The Anthony Black dunk tank

[eyriq]

He’s not a high-usage, ball-dominant guard. He’s a low-turnover, high-IQ initiator who sets tempo, makes quick reads, and defends at the point of attack. In a multi-creator system, that’s exactly what you need. He’s a defensive-minded flow guard built for structure, not stardom. At this point, the conversation is just going in circles.

[CarraT]

He’s not a high-usage, ball-dominant guard. He’s a low-turnover, high-IQ initiator who sets tempo, makes quick reads, and defends at the point of attack. In a multi-creator system, that’s exactly what you need. He’s a defensive-minded flow guard built for structure, not stardom. At this point, the conversation is just going in circles.

That all sounds great, on paper. But if we’re being honest, what you just described isn’t a “point guard.” It’s a role player with limited offensive impact, dressed up in buzzwords like “flow guard” and “initiator.”

Let’s be clear: 3.1 assists per game in 25 minutes is not “setting the tempo.” 32% from three on mostly wide-open looks is not “making quick reads”, it’s being ignored by defenses. And “low turnover” doesn’t mean much when you’re not actually creating anything with the ball. That’s like praising a striker in soccer for never being offside when they never leave the halfway line.

If he’s “built for structure,” then great, let’s stop pretending he’s a future PG centerpiece and treat him like what he currently is: a defensive role player who might grow into a useful connector if the shot ever stabilizes.

And one more thing, if he’s “exactly what we need”, then why was our offense so broken that even our usually ultra-conservative front office finally admitted we lacked guard creation? They went out and got Desmond Bane, a true lead guard with real offensive gravity, because this experiment with non-shooting, low-usage “tempo-setters” clearly wasn’t enough.

At some point, you stop describing “what a guy could be in a perfect system”, and look at what he actually is in reality.

[OrlChamps2030]

I think projecting guys to be able to “play down” a position is some kind of fanboy cope. AB at the 1 and Aaron Gordon at the 3 have higher ceilings in theory due to significant size advantage, but the reality is they don’t have the skill level to play these roles and they don’t have the extreme size advantage in their natural positions/roles.

Guys generally improve their strengths rather than turn their weaknesses into strengths. AB developing starting PG level ball skills would be an abnormal exception, not the expected norm.

Honestly a guy that AB potentially reminds me of, that I never see mentioned, is Nic Batum. Versatile defender, connector, nice vision for a non-PG, impact beyond raw stats. Not much of a shot creator. None of this matters though if AB never develops into a league average shooter

[CarraT]

I think projecting guys to be able to “play down” a position is some kind of fanboy cope. AB at the 1 and Aaron Gordon at the 3 have higher ceilings in theory due to significant size advantage, but the reality is they don’t have the skill level to play these roles and they don’t have the extreme size advantage in their natural positions/roles.

Guys generally improve their strengths rather than turn their weaknesses into strengths. AB developing starting PG level ball skills would be an abnormal exception, not the expected norm.

Honestly a guy that AB potentially reminds me of, that I never see mentioned, is Nic Batum. Versatile defender, connector, nice vision for a non-PG, impact beyond raw stats. Not much of a shot creator. None of this matters though if AB never develops into a league average shooter

Totally agree. I made the comparison with Batum also a while ago, that’s the best case scenario for AB’s career in my opinion.

[JF5]

If they didn’t see AB as a point guard, they’d be looking for one. They’re not. They moved on from Fultz and Cole, gave AB playoff reps, and haven’t added a lead guard. He didn’t rack up assists, sure, but you don’t give playoff rotation minutes to a 21-year-old unless you’re investing in his long-term role.

Walter Clayton Jr, Jace Richardson, Tyus Jones, Malcolm Brogdon are all rumored to be options.

Also, bench offense needed a playmaking scorer. Given the objective of adding more offense for team that's been one of the worst the last few seasons. You really believe they'll just not add 2 or 3 scoring threats off the bench?

Money is tight. So it’s going to be interesting. Do they make another trade?

They have to essentially. There isn't enough offense off that bench for the FO to be comfortable going forward. I love that they got Bane but that's not enough.

That's why there are so many rumors about JI, Goga, and Black potentially being moved. Those are the more prized and easily movable assets this team has right now. Black to me can easily get the Magic a good role player and a late lottery pick due to his age and good potential.

[eyriq]

I think projecting guys to be able to “play down” a position is some kind of fanboy cope. AB at the 1 and Aaron Gordon at the 3 have higher ceilings in theory due to significant size advantage, but the reality is they don’t have the skill level to play these roles and they don’t have the extreme size advantage in their natural positions/roles.

Guys generally improve their strengths rather than turn their weaknesses into strengths. AB developing starting PG level ball skills would be an abnormal exception, not the expected norm.

Honestly a guy that AB potentially reminds me of, that I never see mentioned, is Nic Batum. Versatile defender, connector, nice vision for a non-PG, impact beyond raw stats. Not much of a shot creator. None of this matters though if AB never develops into a league average shooter

You're framing it like they’re forcing AB into something he’s not, but that’s just not true. He isn’t being converted into a point guard. He’s been one from the start. That’s the foundation he came in with, and it’s the role the team continues to develop him in. The whole argument falls apart right out of the gate.

[Skybox]

Here's something that may not be well received by some, but imo is really a backhanded compliment.

Some Truths:
-AB brings very little on the offensive end (so far).
-AB is an excellent defender with great positional size and great attitude about matching up with anyone.
-AB MIGHT have a lot more in his bag that MIGHT be revealed in coming seasons (I believe this is LIKELY to be true-to an extent)
-The Magic, as of Father's Day are clearly in "win-now" mode...AB isn't
-based on floor and ceiling - AB should have meaningful trade appeal (relative to his insignificant stats) among NBA FOs who pay attention.

So:
-What would be a fair (for both sides) trade for a somewhat equivalently valued guy that's more capable of contributing NOW.
-I don't think it's unrealistic to think that ORL could draft someone at #46 that could replace what AB is contributing at this point. That player is unlikely to have AB's perceived ceiling, but that's not what I'm expecting.
-If I could trade AB in a package for someone like Gafford and then draft a guy like Sion James, a 6'6 physical bully 3&D guy that knows his role after playing in the shadow of 3 Top 10 picks at Duke...or, Drake Powell, a 6'5 swingman elite defender with a 7' wingspan and 43" vertical. Both of these guys can hit spot up 3's and Powell shows signs of other offensive potential. For a little more shooting with AB-level ballhandling and playmaking, there's Tyrese Proctor...who is a good defender but not on the level as AB or James and Powell.

I do think AB has trade value beyond his stats, which is the "compliment", but just like all of the Bane picks, I'm willing to let someone else enjoy that potential in future years as ORL needs help Now.

[basketballRob]

That's hilarious. People are posting about second rounders who will be better than AB.



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[basketballRob]

Reddit is terrible, but I'm not sure if it's as bad as here.

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[eyriq]

Reddit is terrible, but I'm not sure if it's as bad as here.

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It’s mostly a handful of loud voices who have just never figured out how to evaluate AB’s role or development properly.

[AdamTheGreek]

Let’s not pretend AB wasn’t a good point guard in college. Eric Musselmann would deck you in the face if you told him he wasn’t a PG.

AB has to had to adapt to being utilized completely different than how he was at Arkansas.
You look at Summer League, we let AB play point and he looks good (obviously lower competition).

We’ve leaned so heavily on Paolo and Franz that some games AB defers too much and picks up his dribble to give the rock to them. But when he’s confident, nobody stops him. That’s part of the growth and maturity process.

[SOUL]

AB is a great prospect still, people undervalue him on here because people overvalue him on here if that makes sense lol.

He needs to:

Stop picking up his dribble
Get a little tighter handle
Get stronger (happening naturally)
Continue to be a respectable three point shooter/keep defenses honest

He's already a rotational player with his defense and headiness alone. There are obvious paths to him being a super valuable every day player instead of 1 every 3.

[RichCollab]

AB is a great prospect still, people undervalue him on here because people overvalue him on here if that makes sense lol.

He needs to:

Stop picking up his dribble
Get a little tighter handle
Get stronger (happening naturally)
Continue to be a respectable three point shooter/keep defenses honest

He's already a rotational player with his defense and headiness alone. There are obvious paths to him being a super valuable every day player instead of 1 every 3.

We need to put a vet guard next to him. Jett or rookie would be a huge mistake.

If we draft Clayton, maybe AB is who we move to add a vet.

[GelbeWand09]

Let’s not pretend AB wasn’t a good point guard in college. Eric Musselmann would deck you in the face if you told him he wasn’t a PG.

AB has to had to adapt to being utilized completely different than how he was at Arkansas.
You look at Summer League, we let AB play point and he looks good (obviously lower competition).

We’ve leaned so heavily on Paolo and Franz that some games AB defers too much and picks up his dribble to give the rock to them. But when he’s confident, nobody stops him. That’s part of the growth and maturity process.

Nobody stops him yea, except every defender who tries, his own ballhandling, his bad shooting, his lack of a floater, his lack of off the dribble shooting and his lack of explosion, but other than that he is probabably the most unstoppable out of all the statistical bottom of the leaque offensive players.

[VFX]

I think projecting guys to be able to “play down” a position is some kind of fanboy cope. AB at the 1 and Aaron Gordon at the 3 have higher ceilings in theory due to significant size advantage, but the reality is they don’t have the skill level to play these roles and they don’t have the extreme size advantage in their natural positions/roles.

Guys generally improve their strengths rather than turn their weaknesses into strengths. AB developing starting PG level ball skills would be an abnormal exception, not the expected norm.

Honestly a guy that AB potentially reminds me of, that I never see mentioned, is Nic Batum. Versatile defender, connector, nice vision for a non-PG, impact beyond raw stats. Not much of a shot creator. None of this matters though if AB never develops into a league average shooter

You're framing it like they’re forcing AB into something he’s not, but that’s just not true. He isn’t being converted into a point guard. He’s been one from the start. That’s the foundation he came in with, and it’s the role the team continues to develop him in. The whole argument falls apart right out of the gate.

My brother in Christ what are you talking about?

AB was drafted specifically as a point guard to do point guard things. He has not displayed that “from the start” he was expected to be that guy and absolutely hasn’t.

Here is his pre-draft profile.



It says his best skill is playmaking followed by defense. His “vision” “pace setting” and “ball handling” here are markers as his best attributes. We should be seeing a guy that is heavily contributing to that at a top lotto pick shouldn’t we?

Probably somewhere in the ballpark of someone that can get 5 - 5.5 assists per game even off the bench would be a relatively low expectation for a younger guy with a specific skillset. Hes off by 2.5 assists per game, which is crazy. I’m not even going to mention the self creation. It’s predominantly based on drawing fouls and low % attempts at the rim. Sounds familiar.

Well… the other problem with that is that Orlando is dead last in every category regarding assist numbers, possessions, pace, and efficiency. That’s pretty damning when you are chosen to alleviate those realities as a “pass first guard”.

Not only that, but Mosely elected to start Cojo over him when Suggs went down last season. A guy that is no longer on the team.

I’ll say that a guy like AB off the bench similar to Thabo Sefolosha is a good bench guy to have. It’s a player profile that can limit the scoring from other teams and muck up their possessions.

He has not shown once that he is a point guard though and I’ll be happy if he did. Because that would come to mean that Orlando wouldn’t need to look extensively for guard depth, which they are. I would move him for a player with a real offensively minded skillset while he still has value.

I don’t understand how you can live in a reality where Paolo and Franz are the “hubs” of an offense while believing Anthony Black was selected to be an off the bench role player to do the same thing as a top 10 pick when he fails to meet expectations. That Cope is just unbelievable honestly.

To me, the biggest knock on him is that his is more than duplicative of Paolo and Franz on a much much lesser level. This team does not need low assist defensive wings that cannot generate offense for anyone but themselves at the free throw line. They need the opposite.

[Skybox]

That's hilarious. People are posting about second rounders who will be better than AB.



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What's hilarious is your inability to read ...I explained the difference in ceiling and timeline.

Or, is it hilarious that you think another major program physical freak is incapable of providing what AB is providing at present (not in fantasy projections )

[Skybox]

I'd say AB's realistic upside is Donte Divincenzo...but he's still a long way off offensively and ahead of schedule defensively.

I'd trade them straight up today because Donte is MUCH better today...especially if we're after NAW who would pair very nicely with DDV off the bench ...and not make any sense next to AB.

[Skybox]

I don't know how anyone could be excited about chasing NAW and think that's not bad news for AB's prospects for meaningful minutes in ORL.

[eyriq]

I think projecting guys to be able to “play down” a position is some kind of fanboy cope. AB at the 1 and Aaron Gordon at the 3 have higher ceilings in theory due to significant size advantage, but the reality is they don’t have the skill level to play these roles and they don’t have the extreme size advantage in their natural positions/roles.

Guys generally improve their strengths rather than turn their weaknesses into strengths. AB developing starting PG level ball skills would be an abnormal exception, not the expected norm.

Honestly a guy that AB potentially reminds me of, that I never see mentioned, is Nic Batum. Versatile defender, connector, nice vision for a non-PG, impact beyond raw stats. Not much of a shot creator. None of this matters though if AB never develops into a league average shooter

You're framing it like they’re forcing AB into something he’s not, but that’s just not true. He isn’t being converted into a point guard. He’s been one from the start. That’s the foundation he came in with, and it’s the role the team continues to develop him in. The whole argument falls apart right out of the gate.

My brother in Christ what are you talking about?

AB was drafted specifically as a point guard to do point guard things. He has not displayed that “from the start” he was expected to be that guy and absolutely hasn’t.

Here is his pre-draft profile.



It says his best skill is playmaking followed by defense. His “vision” “pace setting” and “ball handling” here are markers as his best attributes. We should be seeing a guy that is heavily contributing to that at a top lotto pick shouldn’t we?

Probably somewhere in the ballpark of someone that can get 5 - 5.5 assists per game even off the bench would be a relatively low expectation for a younger guy with a specific skillset. Hes off by 2.5 assists per game, which is crazy. I’m not even going to mention the self creation. It’s predominantly based on drawing fouls and low % attempts at the rim. Sounds familiar.

Well… the other problem with that is that Orlando is dead last in every category regarding assist numbers, possessions, pace, and efficiency. That’s pretty damning when you are chosen to alleviate those realities as a “pass first guard”.

Not only that, but Mosely elected to start Cojo over him when Suggs went down last season. A guy that is no longer on the team.

I’ll say that a guy like AB off the bench similar to Thabo Sefolosha is a good bench guy to have. It’s a player profile that can limit the scoring from other teams and muck up their possessions.

He has not shown once that he is a point guard though and I’ll be happy if he did. Because that would come to mean that Orlando wouldn’t need to look extensively for guard depth, which they are. I would move him for a player with a real offensively minded skillset while he still has value.

I don’t understand how you can live in a reality where Paolo and Franz are the “hubs” of an offense while believing Anthony Black was selected to be an off the bench role player to do the same thing as a top 10 pick when he fails to meet expectations. That Cope is just unbelievable honestly.

To me, the biggest knock on him is that his is more than duplicative of Paolo and Franz on a much much lesser level. This team does not need low assist defensive wings that cannot generate offense for anyone but themselves at the free throw line. They need the opposite.

You’re describing a player the Magic didn’t draft. AB was picked for his size, feel, and fit in a system where Paolo and Franz handle the heavy creation. He’s not a high-usage floor general, but he keeps the offense organized and guards the toughest matchups.

The offense being bad isn’t on a 21-year-old. If you’re still expecting a traditional PG, that’s on you.

[pepe1991]

I simply thinkg that extending Anthony Black as your point guard is like falling for a smile in a Bangkok bar — the truth can hit you very hard, and unfortunately for you, way too late.