Cole World: Orlando Magic Select Cole Anthony at #15

[drsd]

I like the pick. Don’t love it, .....

Exactly how I feel.

Look: Orlando came out of the draft with a much needed guard. And more of the fit-fill picks were already drafted.

So a career backup PG it is.



..

[drsd]

6'1 barefoot, 6'3 in socks

[RookieStar]

6'1 barefoot, 6'3 in socks

Must've borrowed Jameer's footwear

[GelbeWand09]

Candidly, I didn't like Cole Anthony at all in the pre-draft process. I had him 30th on my own big board. But he's a member of the Magic now and here's what I saw when I watched him play.

Positives
-I think his jumper is actually the best part of his game despite the percentages. He has a really nice quick release, both off the catch and off the dribble.

-Good athleticism for a scoring guard, especially when he can load up. Anthony also knows how to use his craftiness and used that to get to the line at a decent rate as well.

-Ball handling isn't Kyrie Irving level crazy or anything, but it's more than good enough to get to his spots.

-He's not big, but he's got good strength and plenty of lateral quickness defensively. I actually thought he flashed some decent BBIQ as a team defender.

Negatives
-He was VERY trigger happy at North Carolina and forced up a ton of low-percentage shots. You hope this was due to a lack of capable teammates, but I don't think it can be written off so easily.

-Despite being athletic and crafty, Anthony *really* struggled to finish in traffic this past year.

-Doesn't see the court well enough to be a true PG. Anthony had issues with telegraphing passes and just not seeing easy assist opportunities.

-Tries hard, but his short wingspan certainly limits his overall effectiveness as a defender. Occasionally would get caught ball watching or caught flat footed, but not as often as you'd think for a young player.

Overall
Right now I think Cole Anthony is more of a shooting guard in a point guard's body than a point guard. I just do not see the natural court vision or passing skill right now for Anthony to be a player tasked with leading an offense.

That said...

He had some legitimately monster games in his freshman year.

34 pts 5 ast v. Notre Dame, 12-24 FG
28 pts 7 ast v. Wake, 8-14 FG
25 pts 7 ast at Syracuse, 8-13 FG

There's actual potential for him to be a three-level scorer if he can improve his finishing (a more spaced court could help here) and overhaul his shot selection. He's not a bad shooter, but he's definitely a bad shot taker.

There's a very wide range of outcomes here.

If *everything* goes right, he could be a Jamal Murray type of shotmaker at the lead guard spot. If it doesn't go right, he could end up as more of Austin Rivers, an undersized shooting guard who isn't really someone you want starting.

Had him pretty low on my list too, but all the players i liked where gone anyway. In this situation i'm 100% ok with a boom or bust pick. Would've prefered in a vacuum Poku in that scenario or banking on Hamptons athletism but with our team Anthony probably makes more sense.

About your negatives. I think i can live with the defense (PG defense isnt so important, as long as its not T. Young level bad)
& many of the more prominent scoring PG are not really good & creative passers too like Dame or Kemba.

I cant say i'm excited at all & i fear he is a 6'1 SG who cant defend, finish at the rim & isnt a knock down shooter, but i can still see at least potential of a fringe all-star. In the end its the 15th pick & DJ is hopefully gone now.

[pepe1991]

One slot from Nesmith ( already said it that they should do trade to move around 10# range to get him), leaving Bey on a table... Another head scratching decision by front office.

Cole Athony can turn to be ok, but he is soo damn trigger happy and has such a horrific shot selection. Guy couldn't shoot college level efficiency and shot 38% FG overall.

D+ for effort i guess

[ivDT]

did greg anthony and brian grant ever play for the same team? just wondering.

[Skin]

My best friend who is a die hard UNC fan texted me saying, "I'm gonna have to be a Magic fan now that they drafted my favorite player."

I texted back, "I wouldn't want that kind of pain on my worst enemy."

Followed up by "He better play better than he did in college."

Like others he blamed injury and being surrounded by poor talent. My initial reaction to drafting Anthony was disappointment... confusion... worry about roster construction... long term plans alongside Markelle... After scrambling to basketball-reference only to find ugly stats, that only fueled more disappointment... and it didn't help that picks 11-14 were players that I was personally a lot more excited about than Anthony... Vassell, Haliburton, Lewis, Nesmith... damn what a run.

Needing to take a step back before I drive myself off a cliff, I went back to see what I might have missed. Are my reactions fair? Do they align with the way I think in other scenarios? Here's what I came to realize.

1) Stats vs Skill - I'm always wary of stats. I say it all the time "Stats are like a bikini, you only see some." I'm more a believer that basketball is about rhythm, flow, art. Certain players have a smoothness and natural God given gifts that allow them to play the game better than others and that I tend to value that. Anthony Edwards was #1 on my board Jayden Scrubb was #2 (yes, call me crazy - that boy has that "it" factor). So every time someone puts up stats to back an argument, I always take it with a raised eyebrow. The way I normally value things is based of my eye test judging the player's complete package of size, skill, athleticism, BBIQ and toughness before stats. If the numbers are there, great. If not, it's not the end of the world. I only allowed myself to look at Anthony Edward's stats with one eye open. lol. So in taking another look at Cole, was I being fair to my own evaluation values? The answer was no. I wouldn't be fair to myself if I let his stats dictate my opinion of him.

2) Size, skill, athleticism, BBIQ, toughness - WeHam pulled a fast one here. I never thought Cole fit their size prototype. 6'3 with a 6.45 WS. Lesson learned. One of the things I liked about WeHam was what I perceived as their desire to build a line up with length at all 5 spots. I guess they like it, but it's not their be all, end all. Cole's size for a PG is fine for me personally. It doesn't blow anyone away, but it's not a total detractor either. He's not 5'11 and 6'1 in shoes. When you combine his size with his explosion, then you start to ignore it even more. It's easy to fall in love with his dunking and shot blocking highlights. (Trust me, in order to find inner peace, I've been watching youtube clips all night. lol). Ball handling is near the top for me in what I value in a player because other things can be more easily developed, and without it, you are limited as a player. Cole checks this box. His IQ is probably high simply by having an NBA dad and being around the game all his life, but I still think he needs to translate it to the floor better. He's got NY toughness. No choir boy here, thank you Lord. Biggest concern I have for him is whether or not he will transform his label as an elite chucker into an elite scorer.

3) Team Needs - Most here wanted a 2 guard who was an alpha dawg, who could score on all levels (especially in terms of shooting) and could help in playmaking. Well we got that in a 1 instead of a 2. So should I really complain? Honest problem was there were not any 2 guards who packaged what we wanted in this entire draft, much less at 15. To me, Vassell was the closest to reasonable striking range for a trade, and I was pissed when he got taken. He'll end up having a great career with the Spurs. Cole had some late hype here after some of his workout videos emerged. For me, I always admired his ball handling, but he wasn't in my Top 15. Plus, Markelle being my favorite player on the Magic pushed down the top PGs down my rankings. I had Haliburton #9 and Hayes #10 and that's because I they were big guards who I thought could play alongside Markelle at the 2. In order for me to feel great about this pick, I have to envision a backcourt of Anthony/Fultz working in harmony. If I really felt ok having Haliburton or Hayes as our 2 guard next to Fultz, can't I be happy with Fultz as our 2 guard? Definitely a thought that has sunk in a little more. I am a preacher that Fultz's 3 ball will come around, so shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is?

4) Bias - When Okeke was drafted last year, I was among those fans totally in love with the pick so I know what it's like to defend a guy and bring up positive points only to fall on deaf ears because of preconceived bias/opinions. Well, I don't want to be like those who ignored me in the past. I'm comfortable in my skin enough to swallow my pride when needed. If Anthony CAN be an effective shooter, scorer, passer, then I would be thrilled! He has the talent, so I'm down to give him that chance. If he is like Jamal Murray / Derrick Rose fantastic. If he's Austin Rivers / Dajuan Wagner then DOH!

5) Projected Long Term Line Up: Anthony / Fultz / Okeke / Isaac / Bamba
I'm sure we'll add to that, but it's not terribly bad out of the box. Fultz needing shooters around him. Check. Defense? Seems to be in check.

Happy to be warming up to the pick. Was initially very down.

[Skin]

6'1 barefoot, 6'3 in socks

My bad. That was meant to be a joke.

[Tarheel]

I quite like the pick for the position we were in. When Nesmith went #14 I thought we'd take Bey or Hampton, but I think Cole had the highest upside left on the board, save for the super high-risk boom or bust prospects like Poku (who I really didn't want us to draft).

It's also refreshing to see us take an offensively minded player (*whispers* with a pretty much NEUTRAL WINGSPAN?!?!) who has the skills already, rather than the prototype all-the-physical-tools guy who needs to be taught basketball from the ground up.

He could be Jamal Murray, he could be Dennis Smith Jr. Matt Lloyd said his workout was spectacular so hopefully he's more the former than the latter.

My annoyance is similar to that of a lot of others here in that we didn't make a play to move up even a few spots. You HAVE to think a deal could have been done with Phoenix to take Haliburton (Smith would 100% have made it to our pick). The other thing Matt Lloyd said straight after the pick was that the rest of the night would be evaluating any deals that came in over the phone, which just plays into the narrative that this FO will not aggressively seek out moves to make the team better and are more reactive than proactive.

I hope that isn't the case for the rest of the offseason, as although adding Chuma and Anthony gives us a bit of an injection another year of the same mediocre core in a year perfectly crafted to make moves and reset will be tremendously irritating.

[bigdogdylan5]

I want to be excited. Help me.

I can’t. For a ‘scorer’ his percentages are garbage. We just have to hope he gets better. I’m not mad at the pick though. I’m mad at the lack of moves and focus on being playoff fodder instead of being in position to draft better talent.

You can’t be surprised though? Come hell or high water this team does not want to tank anymore.

[basketballRob]

Candidly, I didn't like Cole Anthony at all in the pre-draft process. I had him 30th on my own big board. But he's a member of the Magic now and here's what I saw when I watched him play.

Positives
-I think his jumper is actually the best part of his game despite the percentages. He has a really nice quick release, both off the catch and off the dribble.

-Good athleticism for a scoring guard, especially when he can load up. Anthony also knows how to use his craftiness and used that to get to the line at a decent rate as well.

-Ball handling isn't Kyrie Irving level crazy or anything, but it's more than good enough to get to his spots.

-He's not big, but he's got good strength and plenty of lateral quickness defensively. I actually thought he flashed some decent BBIQ as a team defender.

Negatives
-He was VERY trigger happy at North Carolina and forced up a ton of low-percentage shots. You hope this was due to a lack of capable teammates, but I don't think it can be written off so easily.

-Despite being athletic and crafty, Anthony *really* struggled to finish in traffic this past year.

-Doesn't see the court well enough to be a true PG. Anthony had issues with telegraphing passes and just not seeing easy assist opportunities.

-Tries hard, but his short wingspan certainly limits his overall effectiveness as a defender. Occasionally would get caught ball watching or caught flat footed, but not as often as you'd think for a young player.

Overall
Right now I think Cole Anthony is more of a shooting guard in a point guard's body than a point guard. I just do not see the natural court vision or passing skill right now for Anthony to be a player tasked with leading an offense.

That said...

He had some legitimately monster games in his freshman year.

34 pts 5 ast v. Notre Dame, 12-24 FG
28 pts 7 ast v. Wake, 8-14 FG
25 pts 7 ast at Syracuse, 8-13 FG

There's actual potential for him to be a three-level scorer if he can improve his finishing (a more spaced court could help here) and overhaul his shot selection. He's not a bad shooter, but he's definitely a bad shot taker.

There's a very wide range of outcomes here.

If *everything* goes right, he could be a Jamal Murray type of shotmaker at the lead guard spot. If it doesn't go right, he could end up as more of Austin Rivers, an undersized shooting guard who isn't really someone you want starting.

I didn't like it much at first until i compared his size to other PG's and he has comparable size. Also he had to deal with injuries last year.

He's been successful everywhere else. He averaged a triple double in high school. He rebounds well for a guard. He lead the United states with 25 pts in Nike Hoop summit. He was the MVP in the Jordan Brand and McDonald's All American games.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[OrlChamps2030]

Feels like some of the frustration is due to Vassel, Halliburton, and Nesmith going right before us. Guys we thought we’d have to trade into the Too 8 (or higher for) were right there. It would have been a real gm miracle, I could have seen for once the board having a consensus positive agreement on any of those guys.

Doesn’t help that at 45 I think that every single second round target people wanted, ended up being available.

Cole was a guy I liked but not loved. Interested to see if he can play next to Fultz. At the end of the day, being fair, if he ends up being just a bench contributor that would be ok for pick 15 in a weak draft

[jezzerinho]

Feels like some of the frustration is due to Vassel, Halliburton, and Nesmith going right before us. Guys we thought we’d have to trade into the Too 8 (or higher for) were right there. It would have been a real gm miracle, I could have seen for once the board having a consensus positive agreement on any of those guys.

Doesn’t help that at 45 I think that every single second round target people wanted, ended up being available.

Cole was a guy I liked but not loved. Interested to see if he can play next to Fultz. At the end of the day, being fair, if he ends up being just a bench contributor that would be ok for pick 15 in a weak draft

I'm surprised we had nothing to offer to get us up to Haliburton or the 2 wings. That was a miss in my view and a further sign this FO is ridiculously conservative.

As for Anthony, I was v interested in him earlier this year. Just the persona, the heritage, the work ethic and the fact he prob has the draft's best handle. On a team so lacking shot creation, he looked like a guy worth betting on.

But the injury and the unbalanced team he played on don't fully explain away the poor decision-making and execution. Like with Maxey, I just couldn't shake the fact that these 2 massive HS studs really weren't delivering it at the college level. And it's not like their physical assets buy them a second chance at a different playing archetype.

I can understand the decision. I can even buy the upside with him, esp given the kind of character he seems to be. But I think a small tradeup would have given us a much safer roll of the dice.

[pepe1991]

His bust potential is through a roof.
Right now he isn't good at anything but chucking bad shots that he can't make.

Maybe it's best for him that he was drafted into old-farts front office, old fart coach and conservative and not so young roster.

I'm cofused what role he should fill. Backup PG ? With Bamba having playmaker who makes poor decisions ( and kind a can't pass, is turnover prone and only looks for own shots) it sounds like disaster for both of them.

[MoMM]

I wasn't much fond of him because of his low %, but after reading this on Wiki it gave me some hope. You can't be MVP of all of these tournaments only based on potential, he really did something in those games.

He was rated a consensus five-star recruit and the best point guard in the 2019 class. As a senior, he earned USA Today All-USA first team honors and was named most valuable player (MVP) of the McDonald's All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike Hoop Summit.

Given his basketball background, probably his BBIQ is high and some reports said that, which is very good for a PG, but in the other hand, I would expect a player with a better shot selection if he has a high BBIQ.

I also saw that playing at home, in 11 games, he averaged 21/5/4 shooting 42% FG, 39% 3PT and 84% FT, for some reason, he didn't play well in away games and his averages went south.
https://www.espn.com/nba/player/splits/_/id/4432809/type/mens-college-basketball

[ARandomStranger]

His bust potential is through a roof.
Right now he isn't good at anything but chucking bad shots that he can't make.

Maybe it's best for him that he was drafted into old-farts front office, old fart coach and conservative and not so young roster.

I'm cofused what role he should fill. Backup PG ? With Bamba having playmaker who makes poor decisions ( and kind a can't pass, is turnover prone and only looks for own shots) it sounds like disaster for both of them.

I disagree, I think this is a really good fit for Orlando, and will be pretty good long term.

Kid was hurt and came back six weeks after surgery to a 'meh' UNC team that was not going to do anything with him being the lone guy providing any meritable offensive worth. When a defense can key in on a single guy, especially a guy who had sat for six weeks, of course he is going to look subpar and look bad.

He wasn't one hundred percent, he admits that, people he played with admitted that, and the coach putting so much pressure on him to be THE guy with nobody there to help him while not being truly well would probably admit it too.

Look, I get he did a lot of things bad, but let's not throw out context to state hate because it suits a narrative. The guy was a top 3 prospect, pre-injury he was a top 5 draft pick. He fell to us when everyone else was gone, we had the choice of trying to go up, or just taking what could potentially be a killer scorer.

We chose to grab him and I get it, he wasn't your guy, and he sure as hell wasn't mine, but he is here now. He hasn't played a single minute of NBA basketball and we are already getting angry and hating on him and for what? Being a competitor and not sitting out the rest of the season because he got hurt? Because his shooting percentage isn't shiny because his team was atrocious? Because he tried to do too much and was literally playing as hard as he could to get Ws with a subpar team?

Give me a break.

[pepe1991]

His bust potential is through a roof.
Right now he isn't good at anything but chucking bad shots that he can't make.

Maybe it's best for him that he was drafted into old-farts front office, old fart coach and conservative and not so young roster.

I'm cofused what role he should fill. Backup PG ? With Bamba having playmaker who makes poor decisions ( and kind a can't pass, is turnover prone and only looks for own shots) it sounds like disaster for both of them.

I disagree, I think this is a really good fit for Orlando, and will be pretty good long term.

Kid was hurt and came back six weeks after surgery to a 'meh' UNC team that was not going to do anything with him being the lone guy providing any meritable offensive worth. When a defense can key in on a single guy, especially a guy who had sat for six weeks, of course he is going to look subpar and look bad.

He wasn't one hundred percent, he admits that, people he played with admitted that, and the coach putting so much pressure on him to be THE guy with nobody there to help him while not being truly well would probably admit it too.

Look, I get he did a lot of things bad, but let's not throw out context to state hate because it suits a narrative. The guy was a top 3 prospect, pre-injury he was a top 5 draft pick. He fell to us when everyone else was gone, we had the choice of trying to go up, or just taking what could potentially be a killer scorer.

We chose to grab him and I get it, he wasn't your guy, and he sure as hell wasn't mine, but he is here now. He hasn't played a single minute of NBA basketball and we are already getting angry and hating on him and for what? Being a competitor and not sitting out the rest of the season because he got hurt? Because his shooting percentage isn't shiny because his team was atrocious? Because he tried to do too much and was literally playing as hard as he could to get Ws with a subpar team?

Give me a break.

Man stop right there.
If you are hurt, does that mean you have to chuck shots, make wrong decisions, turn the ball over and show zero trust in your teammates?
He is playmaker who doesn't make anybody around him better nor he even tries to engage rest of a team into team offense. Guy in 22 games took 142 three point attemps on 88 assists. He doesn't care about anything but his own shots. And it shows.

Just look for example amount of shots to amount of assists he made AS PLAYMAKER.

Haliburton 242 shots- 142 assists
Lewis ( also trigger happy) 449 FGA- 162 assists
Maxey - 351 shots- 99 assists
Prichard 442 shots- 172 assists

Cole Anthony - 345 shots- 88 assists

From all point guards in first round that was selected, he has worst offensive rating. Once again, mostly because he is point guard who just hogs ball and doesn't run offense well.

I don't care, 15# pick is a wash, but before draft i said that i would not tuch player who is only interested into hoisting jumpshots. That strenghts vs weaknesses picture where for point guard only strenght is rebounding is as laughable as it gets.

[Knightro]

It just really makes me very nervous to casually explain away all of a player’s struggles due to the circumstances around him.

Even if all that stuff is 100% accurate and it was the worst UNC team in decades, it was still *North freaking Carolina* hoops.

You would hope to see a player who is that talented would actually be able to overcome his obstacles and not be ruined by them.

[ARandomStranger]

His bust potential is through a roof.
Right now he isn't good at anything but chucking bad shots that he can't make.

Maybe it's best for him that he was drafted into old-farts front office, old fart coach and conservative and not so young roster.

I'm cofused what role he should fill. Backup PG ? With Bamba having playmaker who makes poor decisions ( and kind a can't pass, is turnover prone and only looks for own shots) it sounds like disaster for both of them.

I disagree, I think this is a really good fit for Orlando, and will be pretty good long term.

Kid was hurt and came back six weeks after surgery to a 'meh' UNC team that was not going to do anything with him being the lone guy providing any meritable offensive worth. When a defense can key in on a single guy, especially a guy who had sat for six weeks, of course he is going to look subpar and look bad.

He wasn't one hundred percent, he admits that, people he played with admitted that, and the coach putting so much pressure on him to be THE guy with nobody there to help him while not being truly well would probably admit it too.

Look, I get he did a lot of things bad, but let's not throw out context to state hate because it suits a narrative. The guy was a top 3 prospect, pre-injury he was a top 5 draft pick. He fell to us when everyone else was gone, we had the choice of trying to go up, or just taking what could potentially be a killer scorer.

We chose to grab him and I get it, he wasn't your guy, and he sure as hell wasn't mine, but he is here now. He hasn't played a single minute of NBA basketball and we are already getting angry and hating on him and for what? Being a competitor and not sitting out the rest of the season because he got hurt? Because his shooting percentage isn't shiny because his team was atrocious? Because he tried to do too much and was literally playing as hard as he could to get Ws with a subpar team?

Give me a break.

Man stop right there.
If you are hurt, does that mean you have to chuck shots, make wrong decisions, turn the ball over and show zero trust in your teammates?
He is playmaker who doesn't make anybody around him better nor he even tries to engage rest of a team into team offense. Guy in 22 games took 142 three point attemps on 88 assists. He doesn't care about anything but his own shots. And it shows.

Just look for example amount of shots to amount of assists he made AS PLAYMAKER.

Haliburton 242 shots- 142 assists
Lewis ( also trigger happy) 449 FGA- 162 assists
Maxey - 351 shots- 99 assists
Prichard 442 shots- 172 assists

Cole Anthony - 345 shots- 88 assists

From all point guards in first round that was selected, he has worst offensive rating. Once again, mostly because he is point guard who just hogs ball and doesn't run offense well.

I don't care, 15# pick is a wash, but before draft i said that i would not tuch player who is only interested into hoisting jumpshots. That strenghts vs weaknesses picture where for point guard only strenght is rebounding is as laughable as it gets.

Who is he suppose to trust on that team to pick up the work load? The next best Offensive weapon averages 16 and the next best is a 12ppg scorer. The rest? All sub 10 ppg and non factors offensively.

You are begging him not to Chuck shots and pass around. I am saying he was told to take those shots because the quality of his team was meh and if it wasn't he would have made more plays for others.

I don't get it, really I don't. His team was a dumpster fire, he played hurt, and was focused on by defenses. His fg % ain't gonna blow me away under those conditions and I'm not blaming him for playing selfish because most people know he was asked to do that.

Once again, not the guy I wanted, but I can live with it. I'm not going to throw him under the bus before the bus has even started to roll. If we are talking about how bad he is in the middle of the season with NBA level talent around him? Then you get to complain, but if he is lighting it up, and you decide to change your tune, I'm bringing this up again.

Being solely rooted in stats is one thing, but being blind to circumstance and context is a completely other thing.

But even I can eat crow and if he sucks, then that will be my turn to fess up, but I get the feeling he is not going to suck, and a lot of people are going to look like fools for judging his one season on a team with only 2 ten point or more scorers so harshly.

[The-Power]

Cole's game is entirely based on being the primary ball handler.

Not at all. Among all lead guard prospects, Cole is the one best suited to play off the ball quite a bit. He's by far the best PG at moving off the ball (along with Tyrell Terry) and he's one of the best shooting prospects as well. You guys got a steal because injury and a really crappy team (with zero spacing, clogged lanes, and no shot-creation) didn't allow Cole to show how good he actually is.