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Why Orlando Magic's 'Core Four' Needs to Work
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- Why Orlando Magic's 'Core Four' Needs to Work
Why Orlando Magic's 'Core Four' Needs to Work
(Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports)
The Orlando Magic believe they are ready to compete for an NBA championship, but can they realistically contend in what projects to be one of the deepest Eastern Conferences in recent memory?
With that in mind, is the current core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane enough to take the next step? The Magic made few roster changes this offseason outside of bringing back veteran center Nikola Vučević, placing their trust in internal development and improved health to become consistent contenders.
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Full Court Magic host Don Strouble went on the podcast to speak about some trending topics as the Magic enter the final stretch inching towards the season with preseason play around the corner.
Here's everything Strouble said during the latest episode:
"I think that this season is going to be interesting in a lot of ways because this is kind of a put-up or shut-up year for this Magic team from an individual standpoint in terms of the players across the roster and the team as a collective. And while I do believe that Orlando—I don't think it reset its runway for contending, but I think that might have gotten a little more grace given that this is Sweeney's first year, he's a rookie head coach, things of that nature. But I think for the core as we know it of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs—I won't include Desmond Bane because this is only year two for him—I think this really is such a pivotal year for this group because they need to show that they can hang around in an Eastern Conference that's only gotten more difficult."
"And Paolo has demonstrated that he is taking his offseason work very seriously. He said as much in a recent appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show. He said that this is the hardest he's worked in an offseason just trying to get his body right, trying to become more durable, and the Magic are going to need the best version of Paolo Banchero. Shawn Sweeney specifically is going to need the best version of Paolo Banchero to succeed."
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"This is a two-way street with these guys. I do believe that Paolo having a new coach will be beneficial for him just as it will for Franz and Jalen and Desmond, so on and so forth. Because except for Desmond, these other three guys have only ever played under Jamal Mosley in their NBA career, right? And so this is a really big transition for this group, but it's a two-way street. Where we need to see the best version of Paolo, we need to see the best version of Franz, we need to see the best version of Jalen in the assistance that they will receive from Coach Sweeney, and then be able to reciprocate that in a way that is beneficial for the team and shows that what Sweeney is trying to do is paying off."
