The Orlando Magic had the first overall pick in Thursday night’s 2022 NBA Draft, and in a move on-brand for a franchise that keeps its cards close to the chest, they selected Paolo Banchero. You know, the guy who apparently didn’t even go down to Florida for a workout leading up to the draft.
While the news in itself is strange, the selection of Banchero need not worry Magic fans. You only need to look at fans of the Houston Rockets online, and how bummed out they were not to end up with Banchero like many thought they would, to see that this was a good night for the Magic.
With no ill-mention of the obvious offensive talent of Banchero, who looks ready-made to start for the organization on opening night next season., why did the Magic go with Banchero in the end and not Jabari Smith Jr. or Chet Holmgren?
Both of the latter two this writer, at one point or another, felt like the Magic would select, and who now looks very stupid. After all, both Smith Jr. and Holmgren have the kind of games that could lead to a higher upside than Banchero down the road.
That point in itself answers the question though. The Magic aren’t looking for guys who will take time to develop into potential stars, because as they have found in recent years, sometimes that development never comes at all. They might have missed out on the top picks over the last half-decade of drafting, but this front office has still had some pretty good looks at young talent.
They haven’t missed altogether, either, but their selections of players with high upside have yet to turn into anything substantial. Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba are the two players in question, and while Isaac looked like a future Defensive Player of the Year at one point, he has now missed two full seasons of basketball.
In that time he has been outspoken about certain issues away from the court, and also recently released a book that went some way to explaining his actions and beliefs at the tender old age of… 24.
Bamba has had his own injury issues but just has never worked out as a long-term solution at the center position. His length, defensive presence, and ability to shoot all intrigued, but it has yet to be put together, and because of Bamba’s perceived low motor, it possibly never will.
This goes a long way to explaining why they didn’t go with Holmgren. He will likely end up better than Isaac and Bamba, but we’ve seen this movie before, and nothing is guaranteed in the NBA.
What about Smith Jr. then? Arguably the most complete two-way player of the three at this very moment, and in a much better place to have an impact right away. His length and already pretty shooting stroke ensure he will be difficult for opponents to defend on most nights, even as a rookie.
While all of that is true and Smith Jr. could make the Magic look silly (just as Scottie Barnes did last year in eclipsing Jalen Suggs), he is just not Banchero. The Magic haven’t had an exciting offensive player with superstar potential on that end in a long time. They have spent the last decade, across two front offices, trying to build a young core with more fundamentally sound and less flashy individuals.
Aaron Gordon may have been a brief departure from that, but by the time he was traded to the Denver Nuggets, he was the best defensive player on the team. Banchero is the scoring wing who can create what all playoff teams really need in order to have success. You can bet he is going to bail the Magic out of a lot of ugly offensive possessions next season.
Not that there will be nearly as many as before, with young guys like Franz Wagner already helping in that area. Banchero led the ACC in points (671), games played (39), was fourth in free throws (137), fourth in win-shares (4.1), and was sixth in Player Efficiency Rating (24.2).
Of course, all of this won’t translate smoothly to the pros (although games played and a 72 percent free-throw shooting percentage are a nice place to start). But when you look at the Magic’s deficiencies offensively in recent years, it is apparent that Banchero will actually be able to help right away.
Remember, this is a franchise that marveled at the impact of Wagner offensively in his rookie season. As good as he was, it also spoke to the lack of creation, offensive play, and general excitement missing from the organization in quite some time. The Orlando Magic ranked second-to-last (103.9) in offensive rating during the regular season. You can bet Banchero will help that.
The lack of workout might still sit wrong with some people, and there are probably some body language experts out there who didn’t love Banchero’s overall demeanor when his name was called out.
Will the Orlando Magic care when he’s making the lives of their young core much easier with all he can bring to the table offensively from game one? Not at all. And neither should you. Paolo Banchero was the right, but surprising, first overall pick