Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. feels energized while watching this year’s NBA Finals matchup, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
“It shows that anything is possible,” Carter said. “It’s very possible. We’ve just got to be even more locked in, be in better shape [and] take care of our bodies even more so that we can withstand 82 games and then go into the playoffs and not drop off at all.”
The Magic were injured early and often last season, with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs missing a combined 105 games. Still, all three players remain on a strong trajectory, each enjoying career-best averages in the time they did play. That leaves Orlando, a playoff team in spite of the injuries, feeling optimistic.
Carter sees his Orlando team capable of playing in a similar style to the Thunder and Pacers.
“It’s been nothing shy of amazing. With these two teams in the Finals, it’s very good for the NBA,” Carter said. “Very healthy that two small-market teams [are] getting this type of exposure. Of course, I want us to be there one day playing for a championship, to bring a championship to Orlando [but] it’s a good thing what’s going on right now with both teams young, scrappy [to have] made it that far. It’s a good sign, for sure.”
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
39-year-old Sixers guard Kyle Lowry is likely to be back for another season, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes in a mailbag (Subscriber link). Philadelphia values Lowry for his leadership and mentorship of young guards like Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain. As Pompey writes, Blake Griffin revealed that there’s a possibility of Lowry joining Amazon’s NBA coverage in some capacity, like as a player correspondent, but that isn’t finalized and remains speculation at this point.
Trading Kristaps Porzingis would be a mistake in the eyes of one anonymous front office executive, Heavy’s Steve Bulpett writes. “But unless they know something about Porzingis that we don’t, I don’t see how they can let him go,” the source said. “When Boston was right, he’s a major factor and they win. Yeah, he wasn’t a huge part of what they did in the playoffs last year.” Porzingis was a major factor in two Celtics wins in the Finals last season but was limited to 7.7 points per game in the playoffs this year while dealing with an illness.
The Cavaliers will face an uphill battle to retain both Ty Jerome and Sam Merrill due to their already large payroll. According to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com on the Wine and Gold Talk podcast (YouTube link), the Cavs’ front office is canvassing the league to see if salary-shedding trades are on the table. Fedor says they have had a hard time finding any takers for Isaac Okoro‘s contract that runs through 2026/27 without Cleveland attaching an asset. The team has also explored moving Dean Wade, per Fedor (hat tip to RealGM).