NBA Trades: Would the Magic accept this deal?
Banchero was a huge reason for Orlando’s success, but the Magic’s elite defensive prowess also helped them as well. They ranked third in defensive rating in the regular season and fifth in steals. They were also one of the NBA’s strongest rebounding teams, ranking second in rebounding percentage. Their elite defense translated to the postseason as well, holding Cleveland to under 100 points five times in the series.
The problem for Orlando though was that their offense was amongst the worst in the NBA and this was due to their lack of floor spacing. In the regular season, the Magic finished last in three-pointers made per game with 11 and 28th in total attempts. In their series against the Cavs, it was even worse. They shot 33 threes per game, but only made 31 percent of them, which was second to last amongst playoff teams.
Orlando was also last in assists per game (19) in the playoffs and they need a dynamic playmaker that can lessen the load of Banchero and Young fits that bill. Young has never averaged below eight assists per game in a season and just averaged 11 this past season. He was eighth in total assists at 752.
Young also solves Orlando’s shooting problems, as he shot 37 percent from three on the season and attempted almost nine per game. He also shot 44 percent on corner threes and his floor spacing in general would open up the floor on offense for the Magic. This would allow for Banchero to have a spaced out floor for him that would likely lead to more scoring chances.
Potentially adding Young to a team that features a lot of young talent and adding a veteran shooter in Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, this deal is a no-brainier for the Magic. They only give up Cole Anthony, who was their sixth man and this deal could potentially slide Suggs into that role, making the Magic one of the more dangerous upstart contenders in the East. They would likely accept this.