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Josh Robbins is doing his annual thing where he talks to anonymous scouts around the league about our young players to get an opinion of that "the league" thinks about our talent to contrast to what those on or around the organization do. This is critical to things like trade value and free agent decisions.

Note they all acknowledge last season was a tough one to judge future talent on due to the extreme extenuating circumstances.

Cole Anthony’s future: What NBA scouts are saying about the Magic’s second-year guard and what’s ahead for him

He started with Cole Anthony, which sounds like they summarize right now to be a ceiling of Lou Williams or Jordan Clarkson (which isn't bad for a #15 pick)

“Cole Anthony is a guy who’s scored his whole life, and I think in the NBA he’s going to be able to find a way to put the ball in the basket,”.

“He showed that he’s not afraid to take a big shot at the end — (he had) a couple of game-winners — and he competes,”.

“He was getting in the paint more than I thought he could, he could get in the paint and throw up a variety of shots. I thought the physicality would be too much for him coming in the door (of the league), but he managed to get in there and make some tough shots.” What talent evaluators agree on completely is that Anthony is a tenacious, highly effective rebounder, especially for someone his size. That is a testament to how hard Anthony plays.

Scout C said he thinks the Magic drafted Anthony too highly; that he only would have been comfortable selecting him in the second round, where Anthony would have had fewer guaranteed seasons on his contract and could have been held accountable more easily. The reason for Scout C’s pessimism revolves around what the scout perceives as Anthony’s me-first approach, in which Anthony is predisposed to look for his own shot rather than create for teammates. The scout compared Anthony to Austin Rivers.

“I think he gets out of control a bit, and of course, he’s a score-first guy,” Scout D said, adding later that he suspects that Magic players must have found it frustrating to play alongside Anthony last season. Addressing Anthony’s tendency to look for his own shot, Scout B put it another way: “I think he’s a competitor and he plays hard. So that at least gets him on the floor. His lack of vision makes it kind of hard for him to play with others, so that could end up being a problem down the line.”

Scout C said Anthony already is a liability on defense when he guards opposing point guards, and that playing Anthony as a shooting guard would be deeply problematic because of Anthony’s size and because teams typically prefer better shooters at the two-guard spot.

None of the scouts contacted for this piece project Anthony as one day becoming good enough to be a starter on a high-level team. “He’s probably going to be a backup point guard or scoring guard at the end of the day just because he’s kind of more focused on himself than creating (for others)

One or more of the scouts point out that he is more of a combo guard, which is fine, but you can't hide him on the defensive side. Maybe, Fultz(if he improves significantly) or one day Suggs could play alongside Cole and the other guy could defend the bigger(or better) guard.

Most rookies are inefficient, which was Cole's biggest negative, along with maybe lack of vision. I was pretty happy with his rookie season. His weaknesses are known, hopefully he works hard on those weaknesses. I don't see why he can't have a long NBA career as a bench scorer, hopefully better than the often compared Austin Rivers.

I've always projected Cole to be a backup. I hope he has great career for us, but I don't expected much more than backup-level player.

I bet Cole makes a jump this season. From his Instagram posts, I see he worked with the same people that helped Tatum make a jump. Cole consistently posted workout videos all summer so far.

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Hope he's improved his defence. He's awful at getting over screens.

basketballRob wrote:I bet Cole makes a jump this season. From his Instagram posts, I see he worked with the same people that helped Tatum make a jump. Cole consistently posted workout videos all summer so far.

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Yeah I think Cole proves them wrong
He works too hard and cares about being great to much to fail

Is he going to be cp3? Nah, but he's going to be a very good player in this league for a while

I think he can have a successful career as a 6th man. Which isnt bad, imo.

Nyce_1 wrote:I've always projected Cole to be a backup. I hope he has great career for us, but I don't expected much more than backup-level player.

I agree. I don't think he has much more to his game than being a guy who jacks up shots and brings a lot of energy. Best case scenario... instant offense guy off the bench in limited minutes.

I’d be ecstatic if he becomes Sweet Lou or Clarkson

You know who else we drafted at #15?

Reece Gaines.

Point being, if all he ever achieves is a guy off the bench, 15 minutes a game, that's good draft value.

I don't think anyone would argue that Cole is an intense competitor. I believe his coachability, drive, and heritage from his father (who is unquestionably a very smart basketball mind and historian) make Cole's ceiling an open book.

His personality is his best and worst asset. Can be a great teammate off the court, and a selfish player on the court.

Can score in bunches and appear heroic at times, but not consistently.

Shades of Reggie Jackson, Cameron Payne.

I haven't been able to see him play much yet, but from what little I know about him... I like him.

Kent wrote:You know who else we drafted at #15?

Reece Gaines.

Point being, if all he ever achieves is a guy off the bench, 15 minutes a game, that's good draft value.

I was wondering what he's up to these days.
Seems he's an assistant coach right here in Austin for the G-League Spurs.
@MagicFan101
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reece_Gaines
Career history
As player:
2003–2004 Orlando Magic
2004–2005 Houston Rockets
2005–2006 Milwaukee Bucks
2006–2007 Angelico Biella
2007 Armani Jeans Milano
2007–2008 Benetton Treviso
2008–2009 Angelico Biella
2009–2010 Bakersfield Jam
2010 Peristeri
2010 Texas Legends
2010–2011 JA Vichy
2012 Fürstenfeld Panthers
2012 Guaros de Lara
As coach:
2012–2015 Bellarmine (assistant)
2015–2019 Eastern Kentucky (assistant)
2019–present Austin Spurs (assistant)

Cole is a spark plug off the bench.

His style of play might be labeled as “me first” but his personality so far has been all about team chemistry and that will do well for him.

When fans say this, portion of fans gets upset. When scouts say it, everybody agrees

Kent wrote:You know who else we drafted at #15?

Reece Gaines.

Point being, if all he ever achieves is a guy off the bench, 15 minutes a game, that's good draft value.

And-1

I cannot see Anthony as every being a capable starting PG in the NBA. But off of the bench, if he can log 60-70 games at 10-15 mpg, he is value at his draft slot. Anything above that, Orlando got a "steal". For example, if he takes over the flame-thrower role after Ross departs, then Orlando is fortunate to have Anthony on the bench.

Skin wrote:His personality is his best and worst asset. Can be a great teammate off the court, and a selfish player on the court.

Can score in bunches and appear heroic at times, but not consistently.

Shades of Reggie Jackson, Cameron Payne.

Soooo… I’ll put you down on the anti-Cole list then?

This is pretty much where I am with him. He is a plus rebounder for his size, but how useful is that? I just don't see the avenue that leads to him ever becoming a useful player. He has the desire and mentality to be more than his tools will permit. He doesn't seem to understand that the player he wants to be isn't of value.

Xatticus wrote:This is pretty much where I am with him. He is a plus rebounder for his size, but how useful is that? I just don't see the avenue that leads to him ever becoming a useful player. He has the desire and mentality to be more than his tools will permit. He doesn't seem to understand that the player he wants to be isn't of value.

I wouldn't say "isn't of value"

I would say tops out in the $5-$8M per year value if he reaches his potential.

If his size is an issue though makes you wonder why we didn't just draft Bey or Maxey who were rumored for us at 15 last year.

I think highly of Cole. I like his personality. He can be a valuable piece to us in the long run. I like his 3pt shooting also