Orlando Magic in WIN-NOW MODE | What expectations mean for the Magic’s 2026 season

Orlando Magic in WIN-NOW MODE | What expectations mean for the Magic’s 2026 season

The season is almost here. Media day is Monday. So, let’s dive into the biggest questions and the expectations the Magic have to meet with Jason PD of the Orlando Sentinel today on Locked on Magic. You are Locked On Magic, your daily Orlando Magic podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. And you are indeed locked on Magic. Today is September 25th. It will be September 26th, 2025. My name is Philip Rossman. I’m the senior writer over at Orlando Magicaily.com. credentialed member of the Orlando Magic Media since the 2012 season. On today’s episode of Lockdown Magic, we’re going to chat with Jason Bey of the Orlando Center, get the temperature checked, how the Magic meet expectations, the big questions they face, and so much more coming up in the next 40 minutes or so, a little bit longer episode. So, stick with us here uh as we dive into the Magic season. We’ll talk with Jason Bey, the Orlando Sentinel here in just a moment. But first, we want to thank you again for making Lockdown Magic part of your day every day. No matter when you listen to us, whether it’s first thing in the morning, whether it’s right right when we upload, we truly appreciate you making lockdown magic part of your day every day. Make locked up magic even bigger part of your day by being one of our Orlando Magic dailies. That’s right, five day a week listeners. Check us out. Get into the habit now. The season is right around the corner. Check us out wherever you download podcast. All part of Locked on Podcast Network. It’s your team every day. Today’s episode of Locked On Magic is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the app today. I don’t want to take too much of your time. Let’s dive right into it. Talk with Jason Bey of the Orlando Sentinel. And I am joined now by our good friend Jason Bey of the Orlando Sentinel getting ready to start another season on the beat. We’ll be following the team pretty much everywhere. I don’t think I don’t know if either of us are going to Germany, but Germany or or London, but we’re, you know, if you’re looking for Orlando Magic information, this is this is the meeting of the minds. This is the place to go as we get ready for the season. So, Jason, I’ll start here. How’s your summer been, man? We we’ve talked a little bit over the course of the summer. How’s it been? Yeah, I’ll also add that I might be going to Europe. We’ll see. Yeah, I Nothing’s been confirmed. Nothing’s been set. No flights have been booked yet, but uh I haven’t been told no yet, so we’re we’re we’re pushing for it. But get that passport get that passport updated. I actually did do that this summer. Uh my my passport expires next year, so I did that this summer. So, we’re we’re we’re going to see what happens there. But I’m I’m looking forward to whatever does happen this season. But no, my summer’s been good. Um it’s I I think I told someone recently I felt like this was the most I’ve worked over a summer on this beat just because it was non-stop. I mean, it slowed down, of course, in August. That’s where got to take some time off and see some family up in the DC area and and spend some time and and go to some of the theme parks in Orlando, just just have some fun. But it was a lot of work. I mean, it was non-stop from from the trades to the draft for agency to the rebrand to everything in between. Uh, it was it was a good it was a good summer. And I I don’t know. I think this one went by faster than last summer for me, but I know other people have said it’s dragged on. So, I think it just depends on your perspective. It it always feels like the off season goes too quickly, but also takes forever. And like we had Euro Basket at the end of it, so it feels like we’re still kind we’re like in season mode already. But let’s get let’s get to it because this is this is one of the most anticipated seasons of Magic Basketball. Like we thought last year was going to be super anticipated and it was and it feels like the Magic up the ante on on things. Um, obviously, uh, we talked after the Desmond Bane trade. We talked kind of after Summer League was the last time we we had you on the pod. It’s been two months since then. It’s been three months since the trade. H, as we get ready for camp to start and get ready for things to start. How has the Desmond Bane trade kind of changed the perceptions and expectations for this team and and what this team feels like it can accomplish? Yeah, it’s really interesting. You know, in preparation for the season, I’ve I’ve gone and and done a lot of notes and seen how things have played out. And I think number one, the results of the Bane trade so far, what Memphis did, uh, you know, they they already traded a pick or two, I think, and they also agreed to a buyout with Cole Anthony. I think that just shows like, you know, everyone freaked out at first about the value and what the trade was and there’s still some future picks that, you know, we have to see what plays out, but the fact that they’re already moving pieces around from what they got back in that trade kind of says everything about what the Magic sent out and what the Magic got back and Desmond Bane, I think, uh, he seems really amped up to be here. I mean, he was just on the Kevin Oconor show talking about everything that that’s going on this season. And uh I think we’ve seen from different photos posted by the social media team that he’s been in the gym as well with a bunch of guys that we’ve we’ve seen on social here and there and um you know we we’ve heard about, you know, what what Desmond’s going to bring to this team. But I think as more time has passed and you’ve seen the rest of free agency play out, the rest of um you know, roster construction play out, I I think it’s really exciting. I think there’s an opportunity here that um you know by adding Desmond Bane the Magic can really make some noise in the East and and I and I think you know obviously there’s no Jason Tatum or at least we don’t think for most of the season and know Tyrus Hallebertton and um you know obviously the Knicks are still there and Cleveland’s still there and Miamiy’s interesting and Atlanta obviously upgraded their roster quite a bit because of what Boston did. But um I I think you know you never want to call it a weak East, right? But I do think there’s definitely a more clearer pathway for the Magic to to certainly, you know, the regular season at least. I would be surprised, you know, if they didn’t finish top four in the East. I think that should, you know, home court advantage should be their expectation. I think we’ll hear a lot of that from the players because they know, you know, obviously a couple years ago if they had had home court, they might win that series against Cleveland. And you know, last year was a little bit of a different story with the injuries and whatnot, but um you know, presuming health, I think home court advantage should be the goal and acquiring a player like Desmond Bane, adding a player like Taius Jones and everyone else, you know, at least getting healthier in terms of Paulo and Fron and getting back to full health in that degree. Um you know, it should be interesting to see what they can do on the court. we’ve we’ve always and we’ll we’ll talk to Jeff Welman obviously on on Monday during media day but but he’s always been pretty guarded with how he views the team and talking about kind of this organic growth like he he very much like kind of the belief that you don’t set limits on your team you don’t kind of like put those expectations out there publicly sets you up for failure or you’re underestimating your team in some way you know that’s just kind of how GMs talk but this summer he has been pretty open about this team’s ambitions I think it was on SiriusXM NBA radio during summer league where he said, “We’re not here to win the East. We’re here to win the NBA.” Like it almost like skipping a step and and obviously like that’s what you want a you know someone who’s working for your team to say and to believe, but with how much they’ve invested in this team, both the Desmond Bean trade, the Paulo extension, now the Fron extension, they’re really not hiding from what they feel like they can do. How how does that change how the Magic approach this season or or how we, the media, the fans, whoever, how they view this team as they begin this journey and it’s, you know, 82 game journey. Yeah, I think it puts a lot of pressure on Jamal Mosley. Um, I think there’s been some complaints among, you know, the real serious fans of social media that, you know, they watch everything, they read everything. you know, maybe the casual fan might not be aware of some of the things, but um I think the you know, the ones that, you know, the ones that really interact with us um you know, they’ve had their complaints and we’ve talked about the timeouts and and you know, certain teams go on certain runs at certain times and um you know, rotations and things of that. Like there’s been some things, but it hasn’t been any too serious. But I think when you hear your president of basketball operations say this is win now mode and then the front office and and Jeff Waltman go out and back those words up, right? Because it’s always easy to say the right things. It’s always, you know, the press conference is easy to win. But um for him to say we’re viewing this roster as a win now mode and then actually go out and you know shake things up. Um this is a big test for Jamal Mosley and I think it’s also a big test for Palanchero because uh obviously you know health was a big factor for for what happened last season but um you know there’s there’s so many people out there on the NBA world that don’t either believe in him or or or don’t really are aware of what he is and what he can do and how important he is for this team. Um but I think as the number one guy on this team there’s there’s pressure for him to perform as well. So, um, you know, I really think it it’s really going to, you know, it’s it’s a long season obviously and there’s going to be down there’s going to be moments of frustration and, um, but I do think the schedule set up where they could really get off and running. You know, three straight three straight home games. Um, couple division opponents. I mean, it’s it’s it’s ramping up where, you know, obviously they have to make that trip to Europe in January, but um it’s it’s it seems like based off the moves they made, there’s an opportunity. There’s a pathway there. And the way this should be viewed is okay, you’ve said the right things. You’ve you think you’ve done the right things. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but um certainly this definitely feels like a I don’t want to say they’re going for it like it’s not championship or bus, but the window is open, right? I don’t think the window was open last year. Um maybe it’s just a crack open right now. Maybe it’s a slower, but there’s light coming through that window and maybe next season or or in the year in the next two or three years, right? You talk about this extensions and players getting into their prime. I think it’s you know, you don’t want you don’t want to put it all on youth. I think that’s um you know a mistake that could be made because young teams are capable of having success but at the same time when you have four guys who are going to be making you know $150 million next season uh you talk about the aprons and the second apron specifically like that window is open and it’s not going to stay open very long. So certainly there should be high expectations. Yeah. And I think that’s that’s a really important thing important thing to note as well that you know this that it still takes it’s still a process. Like I I’m a big believer that like you you have to get some battle scars and look the Magic have some scars. It’s not like they’re devoid of experience but they haven’t won a playoff series yet. And I think they haven’t won a playoff game on the road. I mean they haven’t I mean I think I talked about this on the pod last time like we we sort of went through there’s a checklist right? They they have to to win a playoff series you have to win on the road. and they haven’t done that yet in in two years under Jamal Mosley and of course last year with Boston that was a different situation but clear still that didn’t happen and and you know there are fans and some of the media that expect them to go to the conference finals and I’m over here like wait a minute conference finals we’re trying to get to the second round here like we want to see them get to the second round here and um you know I think we’ll hear a lot about that at media day like them not winning a series this season would be stunning shocking you know, even if injuries do happen and and god forbid, but um certainly there should be expectations of them advancing in the playoffs this year because of what they did this summer. I want to run by you like what my theory of success is for this season and and get your takes on what a quoteunquote successful season is. We’re going to get to that coming up here in just a moment. Let’s take a quick break from our conversation with Jason to tell you a quick word about our friends from Skiims. When I found out Ski was making underwear for men, I was intrigued. I’ve heard so much about their quality from friends and family. Plus, Shake Hills Alexander looks good in them, so why can’t I? So, I had to give it a try. Let me tell you, it lives up to the hype. I’ve always had issues with underwear, fit, comfort, just finding the right style for me, something that moves with me and my everchanging body. It’s mostly expanding outward. SKIMS changed all that. Their men’s line offers something for everyone from boxer briefs to classic briefs, all designed with the perfect balance of comfort and style. I’ve tried several SKIMS, whether it’s the boxer briefs, whether it’s whether it’s their their normal briefs. I was not a boxer briefs or briefs person. I always wore traditional boxers, but when I tried skins, I got hooked. They’re perfect for my active lifestyle or my sedentary lifestyle, depending on the day. They move with me. They never lose their shape and they stay in place all day. Whether I’m working out or just running errands are the most comfortable and reliable underwear I have ever owned. Plus, the lightweight material feels amazing. Almost like you’re wearing nothing at all. So, shop Skiimsmen today at skims.com. Let them know we sent you. So, after you place your order, select podcast in the survey and select my show locked on magic in the dropown menu that follows. You will not regret it. Great product. Check it out again today. Skivents at skins.com. Joined once again by our friend Jason Bey of the Orlando Sentinel. This is Philip Rosike, of course, the host of Locked on Magic. And before the break, we were talking about the expectations for this team. And you know, I’ve talked to plenty of fans who like like you said, believe this is for sure Eastern Conference Finals, like NBA championship level team. And again, like I’m a believer in process. Like you got to learn to win. You have to take some losses. You have to take some bumps in the road. My definition of success, I want to get your definition of what a successful season is. My definition of success for this season is that this team is clearly pointing in the direction of winning a championship or being a finals contender next season 2027 certainly by 2028. I want to see the Magic obviously win get get homec court advantage, win the division, like stuff they’ve stuff they’ve done or wanted to accomplish last year, win a playoff series, but I think more importantly than just winning a playoff series because you know like again Detroit’s a good team. Milwaukeee’s a decent team. You know, Miami will be decent. Like, there are decent teams that that you should beat in the first round, but when the Magic get to that second round, they can’t lose in five or, you know, like a like what I would call a soft six. Like they they got to look competitive like they can beat the Knicks, the Cavs, because Boston Indiana are coming back next year. like maybe they need another gap year with their guys coming back from their injuries, but the doors the doors open wider now than it’s going to be. You need to prove that you are with those groups of teams. And the Magic the last two years, yes, they’ve made the playoffs, but I believe they had the worst record or at least in 2024, I think only Chicago was worse. They had essentially the worst record among East postseason teams. the 10 teams that make the postseason against teams with records above 500. And to me that says, you know, you’ve got to learn how to beat these good teams. And so success to me this season is about winning a playoff series and looking like the only thing you’re missing from getting to the conference finals is experience. Is just just you just didn’t know how to play a second round playoff series because like I I’m sure you remember this too. Paulo said after game seven against Cleveland, I don’t know how I would have been able to play two more weeks. Like it was just so exhausting and and there is something to that like that series was exhausting. I’m curious h how would you define success for this for this season? Is it something along those lines? Yeah, I think I think it’s a two-part answer. I think the first part and maybe this is not what fans want to hear but maybe success should be defined as you know what they do in the regular season and what they do in the playoffs and I think those are two different things because as you know you know the magic could be the three seed in the east and have you know 50 plus wins or whatever the number is and be the three seed to the four seed and then face a team like Milwaukee in the first round and a player like Giannis turns it on right that that’s a different like you talked about experience championship pedigree. That would be tough. There there is the like there is a nonzero chance that Boston is the six seed and Jason Tatum’s back, right? And that’s a different team or there is a there is a nonzero chance and laugh at me later about this. The Philadelphia 76ers are still really talented. They got a lot of talent on that team. And if Joel, like let’s say Joel Embiid plays 41, like 40 50 games, but in those 50 games they play like the two seed and they just happen to be the six at the end of the year. Like that’s not a team you want to face. You don’t want to face Joel Embiid, a healthy Joel Embiid. Now a healthy Joel Embiid is a is a rare sight, but like there that’s possible. Like that’s not that’s not an impossibility that there’s a team that’s better than their record. Like the Magic were last year. Boston didn’t want to see Orlando as the seven seed. Um they were a flawed team, but they didn’t they def they didn’t want to see Orlando and you talk Yeah. It was it was a it was a rock fight, right? It was a rock fight. You talk to Boston fans are like that Orlando completely wrecked us against New York. Like that was not like they were not the safe team. Yeah. So I think to that point, you know, the Magic could be a three, could be the four. They should have home court advantage. Like I think if they don’t have home court advantage, something bad has happened. Um once they get to the playoffs, they should win a series. I mean, if they have homec court advantage to win a series, there’s no reason that they shouldn’t. I think they’ve they’ve been battle tested. They understand what it takes to win in the playoffs. They haven’t done it. They haven’t won a series yet, but they’ve seen up close how close they’ve gotten with Cleveland. And then verse Boston putting teams to rest. Like, you know, we were we were joking during the series like if they if they had won game five and then there was a six and a seven, but in reality, Boston put them to rest. And that’s what you want to see the Magic do. like whoever they face in that first round, you don’t want to see that series go seven games, right? You want to see that be done in five, maybe six games, but really take care of business if you have home court wrap it up in five games. Like that’s what I think the the playoff equivalent of beating the good of beating the bad teams in the regular season the under 500 teams is taking care of business and and maybe you know four or five games like not not going lengths because if you’re Paulo your fans and your Desmond Bane and Jaylen and and those guys that haven’t played you know months after not months but weeks after the regular season and multiple series you know getting getting off that court as quickly as possible in the first round will be extremely important towards having a glimmer of success in the second round depending on who you do depending on who you face and I think for a team that hasn’t experienced the second round you know there are some guys but um a team that ma mostly hasn’t experienced the second round a coach that hasn’t experienced the second round um you know it really depends at that point I think of the matchup but I think a successful season would be like you said showing that okay you can take homec court advantage you can beat a team in the first round and if you depending on your matchup if you win that second round, then you’re in the conference finals. Like, that would be obviously a huge success, I think, no matter what. Um, but if you’re, you know, swept in the second round or losing five games in the second round, you know, maybe there’s there’s some worry there. But if you’re able to push it six or seven games, you know, you’re happy at the end of the day. You you know what it takes to get there. And um yeah, I think that’s that’s that would be surprising if if the three things are homecourt advantage, win a first round series, and make it competitive in the second round. I think most fans would say this is a successful season because that window like I said it’s just opening now and I’m not saying you just take this as take it for granted but um you know in terms of what we don’t know yet is is the health and the matchups and all that but what we do know is those three things are what should be success for this team. What is what is the biggest question that you have for this team as as as we said here at the beginning of the of this thing? Yeah, I think the biggest question for me is Jaylen Suggs and maybe maybe we’ll get more answers on media day where he’s at and and maybe that changes some things. Um, you know, I we didn’t I kind of assumed he’d be ready for the start of the season. He didn’t tear, you know, it’s not like he’s coming off an ACL like Mo Vagner and and there’s some, you know, some natural expectation that Mo might not be ready. We don’t we don’t really know where Mo is like he’s he’s been kind of uh we’re all assuming it’s not till December, but right. And we’ll get some more clarification on that situation as well, you know, at media day. But when Jaylen Slugs went on the Sixman show and they asked him um, you know, hey, how’s the knee? And I was watching that live and I wasn’t expecting to do any work that night because I was just like, “Oh, cool. Jaylen’s on the podcast. This is kind of fun, you know, kind of a a warm-up.” And the we know you and I have been in the locker room where Jaylen when you talk to him, he’s long-winded, right? I don’t know how many fans uh you know, because Jaylen, you know, he he goes up to the podium, but not a whole lot. Not as much as, you know, Paulo or France or he’s kind of in the middle there where maybe sometimes he is up there. But I saw a lot of comments afterwards like, “Wow, Jaylen spoke for a while.” We know that, right? I wasn’t surprised to hear a long answer. But when you ask a question, how’s your knee? And you talk for three or four minutes, that means something is wrong. Um, and and and I think there’s some, you know, the the thing he did eventually sort of address it uh right at the end. He said, “Camp and the return will come in time.” So that means, you know, it’s going to take some time to see where he’s at. And now, of course, we saw the team post a photo of Jaylen making some sort of move. They posted a photo, not a video, right? That’s the Yeah, we haven’t seen much videos. And that doesn’t negate what he said. He he knows that he knows his body very well and and he knows the situation. So, um you know, in terms of what it looks like for Jaylen Suggs, just because he’s not going to be ready for camp doesn’t mean he’s not ready for the start of the season. That we don’t know that yet. Yes. Um, we’re going to learn more as as as preseason progresses at media day and whatnot. And um, you know, maybe he just needs to get in five on five, get in contact and and it’ll go from there. Now, if it’s if it’s a situation where he’s going to miss 10 to 15 games, we don’t know that yet. But if it is, that changes some things because you start talking about, okay, you know, who starts in his spot? Is it Anthony Black? Is it or does Jamal Mosley go back to what he kind of did in the past where when Anthony was a rookie, he wasn’t the backup? He was the third string point guard and he started uh you know instead of Cole Anthony because Cole was the backup. So is Jayce Richardson suddenly in the rotation? Um and what do you do with Taius Jones coming off the bench and and what does that look like? So, you know, that I I I wouldn’t expect Jaylen to um it didn’t sound like he’s worried about missing a large amount of time, but it certainly didn’t sound like he’s going to be ready to go from the very jump, at least of training camp. Um and when you talk about Jaylen and the way he plays, he made it really clear he’s not changing how it is. Um and he also made it really clear in that interview with the six-man show that they did this surgery, this this procedure to make sure that on the other end of it, he can play the way he wants to play. Uh, but Jaylen is still a really important player to this team. I’m not saying he’s the reason why they might make homec court advantage, but he certainly could be the reason why they don’t make it because that changes rotations, that changes minutes, and as we saw last year, um, you know, when when certain guys have to step up and the workload changes, that that can lead to different things that, you know, you don’t want to have happen. But I think, um, you know, Jaylen Suggs is a huge question mark and and and it’s unfortunate that it is because you obviously want to see him back on the court. you want to see him healthy and and and he’s a big piece mean he’s an alldefensive guard, right? Like he’s Yeah, he’s why you can have a Desmond Bane and a Tyus Jones because of his defensive in that back court. Um and then another big question is really at center. You know, obviously Wendell Carter uh from what we’ve seen, he seems to be in great shape. He seems to be, you know, that was something we talked about with him at exit interviews and towards the end of the season. he was really looking forward to this off seasonason because he didn’t have to have any surgeries or recover from any injuries, major injuries that is. Um, and we’ve seen photos and videos of him. He looks he looks great. Um, but we all know he also has dealt with foot and knee injuries, not necessarily serious ones, but ones that miss that that force you to miss 10, 15, 20 games. And when you look at Mil Vagner, again, we’re going to get clarification on what his status is. um potentially not being ready for the start of the year as he recovers from his ACL. He has to go through those same stages of contact and whatnot. Um and then you talk about Goataz, it’s his center where it’s like a three-headed monster where they can all do something a little bit different, but you really want some clarity there. And I think those are the two factors, those are the two things that I’m I’m curious about and those are the two question marks that I have for this team. Yeah, I I think those are both fair questions. I mean I think obviously like you look at the starting lineup three guys are pretty locked in stone like you feel very comfortable with Paulo Fron and and Desmond Bane right and as the Magic morph or figure out what comes next like a lot of it is writing on this idea that Jaylen Suggs can be the quote unquote point guard and they can do this point guard by committee thing this this point guard by committee thing that they’re trying to do and as good as Anthony Black is as good as Ty Jones can be as good as Jace Richardson might be none of them do all the things that Jaylen Suggs And I do especially a healthy especially a healthy game sucks. Yeah. Like the the shooting and the defense like no one else on the roster does that. You know, maybe Anthony Black’s taking a leap that we don’t know. Like they Magic still seem very very excited about Anthony Black. Um that I think is the is like a central question and why it’s fair for the Magic to be cautious with Jaylen Suggs because he’s so important. And on on top of that as well, like look, we’ve seen the videos like or seen the photos. He’s not wearing any knee padding or any brace on that knee, which I think is a good sign. You know, he’s been on the court. It’s not like it was like, oh, they just sprung him on the court. He’s been We’ve seen him on the court. I think even around the draft, he was like, I don’t know if he was jumping when we were when we saw him during the draft, but he was trying. He wanted he was doing thing. He was like doing things. He was he was active. So, it may just be a matter of conditioning and clearing him for contact, which could happen in camp. And look, if he misses the first couple days of camp or misses that first preseason game, don’t think that’s the end of the world. Like, it’s training camp is what, three weeks, you know, training camp and preseason or three weeks. He’s got time to clear all those hurdles and be ready for the regular season. So, I don’t think it’s quite time for panic. But it is a big question because just like Wendell Carter, Jaylen Suggs has this injury history that that you know that he has to escape. Um, and that I think that’s that’s that’s a big piece of the puzzle. We’ll talk about more questions for the Magic upcoming this season and who to watch. We’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment. Let’s take a quick break from our conversation to tell you a little bit about our friends over at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with a can’tmiss offer. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. 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Once again, I am joined by our friend Jason Bey of the Orlando Sentinel talking about the Magic’s upcoming season. We talked about some of the big questions. Obviously, the Jaylen Suggs injury. Wendell Carter at center I think is a a huge question for much of the same reason that we’ve talked about Jaylen. Like Wendell Carter is the one guy that can kind of do all the things the Magic like um from the defensive versatility. He was a Say what you want about him during the regular season. I I thought he showed up in the playoffs. I I thought he had a really good series against Boston. I know Jaylen Brown caught him a few times on mid-range jumpers and some of those switches, you know, the numbers don’t look great, but that was just that was the key to the Magic being competitive in that series was the fact they could switch one through five with Wendell Carter and not be concerned about any drop off on defense because Boston wasn’t going to give the ball to Christopheris in the post against Cory Joseph for some reason. Um, but Wendell Carter’s got to improve his three-point shot and I think maybe it’s just scarring because Tatavius Kwell Pope did not work out as well. My big question for this season other than the two that you you you asked. My big question is how transformative is Desmond Bane going to be for this offense? like how how big of a deal is it that you know on the Kevin Oconor show if if you you listen to that on on the Yahoo sports feed um he said I’m planning to shoot as the most threes I’ve shot in my career like the Magic want him to to chuck you know for lack of a better way to phrase it he’s an excellent like spot-up shooter he’s an excellent pull-up shooter he he hunts three-pointers and unlike Calwell Pope he’s gonna shoot at volume at a at a volume that that could really transform this offense How do you see Desmond Bane fitting into this group? And can how transformative can that be if you know Bane’s able to keep shooting at the at the rate that he shot for most of his career? Yeah, it’s really interesting because I think obviously just because you take a lot of threes doesn’t mean teams are going to focus on you. You have to make them, right? Yeah. And we’ve seen the numbers. I think there’s like you can find a variety of statistics since Desmond Baines entered the league. It’s like him, Steph Curry, and a couple other guys like six attempts a game, 40% from three, 600 total threes or whatever the numbers are. There’s a lot of statistics that like put them in rare air, right? Because when you think of the best three-point shooters, you think of Steph Curry’s of the world and you don’t necessarily think of Desmond Bane right from the jump. But when you start looking at the numbers, you go, “Wait a minute. This guy’s, you know, a really sharp shooter.” And I think when you look at around them, um, the biggest issue that Paulo and Fron face is that they couldn’t get to the paint because teams it would be really easy to stop the magic, right? You just have to pack the paint and you wouldn’t have to worry about a Gary Harris or Cole Anthony or Jonathan Isaac or even a Wendell Carter standing in the corner because they’re not going to make the threes most of the time. Now, I think when looking at the rest of the team and you talk about Ji, you talk about Wendell, even Anthony Black, um, and their shooting percentages last year were really low. Um, even if those numbers rise a little bit, you know, that would help a lot. I think we’ve talked about the numbers about how the Magic were really good even when they shot like 33% and the league average is 36%. Um, I think when you add in a player like it is Main where defenses have to focus on him, um, that really could change things. I think a lot of the attention is still going to be on Powell and France because of their explosiveness. But I think now for the first time, you’re going to have a true double-edged sword where if you commit too much to Powell and France, Desmond can actually hurt you. And you didn’t have that with KCP, especially because number one, he’s never really been a high volume shooter. What hurt the Magic last year was his percentage dropped. his accuracy fell. And when you’re only taking four or five threes at most, um not seven, eight or nine a game and you’re only making one at most, uh that’s not something you have to worry about a whole lot if you’re a defense. And I think um when you add a player like a Desmond Bane who’s not only going to take a lot but make a lot, that that really changes thing. And I and I think um you know, but I think you’ve written it yourself multiple times like Desmond was not only brought in to make and take threes. Um he’s also going to have the ball in his hands a lot which I think re relieves a lot of the pressure for Paulo and Fron. Um you know obviously this offense is still going to run through your main guys. Um, but I think for Desmond to have the ability, as we saw in Memphis when when John Morant went down, for Desmond to run the offense and take control of the ball and also hit at an accurate rate from three, depending on what happens with Jaylen Sugg’s health, um, you know, when Jaylen does return to have those two guys because we kind of saw Jaylen, he was taken quite a bit. I mean, he was at like seven or eight threes a game. Obviously, there’s only one basketball and five guys on the court, but um when you have both those guys out there with Jaylen, with Paulo and Fron, like the cutting is going to be really fun to watch like those guys cutting to the basket and I think it’s going to be interesting to see, you know, they say want they they they say they want to play at pace. We’ve talked about how Paulo kind of likes a little bit of a slower game, but um I think this is going to change things quite a bit on offense and um you know, when you add a couple offensive-minded coaches, you know what that’s going to look like for this team. I’m I’m excited to watch it. I think, you know, obviously defense is still going to be their bread and butter and their identity, but um to actually have scoring threats from beyond the arc is something that Powell and France haven’t really had outside of, you know, some different stretches throughout the years with Gary and whatnot. But, um really adding Desmond Bane should change the calculus quite a bit. I I think I think the biggest way that Dez that Desmond is going to change things is the Magic just haven’t had a guy really since Terren Ross maybe and Terren Ross is a different player who’s going to take 10 11 12 threes and make six or seven of them. And that’s that’s that’s going to happen multiple times during the course of of a season. Like that’s that’s kind of and clearly could we’re very excited about this this idea. It’s been 30 plus minutes of the show already and I don’t think I’ve we’ve talked enough about kind of the the central question like everything’s dancing around this um and and we’ve hinted and poked at it a little bit throughout the course of of the episode but as important as adding Desmond Bane is and and all these other pieces everything still revolves around Paulo and France like they are the stars and in this league you go as far as your stars can take you and very quickly Clearly like the Magic saw that they could kick him pretty far like you know I think all of us would agree Paulo and Fron looked really good in the in the playoff series against Boston. What are your expectations there or what do you expect to see Paulo and Fron take their game to this season? Where where where are they going to kind of add to their games this season? I really think pending health, number one, both of them should always pending health. Yeah, always pending health, right? But I think both of them should be allstars. Um, in terms of all MBA, that’s a little bit difficult because um, you know, the voting and and whatnot and it’s it’s not, you know, um, you know, I think the all-star is is still a big deal, but obviously AllNBA is kind of what you want, especially Paulo going into his extension to earn some extra money. France missed out on that, but had he been healthy, you know, who knows what would have happened. But, um, they should both be at an allNBA level. And I think Paulo, especially, um, going through that experience last year, um, you know, he understands that now the game could be taken away from him in an instant. And, you know, I was in Cleveland the morning that they announced or I guess the night they announced and then the next morning at shoot around. And it was somber. I mean, when he when we learned that he was going to be missing, the amount of time he was missing, um, you know, the way he talked to us, it was it was you would have thought it was done for the whole year. Um, the fact that he was even able to return, um, it’s still it impacted him, right? So, I think when you go through an experience like that, um, not like he didn’t take care of his body before, obviously he does. Um, and that was more of a a freak accident. And then, of course, Fran suffering the same injury was weird, too. But um I think it just changes your perspective of the game and I think we’ve seen this off season um you know obviously he took his time off but he’s been in the gym quite a bit and when you talk about the level of focus required to win we kind of saw it with France and I was talking with Tristan Dilva the other day uh about Euro basket and Tristan told me that you know when when guys see the way a France Vagner prepares for the game the way in in which they take it so seriously and their demeanor and and the mental focus needed that was something that this team I thought at times lacked this year or this past season I should say. um you know, especially towards the end of the year when when they eventually did find it, but it was it was it was lacking. And I think Pedal and France are the ones who drive that. And when you talk about, you know, the fact that they were the first uh two players to average 20 plus points since Penny and Shaq and um I think those numbers, you know, they should have like that it’s, you know, success isn’t linear, but they they should continue to improve their numbers. And of course with Frons, it’s it’s the three-point shooting and um you know what that looks like and his numbers and where the percentages come out that really changes things for this team if he can be a reliable three-point shooter. And with Paulo um I think it’s just continuing to really um you know the finer details of his game, right? Um, and I think, you know, he’ll talk about this at media day, but improving and just continuing to to streamline his improvement, you know, as the number one guy because, you know, he’s gone through different processes and he’s gone through the losing and the playoffs and whatnot. But, um, I think now that they have some experience, now that they’ve both have gone through serious injuries like this, like their mentality is going to be different this year than it has been in the past. And I’m excited to see what that looks like because like you said, this is, you know, obviously what they did to the roster changes things, but at the end of the day, this is on those two guys right there and they know that, but um it’s it’s going to be fun to watch for sure. Yeah, it’s going to be a fascinating season for the Orlando Magic. It’s there’s obviously a lot on the line and a lot to be very very excited about and and of course, we got to see it all play out on the court. You always got to let it play out. Um, Jason, I want to thank you again for coming on the show and helping us preview this this important magic season. I will see you at media day on Monday. And of course, be sure to read Jason at the Orlando Sentinel. Support local journalism as always. Um, Jason, appreciate it as always, bud. Looking forward to media day and the season. Thank you. I want to thank Jason once again for hopping on the show. Always a good friend of the show, good friend of the pod. talk at least two or three times a year just to get a temperature check of where the Magic are. You know, we’re we’re the two kind of big daily beat writers on the beat for the Magic. So, if anyone knows anything about the Magic, it’s probably going to be between the two of us. Um, thanks Jason again for topping on the show. Be sure to check out his work at the Orlando Center, including that article he mentioned where he talked with Tristan Dilva about his Euro Basket run. Good to see Tristan kind of back back getting back with the group and getting back and ready for the start of the season. Of course, training camp starts Tuesday. Meet day is Monday. So, we’re we’re we’re here. This is the last episode before we start our big media day uh bonanza. So, lots of lots of fun coming up next week. But that’s going to do it for me today. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked on Magic. You can find me on Twitter, Philip RR_MD, and on Blue Sky, Philip RR. You can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast. You’re tuning in Google Play Odyssey and all the download podcast to your podcast enabled listening device. You can find us on YouTube as well. Just search for Locked on Magic. For the late for the latest on the Orlando Magic, be sure to check out or Orlando MagagicDaily.com. Find us there on Twitter, Omagic Daily. And for more Orlando Magic content, be sure to check out my newsletter, my daily newsletter now at patreon.com/orlandomagicub. We’ll be posting lots of updates there during training camp. So, best place to go to get yourself ready for the upcoming season. Now that you’re done listening to Locked on Magic, be sure to check out the Locked On NBA Top 100, whose list is so much better than those other top 100 lists out there. Voted on by the NBA host of the Locked On Podcast Network. Our top 100 was formed by experts that cover these teams and players every day. Find the full list on Lockdown Sports Today on YouTube or wherever you get your podcast. You can check out my reaction to the list and my comparison to other lists that are out there. On yesterday’s episode of Lockdown Magic, as well as two weeks ago, I spoke with Kukahil of Lockdown Pistons about the Kade Paulo debate as well as broke down what the list means for the Magic and where they sit. That was two weeks ago Wednesday and two weeks ago Tuesday, respectively for those episodes. But that’s going to do it for me today. I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of Locked Up Magic. be back Monday to get you ready for media day and all the big questions the magic will face. We’ll talk about that on on our next episode of Locked on Magic. But until then, for Orlando Magic Daily and Locked on Magic, this has been Philip Ross Reich. We’ll see you all again next time for another episode of Lock Dog Magic.

The Orlando Magic are aiming high, talking openly about their championship aspirations and dreams and expecting a 50-win season and homecourt advantage in the first round.

That is what has happened with the growth of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and the acquisition of Desmond Bane.

Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel joins the show to discuss Bane’s impact on the team, the heightened expectations for the season and how the Magic become the team they imagine they can be.

We discuss what success is for the season and the big questions for the Magic heading into training camp.

0:00 Intro: Magic season preview with Jason Beatty
5:50 Expectations and pressure for the Magic
11:12 Defining success for the upcoming season
16:22 Biggest questions: Jalen Suggs and center position
23:55 Desmond Bane’s potential impact on offense
36:05 All-Star and All-NBA expectations for Magic stars

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