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Why should us Magic fans be excited?


I know there are going to be some disappointed fans after the draft. I myself was one of those people after Dallas moved up to take Doncic and Atlanta moved back to take Young. Those are two guys I wanted, and I know that others did too. Many of us had our minds made up that one of those guys would be in a Magic uniform come today.


After the initial disappointment wore off though, the first thing that I did, as I always do with the young guys we bring in is pour into as much tape/interviews of the kid I could find. Bamba was a guy that I was always high on and always propped up in the draft threads but with so much of my focus on Young/Doncic he was someone I didn't give near the amount of attention to as I should of.


After watching countless hours of film since draft night, there is only one conclusion that I have come to and that's that this kid has all the makings of a superstar. This FO is going to have to make the right moves and put the right players around him to get him there, but there is no question in my mind that he has all the potential to be one.


When you look at the ideal modern 5 in today's NBA, Bamba fits the mold in every single way with his immense defensive potential and ability to stretch the floor on offense.




Offensive potential:




Bamba's skillset/potential offensively is flat out scary. While he is raw and does need to put on size, once he does, he has the potential to truly be unique. One thing that Bamba will provide immediately offensively is pick and roll/pop opportunities and he will be an immediate lob threat. Bamba is currently working with Drew Hanlen who is universally regarded as one of the best personal trainers in the game. He is credited for being a big part in Joel's development. Hanlen has already completely refined his shot and is helping to add to his game offensively. This is only going to continue to add to the incredible flashes he already showed offensively at Texas.








Bamba really flashes a bit of everything on the offensive end. Even at Texas before working with Hanlen, he showed a lot of nifty moves in the post. I think his post game has a TON of potential its just going to require him to put on some weight/lower body strength because he will most likely have trouble getting position on the block early on. I can't wait to see Bambas refined shooting stroke during summer league. He flashed legitimate stretch 5 ability and I think he is going to be a threat there, especially with all of the work he is putting in. If he can consistently shoot the 3, he also has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket which will open up a whole new dimension to his game.



One thing to consider as well is that Texas had a very poorly constructed roster. Texas literally won 11 games the year before he got there and there just wasn't nearly enough talent on that roster. I think if we can add an elite playmaker (something he 100% didn't have at Texas) we can make life a lot easier for him, especially early on as I think a big bulk of his offense will come in the form of putbacks, lobs, and PnR opportunities until he gets comfortable and continues to add size.


A few of the flashes of his insane potential on the offensive end



Shows his ability at 7-1 to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.




Flashes his insane length .




Shows his ability to knock down a transition 3. Will be huge for him at the next level.




Another example.




He is going to be a great roll man. Lethal lob threat.




Another example of him finishing in a PNR.





He is relentless on the offensive boards. He's only going to get better as well as he adds size:


Great rebound and nasty finish.




Does it again.





He flashes so much potential in the post. Once he adds size he is going to be dangerous at the next level.


Fantastic spin to gain separation and finishes with the dunk.




Shows the spin again and finishes.




Baby hook. Will be crucial for him to have this in his arsenal at the next level.




Example of that crafty finishing ability I was talking about. Nice touch.







Defensive Potential:

What else is there to say about this kid defensively? He is everything you could dream of defensively in today's NBA from your center position. I really have only seen a few people that possess the skill and versatility defensively at that size that Bamba does. Anthony Davis is the last person that comes to mind. He completely changes the game on the defensive side of the ball. If he isn't blocking a shot he is making anyone that wants to drive it think twice before they do, solely because of his presence in the paint. His switching ability is as good as you will ever see for a guy his size. I was blown away at some of the switches he made and how well he moves his feet. He is 100% the real deal on that end and pairing him next to Isaac is seriously going to be scary. I can't wait to see it in action during summer league.





Shotblocking (of course) && Switching capabilities:



Completely shuts down a PnR and sends the shot into the 4th row.




He blocks shots that really nobody else can with how long his wingspan is.




Another example of how well he moves his feet.




Literally one of the most impressive switches I've seen from a guy this size. Switches onto a PG and forces a turnover.





Has a habit of turning defense to offense. Also has potential to be a great rim-runner:


Blocks the shot, runs the floor, and gets rewarded on the other end. Expect to see a lot of this.




Blocks sextons shot and sprints the floor to finish with a viscous dunk.



Another example







Hope For The Future:

this is how its gonna be from now on

Excellent thread.....I admit I wasn't thrilled about the pick, but I find the more research I do on him, the more excited I'm becoming. Going to dig some more, this kid is clearly a stud

Awesome. Kid has amazing potential. If he's Gobert with potential offense, we found our 3rd HOF center.

awesome work

I get the gobert comparisons...except he's already offensively better than him.

Add some strenght and some experience and we have a MONSTER.

Great thread, we all needed that.

Outside of improving our defense, I don't expect much else in his first couple of years. Rebound and defend like Hydra. Try to finish well on dunks and putbacks, keep the ball high. If he can do that for 30+ mins without fouling out, I'm a happy camper.

In my mind we got basically two Jonathan Isaac's on our roster now, one even bigger and longer than the other. If they grow together as they supposed to, we've got our frontcourt of the future set.

Three years from now, we better find some heavy guns on the wings and PG spot in future drafts. And when I say guns, I mean artillery.

PrimeShaq wrote:




Why should us Magic fans be excited?


I know there are going to be some disappointed fans after the draft. I myself was one of those people after Dallas moved up to take Doncic and Atlanta moved back to take Young. Those are two guys I wanted, and I know that others did too. Many of us had our minds made up that one of those guys would be in a Magic uniform come today.


After the initial disappointment wore off though, the first thing that I did, as I always do with the young guys we bring in is pour into as much tape/interviews of the kid I could find. Bamba was a guy that I was always high on and always propped up in the draft threads but with so much of my focus on Young/Doncic he was someone I didn't give near the amount of attention to as I should of.


After watching countless hours of film since draft night, there is only one conclusion that I have come to and that's that this kid has all the makings of a superstar. This FO is going to have to make the right moves and put the right players around him to get him there, but there is no question in my mind that he has all the potential to be one.


When you look at the ideal modern 5 in today's NBA, Bamba fits the mold in every single way with his immense defensive potential and ability to stretch the floor on offense.




Offensive potential:




Bamba's skillset/potential offensively is flat out scary. While he is raw and does need to put on size, once he does, he has the potential to truly be unique. One thing that Bamba will provide immediately offensively is pick and roll/pop opportunities and he will be an immediate lob threat. Bamba is currently working with Drew Hanlen who is universally regarded as one of the best personal trainers in the game. He is credited for being a big part in Joel's development. Hanlen has already completely refined his shot and is helping to add to his game offensively. This is only going to continue to add to the incredible flashes he already showed offensively at Texas.

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Spoiler:

Read on Twitter

Bamba really flashes a bit of everything on the offensive end. Even at Texas before working with Hanlen, he showed a lot of nifty moves in the post. I think his post game has a TON of potential its just going to require him to put on some weight/lower body strength because he will most likely have trouble getting position on the block early on. I can't wait to see Bambas refined shooting stroke during summer league. He flashed legitimate stretch 5 ability and I think he is going to be a threat there, especially with all of the work he is putting in. If he can consistently shoot the 3, he also has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the basket which will open up a whole new dimension to his game.



One thing to consider as well is that Texas had a very poorly constructed roster. Texas literally won 11 games the year before he got there and there just wasn't nearly enough talent on that roster. I think if we can add an elite playmaker (something he 100% didn't have at Texas) we can make life a lot easier for him, especially early on as I think a big bulk of his offense will come in the form of putbacks, lobs, and PnR opportunities until he gets comfortable and continues to add size.


A few of the flashes of his insane potential on the offensive end



Shows his ability at 7-1 to put the ball on the floor and attack the basket.

Spoiler:

Flashes his insane length .

Spoiler:

Shows his ability to knock down a transition 3. Will be huge for him at the next level.

Spoiler:

Another example.

Spoiler:

He is going to be a great roll man. Lethal lob threat.

Spoiler:

Another example of him finishing in a PNR.

Spoiler:

He is relentless on the offensive boards. He's only going to get better as well as he adds size:


Great rebound and nasty finish.

Spoiler:

Does it again.

Spoiler:

He flashes so much potential in the post. Once he adds size he is going to be dangerous at the next level.


Fantastic spin to gain separation and finishes with the dunk.

Spoiler:

Shows the spin again and finishes.

Spoiler:

Baby hook. Will be crucial for him to have this in his arsenal at the next level.

Spoiler:

Example of that crafty finishing ability I was talking about. Nice touch.

Spoiler:

Defensive Potential:

What else is there to say about this kid defensively? He is everything you could dream of defensively in today's NBA from your center position. I really have only seen a few people that possess the skill and versatility defensively at that size that Bamba does. Anthony Davis is the last person that comes to mind. He completely changes the game on the defensive side of the ball. If he isn't blocking a shot he is making anyone that wants to drive it think twice before they do, solely because of his presence in the paint. His switching ability is as good as you will ever see for a guy his size. I was blown away at some of the switches he made and how well he moves his feet. He is 100% the real deal on that end and pairing him next to Isaac is seriously going to be scary. I can't wait to see it in action during summer league.





Shotblocking (of course) && Switching capabilities:



Completely shuts down a PnR and sends the shot into the 4th row.

Spoiler:

He blocks shots that really nobody else can with how long his wingspan is.

Spoiler:

Another example of how well he moves his feet.

Spoiler:

Literally one of the most impressive switches I've seen from a guy this size. Switches onto a PG and forces a turnover.

Spoiler:

Has a habit of turning defense to offense. Also has potential to be a great rim-runner:


Blocks the shot, runs the floor, and gets rewarded on the other end. Expect to see a lot of this.

Spoiler:

Blocks sextons shot and sprints the floor to finish with a viscous dunk.

Spoiler:

Another example

Spoiler:

Hope For The Future:

Spoiler:

I hope some people got something from this! I did this last year with Isaac and a lot of people seemed to appreciate it. It was fun going through all of his highlights and interviews and seeing how special of a kid/player he is.


While there are still a lot of questions we have regarding other parts of this roster/organization, I think we have a legitimate reason to have a lot of hope going forward with Isaac/Bamba. I truly think that this is a core of players you can build around. Both guys are two of the best personalities you will come across in this league and I think both play the game the right way and put the work in that is required to be great.


I absolutely love Bamba as a prospect and I do believe that he has the potential to become the next great center for this franchise.


Heres to hoping that for all of our sake he reaches that potential

Great post sir.
A pleasure to read it

Welcome to Orlando Mister Bamba

At worst, I see Mo as a prime Camby. At his best, he'll be a longer Gobert with stretch 5 capability. That's a cornerstone type of player. We just need that legit No. 1 option. You add that to AG/JI/Mo and we would finally have something (potentially at least).

Nicely done! Its hard not to be excited on what this kid will turn into. He could very well be the NBA next unicorn.

he is a cool dude with lots of potential. but that doesn't change the fact that our front office is acting like a parody of themselves for these 2 drafts. I think all of you will come to appreciate that gordon, isaac, bamba is not a team at some point.

The number of players who can protect the rim at a high level, rebound at a high level AND hit threes is like four players deep.

Embiid can do it. Durant can do it. Draymond can do it. Anthony Davis can do it. Is there anyone else?

Towns and Love rebound and hit threes, but aren't good rim protectors.

Porzingis, Turner and Horford protect the rim and hit threes, but none of them rebound well.

Capela, Drummond and Gobert rebound and protect the rim, but don't hit threes.

Bamba could absolutely join that first list of guys.

He is already better offensively than Dwight ever Will be.

Knightro wrote:The number of players who can protect the rim at a high level, rebound at a high level AND hit threes is like four players deep.

Embiid can do it. Durant can do it. Draymond can do it. Anthony Davis can do it. Is there anyone else?

Towns and Love rebound and hit threes, but aren't good rim protectors.

Porzingis, Turner and Horford protect the rim and hit threes, but none of them rebound well.

Capela, Drummond and Gobert rebound and protect the rim, but don't hit threes.

Bamba could absolutely join that first list of guys.

Yeah, the unicorn word gets thrown out a lot these days but there are only a few players that actually fit the mold. AD is really an interesting comparison I think. Like if you go and look at the stats they are almost identical In a lot of ways. AD still gets the edge stats wise but its by a really small margin. I could see Bamba developing into the center version of AD.

I understand we just drafted Bamba but we need to get him signed long term. We've witnessed Shaq and than Dwight and both were eventually gone. Shaq signed with lakers in free agency because the Magic wouldn't offer Shaq a MAX deal and even though Dwight was traded, Dwight thought he could be bigger elsewhere.

A good question to ask Bamba directly to him is the Magic couldn't keep Shaq or Dwight long term, Could you stay with the Magic long term?

I haven't read the whole post but I can tell I'm gonna like it! Nice job!

Personally, I like Mo so much more as a prospect than Ayton. Mo is just more of the ideal 5 in today's NBA imo. I'm not saying that Ayton won't find success I just don't value his skillset as much as I do Bambas.

Bah Humbug

nymets1 wrote:I understand we just drafted Bamba but we need to get him signed long term. We've witnessed Shaq and than Dwight and both were eventually gone. Shaq signed with lakers in free agency because the Magic wouldn't offer Shaq a MAX deal and even though Dwight was traded, Dwight thought he could be bigger elsewhere.

A good question to ask Bamba directly to him is the Magic couldn't keep Shaq or Dwight long term, Could you stay with the Magic long term?

What better time to ask 19yo his plans for summer 7 years from now? It's simply brilliant!

Nemesis21 wrote:Bah Humbug

You'll come around