The Orlando Magic have the best young core in the league right now and honestly.. it’s not even close. No team has a more deep and rich plethora of young players that have a ton of potential.
Even before they drafted Paolo Banchero at #1, they had a decent amount of talented guards. Adding Banchero to their frontcourt only makes them much more dangerous and scary to think how good they can be in a few years.
The one thing that I always was confused about with the Magic was their drafting of guards. They had Markelle Fultz, but then decide to draft Cole Anthony. Cool… now you got RJ Hampton, oh and now you drafted Jalen Suggs. Even after all the questions around their guard positions, they have excelled in building their players.
Main Core
- Franz Wagner, SF
- Paolo Banchero, PF
- Wendell Carter Jr., C
- Markelle Fultz, PG
- Cole Anthony, SG
- Jonathan Isaac, PF
- Bol Bol, C
Franz Wagner is a future superstar in my opinion and honestly, the best player on the Magic (even with Banchero). He’s got the ability to score in all three levels, defend at an above average level and also facilitate the offense. Sometimes I’ll look at the box scores of the Magic and Wagner will have 5-6 assists easy without a sweat. He’s extremely gifted on both ends of the ball and if they continue to let him play his game, the sky is the limit.
Banchero is another star in the making that can just flat out score. He’s not the most efficient scorer right now, but he’s only a rookie and already averaging 20 points a game, you can’t beat that. I loved the trade for Wendell Carter Jr. when they ended up trading away their franchise cornerstone in Nikola Vucevic to the Bulls. Wendell Carter Jr. is an automatic 15 and 10 whenever he’s on the court and is an above-average defender that is needed for a championship team.
Then there are the likes of Markelle Fultz, who’s still got uber potential and Jonathan Isaac who was a defensive beast and is finally getting healthy to play again so that’s exciting. Not to mention, the growth of Bol Bol and him showing what he’s capable of.
Secondary Core:
- Jalen Suggs, PG
- Mo Bamba, C
- RJ Hampton, SG
This is where my bits of concern come in with their drafting strategy, but nonetheless they have another set of young players with potential. Jalen Suggs was drafted top 5, but hasn’t been given the opportunity really to showcase as the premiere point guard. He’s shown flashes here and there being worthy of that top 5 pick, but the logjam at guards has made it tough. Same with Mo Bamba who has had Vucevic ahead of him, then Carter Jr., now Bol Bol too, has been tough for him.
Overall
The Magic can do a lot with their young core and I don’t expect all of them to stay when they’re ready to contend, but nonetheless, they’re pieces they can use to build their team. They are extremely deep and talented for a young core (4th youngest in the NBA) and will wreck havoc for years if allowed to grow.
