't

611
00:40:31,719 --> 00:40:36,320
want to right off the jump,
you know, lose your first you know,

612
00:40:36,599 --> 00:40:39,360
ten out of your first twelve games
and the season's over before we even

613
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:43,760
get to Christmas. You want to
have these guys at least have some hope

614
00:40:43,800 --> 00:40:46,840
and feel at least somewhat good about
where things are going as far as on

615
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:51,559
the court goes. So I think
you're gonna see Ross and Lopez and Harris

616
00:40:51,559 --> 00:40:54,079
and those guys play a good amount
of at the beginning, and then they'll

617
00:40:54,119 --> 00:40:59,159
eventually phase those guys out. But
offensively, it's got the potential to be

618
00:40:59,199 --> 00:41:01,679
a mess. I think if you
like the nineteen nineties, you know,

619
00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:07,039
ninety five ninety games, that this
version of the magic maybe for you,

620
00:41:07,119 --> 00:41:12,320
because I do think they can hang
in there defensively most nights, but creating

621
00:41:12,320 --> 00:41:15,760
offense on a regular basis, it's
gonna be tough unless they can really do

622
00:41:15,800 --> 00:41:20,920
it by getting out and running and
getting stuff in transition. I'm almost wondering,

623
00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,960
too, if Faults can even measurably
improve their shock creation when he's healthy.

624
00:41:25,039 --> 00:41:29,280
Just I'm not sure that they have
the spacing around him to capitalize on

625
00:41:29,360 --> 00:41:30,800
what you know, he's going to
do best when he wants to, you

626
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:35,079
know, the cadence of his game
when he gets inside the arm. They

627
00:41:35,119 --> 00:41:37,000
just they need a good amount of
shooters around him, and I'm not sure

628
00:41:37,039 --> 00:41:42,000
that they have those right now.
Yeah, it's very different than when he

629
00:41:42,159 --> 00:41:45,280
was there prior and you had Nick
Vukovitch who had become a very good shooting

630
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:50,599
big and forty was pretty good shooter. Gordon would come and go as a

631
00:41:50,599 --> 00:41:53,880
shooter, but they always had more
than enough floor balance with him, and

632
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:58,079
now that that's going to be a
little bit of the challenge is Yeah,

633
00:41:58,159 --> 00:42:01,320
his best attribute offense is breaking down
a defense, getting into the paint,

634
00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:06,239
making plays where that's driving kick to
the perimeter or finding the bigs and those

635
00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:08,400
things, and if everything's collapsed around
him, it is going to be tough

636
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:13,960
for him to find that room to
operate. There are probably many answers to

637
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:16,400
this question, and it can change
as the season progresses and we have more

638
00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:20,199
information, But as of right now, who would you bill as the player

639
00:42:20,239 --> 00:42:23,239
most likely to get traded from this
team before the deadline? I think it's

640
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:28,400
the most likely to get traded.
It's probably Terrence Ross. He's got a

641
00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:32,800
pretty easily movable contract to twelve point
five million every single year. At the

642
00:42:32,840 --> 00:42:37,639
trade deadline, someone is looking for
perimeter shooting and bench help, and there's

643
00:42:37,679 --> 00:42:42,599
not a lot of guys that do
that much better than Terrence Rostas. Yes,

644
00:42:42,639 --> 00:42:46,000
he's very streaky, but he's got
a pretty good track record of bringing

645
00:42:46,039 --> 00:42:50,639
that, and I think that's got
him in a position where he's probably gonna

646
00:42:50,639 --> 00:42:53,119
be moved. He's got a second
year left on his deal at eleven point

647
00:42:53,159 --> 00:42:58,840
five million, that's still I think
you're perfectly fine to pay that if you're

648
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:00,800
any other team in the league.
He should deliver at least that kind of

649
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:06,840
value as a high leverage bench player. So I think he's probably number one,

650
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:10,119
And then I would say Robin Lopez
right behind him, just because I

651
00:43:10,159 --> 00:43:15,119
think I don't necessarily think Lopez will
get traded, but I think there's a

652
00:43:15,280 --> 00:43:19,320
chance, just because at five million, again, teams seem to regularly be

653
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:23,280
looking for a big you know,
going into the playoffs to firm up their

654
00:43:23,360 --> 00:43:27,639
rotation, and have five million,
any team in the league can acquire him

655
00:43:27,719 --> 00:43:31,360
very easily via trade. So I
think it's Ross and then probably Lopez right

656
00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:36,599
behind him. Is there a chance
that this team I termed it in the

657
00:43:36,599 --> 00:43:39,519
outline turns into a mega seller at
the deadline, by which I mean just

658
00:43:39,639 --> 00:43:45,039
that they're looking at moving players you
necessarily wouldn't have on that list right away

659
00:43:45,119 --> 00:43:50,079
because they don't. I think Sugs
and Jonathan Isaac and I guess because he

660
00:43:50,119 --> 00:43:54,119
was just drafted. You could say
friends Vadener like those are maybe the untouchables

661
00:43:54,199 --> 00:43:58,199
or like your core, but like, I'm also just looking at this roster,

662
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,559
and like, if I'm Orlando,
the only person I the view is

663
00:44:00,159 --> 00:44:04,800
untouchable because you're not you know,
you're not buying when you're in their position.

664
00:44:05,199 --> 00:44:07,800
I only look at Sugs as untouchable. And I'm just wondering if they

665
00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:12,519
start to render maybe verdicts on guys
earlier than we expected to, where or

666
00:44:12,559 --> 00:44:15,199
do they move even one of Wendell
Carter Junior or Mobamba rather than seeing what

667
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:20,719
happens in restricted free agency? Do
they look at what if faults Is comes

668
00:44:20,719 --> 00:44:24,440
back by Christmas plays really good basketball
for a month, is healthy just before

669
00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:28,199
the trade deadline? Is he's someone
that they could look at rerouting it if

670
00:44:28,239 --> 00:44:32,519
there's a market. Just scenarios along
those lines. Yeah, I mean something

671
00:44:32,639 --> 00:44:39,360
has to give on the guard line
because with Anthony Sugs, Faults, Hampton

672
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:45,960
Harris, that's just too many guys. They it's questionable that they can play

673
00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:51,719
three of them together on any sort
of regular basis. So something needs to

674
00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:53,960
give there. So I think we
could see that become a thing where it

675
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,440
becomes they were in a position where
all right, yeah, you know,

676
00:44:58,440 --> 00:45:01,639
we're gonna move on from uh,
you know, Folds because there's an offer

677
00:45:01,679 --> 00:45:05,280
out there and a team really likes
him. Or do you look at and

678
00:45:05,360 --> 00:45:07,360
say, all right, well,
you know the value is not there for

679
00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:12,239
Faults, but somebody really likes School
Anthony and that's just eating up minutes and

680
00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:15,119
we'd rather give to Sugs and Faults. I think something could give there.

681
00:45:15,159 --> 00:45:20,599
And then I think that when you
mentioned first the two centers, assuming neither

682
00:45:20,639 --> 00:45:24,280
of them signs an extension, you
could very easily go into this year with

683
00:45:24,599 --> 00:45:28,400
all right, hey, we're just
going to remove the whole restrictive free agency

684
00:45:29,400 --> 00:45:32,239
problem question from the mix, and
we'll move on from one of the two

685
00:45:32,239 --> 00:45:36,360
of them. But the rest of
the guys, I mean, yeah,

686
00:45:36,400 --> 00:45:39,079
Suggs isn't going anywhere. I don't
think Franz Wagner's going anywhere. I don't

687
00:45:39,079 --> 00:45:44,000
think Isaac's going anywhere. I think
o'kiki's here to stay. I think Hampton

688
00:45:44,159 --> 00:45:49,199
is pretty close to I didn't want
to say he's untouchable because clearly he's not

689
00:45:49,440 --> 00:45:52,079
that, but I think, you
know, they're just it's gonna be hard

690
00:45:52,119 --> 00:45:55,239
to see a deal that makes sense
to move him in, but yeah,

691
00:45:55,360 --> 00:46:00,519
it's gonna be a lot of it. So much with this team depends on

692
00:46:00,679 --> 00:46:05,679
what do Folks and Isaac look like
when they get back, and then how

693
00:46:05,719 --> 00:46:09,000
does that trickle down to the remaining
guys on the roster, because then that

694
00:46:09,119 --> 00:46:13,639
will help help guide decisions for what
do we need to do right now and

695
00:46:13,840 --> 00:46:17,199
in the future. This question is
to some extent matchup dependent, and I

696
00:46:17,199 --> 00:46:21,840
would argue especially with this team,
and it also operates under the assumption that

697
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:27,079
they'll be trying to win. What
is their ideal crunch time lineup or most

698
00:46:27,079 --> 00:46:30,679
effective crunch time line up? To
you, yeah, I think so.

699
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:36,559
Let's say, my snarky answer wants
to be whatever delivers at one point loss,

700
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:38,400
so then you know, hey,
we were in it, but you

701
00:46:38,480 --> 00:46:42,679
know the loss isn't the worst thing
in the world. But no, I

702
00:46:42,719 --> 00:46:45,719
think sugs because you want him out
there getting those reps. Cool. Anthony

703
00:46:45,760 --> 00:46:50,400
Acchu is pretty good of the clutch
last year, he actually made a couple

704
00:46:50,400 --> 00:46:52,320
of game winners and he made some
plays, so I think there's there's a

705
00:46:52,400 --> 00:46:58,119
chance he's out there. Folts is
so hard to play at the end of

706
00:46:58,159 --> 00:47:01,119
games just because he won't shoot.
There was times when, even when he

707
00:47:01,199 --> 00:47:05,519
was healthy and this team was a
playoff team, that he wasn't always on

708
00:47:05,559 --> 00:47:07,519
the floor at the end of game. So I'll say, whatever one of

709
00:47:07,519 --> 00:47:13,559
the bigs played the best that night, out of Carter Bomba, maybe even

710
00:47:13,639 --> 00:47:16,400
Robin Lopez if you're really going for
it. Terrence Ross tends to just find

711
00:47:16,440 --> 00:47:20,159
his way on the floor. So
there's two guys, and then I'll say

712
00:47:20,159 --> 00:47:23,679
Sugs and Anthony and then Isaac when
he's healthy, just because because he should

713
00:47:23,679 --> 00:47:30,599
be out there. So that's probably
where where they go, just at least

714
00:47:30,719 --> 00:47:32,840
initially. But it wouldn't be a
surprise at all if it was one of

715
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:36,800
those where, hey, we're actually
in a close game. We want to

716
00:47:36,840 --> 00:47:38,679
see what it looks like with Franz
Wagner on the floor, So we're gonna

717
00:47:38,719 --> 00:47:43,480
have him out there instead of Terrence
Ross, and he's gonna run the same

718
00:47:43,559 --> 00:47:46,360
actions Ross runs, but we're gonna
run him for Franz and just go that

719
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:50,960
way. They wouldn't shock me at
off that's something that they tried. My

720
00:47:51,119 --> 00:47:52,599
god, this team's lineup date is
going to be all over the place this

721
00:47:52,679 --> 00:47:55,960
season. Here for it. Yeah, is there? Look, I think

722
00:47:57,119 --> 00:48:00,440
looking at this roster they probably could
get weird in some instance, is if

723
00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:04,880
they want to. Is there sort
of that out of left field, unconventionable

724
00:48:05,159 --> 00:48:08,639
lineup you're hoping that Jamal Moseley will
try at some point this season? Yeah,

725
00:48:08,679 --> 00:48:12,480
I want to see them play.
I mean, so this is a

726
00:48:12,519 --> 00:48:15,480
broken record with Jonathan Isaac, but
I want to see him at the five

727
00:48:15,960 --> 00:48:19,360
at some point. So I'd like
to see Isaac at the five, Wagner

728
00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:22,280
at the Franz Wagner at the four. And then let's plays let's get crazy.

729
00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:25,960
Let's play three of the guards together. Let's play Sugs, Anthony and

730
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:31,559
Foltz together. Let's play the saugs
Anthony and Hampton together. Let's go let's

731
00:48:31,559 --> 00:48:35,599
go really crazy, because I think
that's just something I want to see.

732
00:48:36,599 --> 00:48:40,239
That's gonna probably be a post trade
deadline kind of thing. When it's like

733
00:48:40,280 --> 00:48:45,119
all right, we're we're we've raised
the white flag. It's time to fully

734
00:48:45,159 --> 00:48:49,639
lean into some weird stuff here with
this group. But I do think there's

735
00:48:49,679 --> 00:48:53,639
a chance we get some stuff like
that, don't The part I'm least hopeful

736
00:48:53,679 --> 00:48:58,719
of is the Isaac at the five
because they just they won't. They haven't

737
00:48:58,760 --> 00:49:00,559
done it yet, they don't seem
that interest in doing it. I don't

738
00:49:00,599 --> 00:49:05,960
know that he necessarily wants to do
it all that much. So you're probably

739
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:09,000
more gonna get Carterbamba at the five
and then that'll squeeze Wagner off the floor.

740
00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:13,880
But if they can, yeah,
let's let's let's get crazy and play

741
00:49:13,960 --> 00:49:16,639
all the kind of key guys together
and just see, hey, is there

742
00:49:16,679 --> 00:49:22,239
something we can make fit out of
this grouping and stumble into it. I'm

743
00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:24,840
going to one up your insanity with
my pick and say I want I want

744
00:49:24,920 --> 00:49:30,599
four guards plus Wendel Carter Junior or
if Jonathan Isaac was going to take threes,

745
00:49:30,599 --> 00:49:32,079
I would love to see him there
too, But give me faults Anthony

746
00:49:32,159 --> 00:49:37,480
Suggs Hampton plus Mindel Carter Junior the
floor. Look, let's just see what

747
00:49:37,679 --> 00:49:42,000
happens at this point. What do
you have to lose? And gave nothing

748
00:49:42,039 --> 00:49:44,960
to lose except the game, which
is not a bad thing because that's one

749
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:46,920
more pin punk boss, So let's
go. I'm with it, And look,

750
00:49:46,960 --> 00:49:51,599
there's a chance that that you didn't
ends up being like pretty good offensively

751
00:49:51,679 --> 00:49:54,800
because you do have like those are
probably some of your best those are most

752
00:49:54,840 --> 00:49:59,880
of your best offensive players on the
court at once. Yeah, I agree.

753
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:05,639
I think the challenges new coaches almost
always tend to go towards what's not

754
00:50:05,760 --> 00:50:07,639
going to make us look like a
complete train wreck on the defensive end.

755
00:50:08,840 --> 00:50:13,960
That seems to be the history with
them. But the cool thing with Jamal

756
00:50:14,039 --> 00:50:19,639
Mosley is they have clearly leaned into
there are no expectations of let's try to

757
00:50:19,679 --> 00:50:22,840
be good and be a surprise.
You always hear those things a lot of

758
00:50:22,880 --> 00:50:24,800
times with teams of like, hey
we're gonna shock people, we're gonna be

759
00:50:24,800 --> 00:50:28,840
better than people think, and we're
really trying to make the playoffs. None

760
00:50:28,840 --> 00:50:30,000
of that are coming out and saying, yeah, we stink and we're gonna

761
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:35,440
be terrible. But they have talked
over and over and over again. Ni

762
00:50:35,559 --> 00:50:38,599
Moseley himself has talked it's about development, it's about figuring out what these guys

763
00:50:38,679 --> 00:50:43,760
can do, who fits together.
And his only thing that he's consistently stressed

764
00:50:43,840 --> 00:50:45,079
is if you want to play,
you need to play hard, and you

765
00:50:45,119 --> 00:50:47,880
need to play as a good teammate
and all those things. They did something

766
00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:52,480
that's kind of fun. They hung
this big, giant blue bell in their

767
00:50:52,519 --> 00:50:57,639
practice facility and when they make what
they call like a magic play, they

768
00:50:57,760 --> 00:51:00,079
go and ring the bell. And
that's diving on the floor for loose ball,

769
00:51:00,239 --> 00:51:02,960
or you know, getting a rebound
over the top of somebody, sending

770
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:07,800
a really solid screen to free somebody
up. It's all these little things that

771
00:51:07,920 --> 00:51:12,239
you know, you're not gonna there's
no stats were necessarily or there's not gonna

772
00:51:12,280 --> 00:51:15,880
show up, you know, in
the box score, and unless you're watching,

773
00:51:15,960 --> 00:51:17,360
you you're not going to know what
knew what happened. But that's what

774
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:21,280
they're trying to build is play,
play really hard, play for each other,

775
00:51:21,519 --> 00:51:23,840
and get after it that way.
And I think that is numb the

776
00:51:24,000 --> 00:51:30,079
right mindset for this team to have
at least this year, probably realistically into

777
00:51:30,159 --> 00:51:34,800
next year as well. That's what's
exciting about this team where even you know,

778
00:51:34,920 --> 00:51:36,960
you don't have Isaac or folks on
the floor right now, you do

779
00:51:37,039 --> 00:51:38,400
the subs, which is a job. But I would argue, if nothing

780
00:51:38,400 --> 00:51:42,400
else, their guard rotation is just
super interesting. There's just a lot of

781
00:51:42,440 --> 00:51:46,800
intriguing younger guys there. But it's
also finally and I think whether you're a

782
00:51:46,800 --> 00:51:50,760
fan of the Magic or just the
lead at large, you have to appreciate

783
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:54,800
that they're no longer trying to tread
water in that like six to ten spot.

784
00:51:55,079 --> 00:51:59,320
They're finally aiming for for something bigger. And I think that's what makes

785
00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:04,119
this season even more exciting than that
fire sale that they held at the trade

786
00:52:04,159 --> 00:52:07,960
deadline last year. Yeah, and
so it's very interesting to hear you say

787
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:13,199
that, because there's the challenge here
what the Magic is. They need to

788
00:52:13,239 --> 00:52:16,480
be interesting one way or the other. It needs to be all right,

789
00:52:16,519 --> 00:52:21,320
they're they're a good team and they're
pushing for the playoffs or they are really

790
00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:24,719
terrible, but at least they're fun
and young. And I'm watching and I'm

791
00:52:24,840 --> 00:52:31,400
rooting for one point losses because what
happens here in Central Florida is it's college

792
00:52:31,440 --> 00:52:36,440
football all the way until we get
to the Hall and then no one really

793
00:52:36,599 --> 00:52:38,079
cares about the Magic all that much. So, I mean, they'll sell

794
00:52:38,119 --> 00:52:43,079
out their games and they'll have fans
there and stuff, but it's not they're

795
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:46,119
you know, even though they're the
only professional Big four sports team in the

796
00:52:46,480 --> 00:52:51,760
in the city, they'll be fifth
on the you know sports radio lineup because

797
00:52:51,760 --> 00:52:54,079
it's they're going to talk you know, four college football teams in the box

798
00:52:54,719 --> 00:52:58,920
maybe and then then you know,
we'll see then if they're not good.

799
00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:02,360
By the time the springtime around,
Orlando City soccer has kind of captured the

800
00:53:02,400 --> 00:53:07,119
city quite a bit, and people
love them because no one came here with

801
00:53:07,400 --> 00:53:13,599
their own soccer team. So Orlando
is a city where no one's from here.

802
00:53:13,920 --> 00:53:17,079
Everybody kind of moves to Orlando,
so people came in with their own

803
00:53:17,199 --> 00:53:21,920
NBA team, So it's it's very
hard to get them to give them up

804
00:53:21,960 --> 00:53:24,159
to root for the magic, So
they have to be interesting one way or

805
00:53:24,159 --> 00:53:30,480
another. And leaning into this rebuild
is huge because now everybody can look at

806
00:53:30,519 --> 00:53:34,000
and say, now there's a clear
direction, I can kind of get behind

807
00:53:34,079 --> 00:53:37,199
us. Now. Making the playoffs
a couple of years ago, the bubble

808
00:53:37,239 --> 00:53:39,480
season just so weird, right because
they didn't even get any of the benefit

809
00:53:39,920 --> 00:53:44,760
of playing home playoff games in that
sense. But a couple of years ago

810
00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:49,280
making the playoffs that was big because
people were really kind of out on this

811
00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:53,079
team. Because it was all right, they're they're never really terrible, so

812
00:53:53,119 --> 00:53:58,400
there's not any hope of getting Zion
or a guy like that. But they're

813
00:53:58,400 --> 00:54:00,960
not even a playoff team, so
making the playoffs was huge. And then

814
00:54:01,360 --> 00:54:06,599
you know, them taking that first
game excuse me, off that Raptors team

815
00:54:06,679 --> 00:54:10,800
and coming back for Game three in
Orlando. It was loud in that building

816
00:54:10,840 --> 00:54:15,920
and people were fired up and excited, and then all those things and they

817
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:20,360
lost. But I think if you
could get Jeff Weldman and John Hammon,

818
00:54:20,840 --> 00:54:25,400
the president the basketball operations of the
GM, respectively, to take truth serum

819
00:54:25,760 --> 00:54:29,119
and admit, you know, hey, this is what we were trying to

820
00:54:29,159 --> 00:54:32,519
do, they would say we wanted
to trade Voots, we wanted to trade

821
00:54:32,519 --> 00:54:37,280
Fournier, We probably wanted to trade
Aaron Gordon. We wanted to move on

822
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:40,599
from all those guys and really build
the team we wanted to build. And

823
00:54:40,639 --> 00:54:44,719
then they made the playoffs, and
I was like, crap, we can't

824
00:54:44,719 --> 00:54:49,880
turn right around and sell off every
guy after just making the playoffs. Fortunately,

825
00:54:49,920 --> 00:54:53,000
they locked in a bunch of pretty
good contracts are all fairly easily movable,

826
00:54:53,239 --> 00:54:57,400
and that's why all those guys did
get moved. But I think now

827
00:54:57,480 --> 00:55:01,000
they're relishing the opportunity to kind to
really build this thing the way they think

828
00:55:01,039 --> 00:55:06,599
it should be built. And I
think that's got people here looking at and

829
00:55:06,599 --> 00:55:07,599
saying, all right, I can
get on board with this. I'm excited

830
00:55:07,639 --> 00:55:13,440
to see where this goes. As
we record this. Their win total over

831
00:55:13,559 --> 00:55:16,679
under a set at twenty two point
five. Are you taking the over the

832
00:55:16,800 --> 00:55:21,239
under on that? Yeah. The
guys who set these lines are really really

833
00:55:21,239 --> 00:55:25,920
good because it's kind of where where
I am is. You know, it's

834
00:55:27,079 --> 00:55:30,880
it's always hard to pick a team
to lose sixty games, even though every

835
00:55:30,920 --> 00:55:34,159
year somebody, you know, I
want one or two or three people do.

836
00:55:35,079 --> 00:55:37,880
I will say I'm gonna, I'm
gonna take over, But it's only

837
00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:43,599
because the number of twenty three wins
has stuck in my head for a while

838
00:55:43,679 --> 00:55:45,960
now with this team. So I've
got them at at twenty three and fifty

839
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:49,920
nine, so I'm gonna, I'm
gonna take over. But that's the only

840
00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:52,880
reason why I don't know that I
feel good about them having the opportunity to,

841
00:55:53,199 --> 00:55:57,199
you know, scratch thirty wins and
never mind any higher than that.

842
00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:00,760
Its just then, not this year, not with the offensive issues they're gonna

843
00:56:00,760 --> 00:56:04,920
have. And I know the Eastern
Conference is like the middle of it is

844
00:56:05,559 --> 00:56:07,599
deeper and more competitive, but like
the worst team the East was still at

845
00:56:07,599 --> 00:56:12,599
the twenty three win pace last year
in Detroit, And so that's why I'm

846
00:56:12,599 --> 00:56:15,760
tended to get it feels like Orlando
would really have to lean into the skid

847
00:56:16,159 --> 00:56:20,039
in the middle of the season for
them to not hit twenty three. But

848
00:56:20,039 --> 00:56:22,159
but maybe I'm wrong, But I've
been pretty generous with with my overs as

849
00:56:22,199 --> 00:56:25,199
we've gone through these, But twenty
two point five is just so damn low.

850
00:56:27,400 --> 00:56:30,440
Yeah, that's the thing. It's
I mean, you start to really

851
00:56:30,000 --> 00:56:36,000
look at that is a number where
if you're not pricing in a major injury,

852
00:56:36,199 --> 00:56:40,360
you're a major injury away from being
a twelve or thirteen win team at

853
00:56:40,400 --> 00:56:44,800
that point. Now, did you
could question, well, what would a

854
00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:47,920
major injury even be for Orlando because
they're just not going to be very good.

855
00:56:49,039 --> 00:56:52,760
But yeah, I think I think
when you factor in there could be

856
00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:55,480
some trades. They remove some of
the guys who help winning win games,

857
00:56:55,800 --> 00:57:00,840
and that they're very young, they're
not going to push foltson Isaac overly hard

858
00:57:00,880 --> 00:57:04,440
this year. And then I think
by the end of the year or whatever

859
00:57:04,519 --> 00:57:07,079
veterans are on the team, might
as well start a vacation early, because

860
00:57:07,079 --> 00:57:10,039
I don't think they're gonna see the
floor all that often. I think,

861
00:57:10,079 --> 00:57:14,679
I think this is a team that
will start stacking losses real quick at the

862
00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:19,199
end. So yeah, it's like
it's in twenty three I feel pretty good

863
00:57:19,280 --> 00:57:22,599
about. But yeah, this was
a twenty four or twenty five win over

864
00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:27,719
under. I'd probably picked the under
just because it's it's that tight of a

865
00:57:27,800 --> 00:57:30,519
window. Yeah, it's just tough. I don't they may be the worst

866
00:57:30,559 --> 00:57:35,800
team in the East. We'll see
compared to the Pistons, and then the

867
00:57:35,880 --> 00:57:38,760
poor Calves, who are they're they're
trying to get out of it, and

868
00:57:38,800 --> 00:57:42,480
you know, and then we'll see
what happens with Oklahoma City and Houston.

869
00:57:43,039 --> 00:57:45,920
Right well, we'll see, you
know, where did they go against those

870
00:57:45,960 --> 00:57:49,679
guys. So yeah, it's it's
I It would not chalk me at all

871
00:57:49,719 --> 00:57:52,599
if the Magic went into the lottery
with the most ping pong balls, just

872
00:57:52,639 --> 00:57:55,239
because I think as you look at
it, like, yeah, that could

873
00:57:55,239 --> 00:57:59,360
be the way it all falls apart
and goes for them. Yeah. I

874
00:57:59,360 --> 00:58:00,960
don't look at a team and say, in the league at all. I

875
00:58:01,000 --> 00:58:04,280
mean, forget about where they stand
in the East. I think the worst

876
00:58:04,280 --> 00:58:07,440
record will be between Orlando and Detroit, just because every other team is trying.

877
00:58:07,880 --> 00:58:10,800
Even if Cleveland's try is sort of
like right at a boy, it's

878
00:58:10,840 --> 00:58:15,920
not gonna last that long. But
there you go. Oklahoma City and Houston

879
00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:19,199
are probably like those are Those are
clearly the four worst teams in the NBA.

880
00:58:19,239 --> 00:58:21,760
To me, I don't know.
Oklahoma City is the team that I

881
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:23,639
want to say is definitely gonna be
worst, because I don't think Sam Presti's

882
00:58:23,679 --> 00:58:28,480
gonna let them be better. But
Jake Gilt's Alexander is really freaking good and

883
00:58:28,679 --> 00:58:30,840
lou Dort's good. That also might
just be it when you're looking at like

884
00:58:30,880 --> 00:58:35,079
above average players in the roster this
season. So I'm gonna say the magic

885
00:58:35,320 --> 00:58:38,800
here's my bold prediction. Orlando will
not have the worst record in the NBA

886
00:58:38,920 --> 00:58:43,599
this year. I think you're right
on that, because I just I don't

887
00:58:43,800 --> 00:58:49,480
think they're gonna be naturally that bad. I think I just think they've got

888
00:58:49,519 --> 00:58:52,599
a bunch of guys who are gonna
play really hard, and they think they're

889
00:58:52,719 --> 00:58:55,559
veteran guys. Are guys who are
looking to prove something, and folks and

890
00:58:55,639 --> 00:58:59,960
Isaac that are, hey, we're
healthy, we're here, We're actually able

891
00:59:00,119 --> 00:59:02,519
to go and be pretty good.
And I think that's kind of maybe the

892
00:59:02,559 --> 00:59:07,559
difference between a couple of these other
teams and I don't see them Oklahoma City.

893
00:59:07,559 --> 00:59:10,599
I mean, it up pretty blatant
last year when it was like see

894
00:59:10,639 --> 00:59:14,320
you later, Al Horford, all
right, Jake, you know, enjoy

895
00:59:14,559 --> 00:59:17,079
you know kN kun or whatever it
is or probably not right because of COVID,

896
00:59:17,119 --> 00:59:21,679
but it was probably just hey,
Enjoyce sitting on the couch. It

897
00:59:21,840 --> 00:59:24,480
was a lot of you know stuff
there, and I don't know that Orlando

898
00:59:24,519 --> 00:59:30,760
will ever blatantly lean into that.
I also, they don't have any veterans

899
00:59:30,800 --> 00:59:34,719
who are quite that level of good
that I think are They're they're gonna be

900
00:59:34,760 --> 00:59:37,800
like, man, if we play
Mark el Folds to night, we might

901
00:59:37,840 --> 00:59:39,920
actually win this game. I don't
think they're overly worried about that. And

902
00:59:39,960 --> 00:59:45,280
I think the Pistons they've got enough
good veterans that they could probably be better.

903
00:59:45,320 --> 00:59:51,440
But they even pretty actively started wrestling
Jeremy Grant guys like that. So

904
00:59:51,599 --> 00:59:53,840
I think that, more than anything, is going to be what keeps Orlando,

905
00:59:53,960 --> 00:59:57,960
maybe ahead of a couple of teams
in the standings. Yeah, Detroit

906
00:59:58,079 --> 01:00:00,280
was top ten in crunch time,
and it's played leading into the All Star

907
01:00:00,320 --> 01:00:04,239
break. They weren't winning those games, but the front office how to be

908
01:00:04,280 --> 01:00:06,320
looking at that like all right,
like we really need to make sure this

909
01:00:06,400 --> 01:00:09,639
doesn't keep happening in case we start
accidentally winning some of those games. Yeah.

910
01:00:09,639 --> 01:00:14,079
As someone who covers the Boston Celtics, I am well aware of what

911
01:00:14,159 --> 01:00:16,760
the Pistons were playing like early in
the year because they get Boston everything that

912
01:00:16,800 --> 01:00:21,239
they could handle them more, including
beating them at least once, if not

913
01:00:21,440 --> 01:00:24,599
twice. Is there anyone on this
team or anything about this team I did

914
01:00:24,639 --> 01:00:30,480
not ask you that you think needs
to be discussed. No, I don't

915
01:00:30,519 --> 01:00:35,280
think so. I think I mean
we kind of hitting on all of it.

916
01:00:35,280 --> 01:00:38,079
It's this team I feel. I
think you hit the nail on the

917
01:00:38,079 --> 01:00:42,719
head with Locahoma City, where it's
you can look at it and it's you

918
01:00:42,800 --> 01:00:47,440
can almost imagine any number of lineup
combinations and opening groups and closing groups and

919
01:00:47,880 --> 01:00:52,280
everything else, and it really is
it. It's a team that as you

920
01:00:52,760 --> 01:00:54,719
kind of run through it, it's
a lot of it doesn't make a whole

921
01:00:54,719 --> 01:01:00,119
lot of sense right now. And
I think that's the challenge Jamal Mosley has,

922
01:01:00,119 --> 01:01:02,440
because yeah, it's great to have
these guys play hard, but we

923
01:01:02,559 --> 01:01:06,320
also got to see, all right, how do they fit together, how

924
01:01:06,360 --> 01:01:08,679
we're making this work? And there's
there's some guys here have to show some

925
01:01:08,719 --> 01:01:14,000
stuff that hasn't been there. And
then you run the risk of a guy

926
01:01:14,000 --> 01:01:15,559
like Gary Harris. And I'm not
going to accuse him of this because he's

927
01:01:15,559 --> 01:01:20,360
never been this kind of player,
but he's on an expiring contract. He's

928
01:01:20,480 --> 01:01:22,159
the one guy with the big,
big money deal. Does he look at

929
01:01:22,199 --> 01:01:24,719
him be like, I gotta put
up numbers. I gotta look kind of

930
01:01:24,719 --> 01:01:29,119
good here, because if not,
you know, does it do I end

931
01:01:29,199 --> 01:01:31,480
up going the way of like an
Auto Porter junior where my next deal is

932
01:01:31,480 --> 01:01:35,840
a minimum deal Because I didn't look
very good on a bad team. You

933
01:01:35,880 --> 01:01:37,960
know what happens there, and that's
something that Mosley is just gonna have to

934
01:01:38,239 --> 01:01:43,119
manage through and figure out. But
yeah, it's the good news is they

935
01:01:43,159 --> 01:01:47,719
are infinitely more interesting than the group
of the last two seasons, where it

936
01:01:47,840 --> 01:01:52,239
felt like, all right, we
kind of know what what they are and

937
01:01:52,719 --> 01:01:54,840
I do think last year's team,
had they stayed healthy, probably still would

938
01:01:54,880 --> 01:01:58,559
have been in the mix to be
in the play in And then I think

939
01:01:58,679 --> 01:02:02,480
once they had they once they passed
the point and overturn with injuries, Jeff

940
01:02:02,480 --> 01:02:05,880
Welman said, forget this, let's
tear it all the way down. And

941
01:02:06,159 --> 01:02:09,159
I give h Alex Martins, who
really kind of runs the team on behalf

942
01:02:09,159 --> 01:02:12,840
of the ownership group, gave him
a lot of credit for saying, yep,

943
01:02:12,960 --> 01:02:14,920
do it, you know, take
it all the way down. I

944
01:02:14,920 --> 01:02:19,079
mean they we always say, you
know, get rid of everybody. They

945
01:02:19,119 --> 01:02:22,199
did about as close as you can
do to that. I mean I tweeted

946
01:02:22,559 --> 01:02:27,679
a few times to the idea of
Terrence Rossby and the Will Smith gift where

947
01:02:27,679 --> 01:02:30,840
he's standing there looking around at the
room, because it really was it was

948
01:02:30,840 --> 01:02:34,559
like Terrence ross was the only guy
left because Isaac and voltsworn even there because

949
01:02:34,559 --> 01:02:37,920
they were both hurt. So it
was really like t ross just kind of

950
01:02:37,960 --> 01:02:39,360
staring around at all. Right,
Well, I guess this is what it

951
01:02:39,440 --> 01:02:45,599
is now. And to be quite
frankly frank about it, I'm shocked he's

952
01:02:45,639 --> 01:02:49,320
still on this team. I if
you had given me the number one player

953
01:02:49,320 --> 01:02:52,119
that would have got traded in the
off season and got moved my mud had

954
01:02:52,159 --> 01:02:54,840
taken Terence Ross. But but here
it is, and I've been I mean,

955
01:02:54,920 --> 01:02:59,039
I still don't believe he's gonna last
the whole season with the Magic,

956
01:02:59,119 --> 01:03:02,679
but yeah I do. I hope
people aren't completely out on this team because

957
01:03:02,719 --> 01:03:07,840
I think you'll have more fun watching
these guys as a casual viewer the NBA

958
01:03:07,840 --> 01:03:10,079
if you're kind of flipping around on
League Pass. Plus they play their home

959
01:03:10,159 --> 01:03:14,679
starts are always in that seven o'clock
window where there's only Larry from games,

960
01:03:15,119 --> 01:03:16,480
you know, So yeah, so
pop in there for that first half hour

961
01:03:16,519 --> 01:03:21,880
ago, and I think they think
you'll have some fun watching this young group

962
01:03:21,920 --> 01:03:24,199
get up and down the floor.
My top three reasons to watch the Magic

963
01:03:24,199 --> 01:03:29,119
for our listeners this season, jeal
and Zugs, the RJ. Hampton breakout

964
01:03:29,199 --> 01:03:32,000
is coming, I'm calling it,
And the prospect, however far fetched,

965
01:03:32,079 --> 01:03:36,480
of that four guard lineup that we
just outlined before. Yeah, I hope

966
01:03:36,519 --> 01:03:39,119
something ever comes out. Keith,
this was great as always. Are you

967
01:03:39,159 --> 01:03:43,800
able to tell our listeners where they
can find you and all the work that

968
01:03:43,840 --> 01:03:46,239
you do. Yeah, you can
find my league wide coverage a lot of

969
01:03:46,280 --> 01:03:52,639
salary and roster stuff at spot Track. That's probably what I'm known for there.

970
01:03:52,239 --> 01:03:54,840
Then if you're looking for I know
we just did the Magic Pod,

971
01:03:54,880 --> 01:03:59,159
but if you're looking for Boston Celtics
coverage, I'm part of the team over

972
01:03:59,199 --> 01:04:01,480
at Celtics Blog, and then i
cover the Magic a lot just because I'm

973
01:04:01,519 --> 01:04:04,840
here in Orlando somewhere around the team
quite a bit. When I go to

974
01:04:04,880 --> 01:04:08,719
a game, that generally tends to
be where where I'm at. And then

975
01:04:09,000 --> 01:04:14,559
if you're interested in roster stuff and
the league as a whole, my co

976
01:04:14,639 --> 01:04:18,360
host Trevor Lane and I we host
a YouTube show on podcast called NBA Front

977
01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:20,440
Office Show, and we have a
lot of fun. We break down all

978
01:04:20,480 --> 01:04:24,679
the latest news and notes, and
then once the season starts, we'll be

979
01:04:24,679 --> 01:04:29,480
doing a near daily show where we
break down kind of what happened the night

980
01:04:29,800 --> 01:04:32,880
before in the NBA and a lot
of focus on It's not gonna be a

981
01:04:32,920 --> 01:04:36,159
lot of Lebron James was really good. It's probably gonna be more, Hey,

982
01:04:36,280 --> 01:04:41,280
surprise, this guy towards the end
of the Magic bench stepped up and

983
01:04:41,480 --> 01:04:44,239
had a nice game. We're gonna
try to bring you things that maybe didn't

984
01:04:44,280 --> 01:04:46,679
notice as you were maybe more focused
on your team, so check that out

985
01:04:46,719 --> 01:04:49,679
as well. Yeah, or if
you were just distracted by all the Ben

986
01:04:49,719 --> 01:04:55,079
Simmons drama that's going on. We
do a thing on the Front Office show

987
01:04:55,079 --> 01:04:59,480
whenever there's Simmons news, we sound
the Simmons siren and pose it just going

988
01:04:59,519 --> 01:05:02,159
off seven right now? Yeah,
kind of, Yeah, we kind of

989
01:05:02,159 --> 01:05:06,039
said a rule that there was.
It was one of those days where there

990
01:05:06,119 --> 01:05:11,840
was our fifteen of those non update
updates. Really, we're not doing it,

991
01:05:11,960 --> 01:05:14,679
Dad, Mike. We're not going
to sound the Simon siren for that.

992
01:05:15,280 --> 01:05:16,360
But yeah, but there's been been
a lot of the sounding of the

993
01:05:16,400 --> 01:05:19,960
Simon siren for sure. Yeah.
Recycling is good. We don't need to

994
01:05:19,960 --> 01:05:24,880
recycle news breaks though that's not breaking. I'll be sure to follow Keith on

995
01:05:24,920 --> 01:05:29,159
Twitter as well. Fantastic follow at
Keith Smith NBA spelled exactly as it sounds.

996
01:05:29,480 --> 01:05:31,119
Just want to giterate Keith. This
was fantastic. Thank you so much

997
01:05:31,159 --> 01:05:34,760
for giving me so much of your
time, and you can rest assured that

998
01:05:34,760 --> 01:05:39,639
I'll be pestering you again in the
future. I appreciate it. Thanks for having me