SB Nation ranks Orlando 5th in Young Cores in NBA

[ogmagicfan]

Top 5:

1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Grizz
4. Rockets
5. Magic

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/nba/2023/8/1/23808945/nba-best-young-cores-ranked-thunder-rockets-pistons-magic

Magic section:

Young core: Paolo Banchero (20 years old), Franz Wagner (22), Anthony Black (19), Jett Howard (20), Jalen Suggs (22), Cole Anthony (23)

"The Magic started last season 5-20 with one of the youngest rotations in the NBA. They went 29-28 the rest of the way, hinting that the team’s bright future might be closer to the present than most realize. Orlando seemingly has its top offensive options in place with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner forming a two-headed monster of supersized shot creation. Banchero is a enormous forward at 6’10, 250 pounds who can rip mid-range jumpers, body smaller defenders at the rim, and throw some impressive passes. There’s no doubt he was the right choice at No. 1 overall for the Magic in the 2022 draft. Wagner is nearly as dynamic with a slithery handle and superior shooting ability at 6’10, 220 pounds. Both players clearly have All-Star potential — and might even have All-NBA potential if everything breaks right.

Orlando continues to embark on adding the necessary shooting and defense around Banchero and Wagner. Anthony Black, their pick at No. 6 overall in June’s draft, is a huge 6’7 guard with immense defensive potential who struggles to shoot. Jett Howard, their pick at No. 11 overall in June’s draft, is a big forward with tremendous shooting ability who struggles defensively because he isn’t a great athlete. Jalen Suggs has proven to be a good defensive guard who needs to show he can hit a wide open three. Big man Wendell Carter Jr. just missed the age cut-off, but should be a reliable two-way big with some versatility to bounce between the four and the five depending on the lineup. The rough outline of a physically imposing team with killer one-on-one scoring ability is here, but the Magic need to keep coloring in the margins."

[ogmagicfan]

I personally would rank the Magic above the Rockets considering Paolo & Franz are better than any of the Rockets young players and we won 34 games last season

[neuraldarwinism]

would say 4th over the rockets with a potential 3rd depending on morants self destructive tendencies

[ORLMagicGirl15]

Not sure why Spurs are #2 when the Grizzlies and has proven far more but okay.

I’m just glad our core is being mentioned.

[JF5]

I don't mind Spurs and Grizz they've got generational stars on their teams. OKC is obviously a given as well.

But the Rockets are a mess. No clear star a lot of young players with little to no BBIQ. Signing an already declining fringe allstar to max money. The team looks so lost right now as to what they're doing i would even put Detroit and Portland (once Lillard is traded) in front of them.

[basketballRob]

I talked with a guy the other day who had the Magic ranked #1.

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[fendilim]

I aint even mad.

We probably have the most boring young core, but I think skill wise and efficiency, we are more promising than the likes of the Rockets. IMO, they are more of flash than substance.

[VFX]

If you were to rank these teams, who do the Rockets have that you'd rather have than Paolo and Franz?

They must have a lot of faith in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.

Also, is Memphis really that much better aside from JJJ and Ja? Desmond Bane is 25.

I agree with the Spurs and OKC rankings.

[3ddman23]

The big difference is the magic play in the east. They will most likely always have the upper hand on these other 4 teams casue the west typically tends to be the tougher conference.

So u can rank all these cores as much as you want but I truly believe when itzs all said and done the magic will come out on top of all these teams. Or in other words produce the best results out of all these "cores".

Memphis can be good but they have too much question mark's surrounding them

Spurs and wemby have a super long way to go. I dont them being super relevant for wemby first 3-4 years

Okc to me is being super overrated becasue of sga mvp caliber season. Let me see him do that again or come close to that again before I put them in the next best team category. Let's say sga has an all star caliber year instead of an mvp caliber year and they win 33-35 games instead of 40, would we be taking them as serious? I think not.

If you have Houston ranked above the magic then idk what to tell you besides you just don't know basketball. There is no way shape or form I see Houston every being better then orlando long term best off of these "cores". Magic have the two best players going forward.

Orlando to me has the best chance to be the most successful team out of these "cores" as currently constructed. They play in the east. They have 2 up and coming top players. With a ton of draft capital and cap flexibility. I really don't see how other fans or people don't see the potential here with this "core". And to me that was even before they add black & howard.

Well see how it all unfolds, it will be very interesting.

[MartinsIzAfraud]

If you were to rank these teams, who do the Rockets have that you'd rather have than Paolo and Franz?

They must have a lot of faith in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.

Also, is Memphis really that much better aside from JJJ and Ja? Desmond Bane is 25.

I agree with the Spurs and OKC rankings.

rockets have quantity over quality. Have to imagine 2 of the 6 young dudes hit at some point and a 3rd becomes a solid piece.

[RichCollab]

I could care less what national media says.

[VFX]

If you were to rank these teams, who do the Rockets have that you'd rather have than Paolo and Franz?

They must have a lot of faith in Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore.

Also, is Memphis really that much better aside from JJJ and Ja? Desmond Bane is 25.

I agree with the Spurs and OKC rankings.

rockets have quantity over quality. Have to imagine 2 of the 6 young dudes hit at some point and a 3rd becomes a solid piece.

Tari Eason and the prospect of Cam are really the only players of interest in Houston,

[drsd]

Not sure why Spurs are #2 when the Grizzlies and has proven far more but okay.

I’m just glad our core is being mentioned.

Because a player that has logged zero NBA minutes is already being tabbed for a Hall of Fame invite.

[zaymon]

Rockets have no business to be before us, they are a mess. Bunch of low iq players, opposite of what wins in yhe nba.
OKC first is another very controversial pick.
Banchero>Holmgren, Wagner>Giddey. They are all about SGA, but he is too old to be on the list.
I like Spurs, but they are the biggest mystery. Wemby has played zero nba games so far.
Grizzlies are a mess. Morant is more focused on becoming a criminal than basketball player and JJJ is injury risk.
I.would say we are better than Rockets and OKC while we will see about the rest.

[pepe1991]

I find those lists dumb as always.

"younger than XY age by XY time". Sure. Because those players won't share majority of their prime with players who tend to be year or two or three or even four and five older... Bunch of nonsense.

By the time guys like Giannis and Jokic are too old to be massive difference ( like 5 years down the road) , 60% of current nba players won't be in nba any more for one reason or another and 50% of new players will take their place, including all new hyped to a moon prospects.

Pelicans are living example that fantazy land of "potential" doesn't win you games nor secures you future.

[tooler]

I usually don't care for these lists but this season it's extra meaningless to me. I don't have to fret because I feel like we finally have some talent that works in the modern NBA. That makes me feel good. We still lack clear answers at guard, so I'll be jealous of teams like Indiana that are full of them, but other than that I don't really care about core comparison.

The GB has the right answer by pointing out the core of Durant, Westbrook, and Harden. The core itself is only part of solving the problem. We could be #1 on the list and it might still mean nothing.

[Viper1500]

I'd put the Rockets behind Detroit TBH. They are a mess on the court.

[Last Guardian]

Hot garbage. Paolo and Franz age and statistical production make them best young duo in the league. If they didn't count WCJ because of age limit then SGA doesn't count either.

[basketballRob]

Hot garbage. Paolo and Franz age and statistical production make them best young duo in the league. If they didn't count WCJ because of age limit then SGA doesn't count either.

SGA is 1 year older than WCJ. He the same age as Markelle.

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[pepe1991]

Best young core in basketball are Memphis Grizzlies, by far.

Bane, Morant and Jackson are 3 star -type players.

They have to adjust roster to them, but they are 50+ wins regular season team and team that experienced passing of first round.


All other cores are losing teams.


and having Luka Doncic (missing out list for 3 months) alone is better "core " than majority of team's cores together.