Paolo Banchero: Magic Are 'Right There' With Elite Teams In East

[RealGM Wiretap]

Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero was confident about his team during a recent appearance on ESPN's First Take. Banchero said the Magic are ready to compete with the best team in the Eastern Conference.

"We feel like we’re right there,” he said. “We’re right there with all those (elite teams in the East). I remember last year, we started the year off as a top-two, top-three seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everybody thought we were going to be a play-in team and drop out the top of the East. We finished strong and got the fifth seed and had a chance to really grab the two seed at the end of the season," Banchero said. "We were right there last year. We got better this year. I got better; all of us got better. We got some new pieces that are going to help a lot. We’re trying to make some noise. We should easily be a top-four, top-three team, and have a chance to win the East."

The young Magic star said he feels a responsibility to help Orlando win at the highest levels, since they were the team that drafted him first overall in the 2022 NBA Draft.

"Orlando took a chance on me when they drafted me, and I am forever grateful for that," said Banchero while appearing on ESPN’s First Take. "I give them my love and respect for that because nobody knew that I was going to go number one. I didn't know I was going to go number one. So, they put the trust in me to take that chance and take me number one. After that, I felt like it was my job to help them reach heights that haven't been reached in a long time ... We're trying to take (a huge) jump next year and keep taking it one level at a time. But we don't want to stop any time soon. We want to keep going and eventually win a championship."

Via Dan Savage/Orlando Magic.com

[watpho71]

Boston is the tier one in the East. Philadelphia, New York, and Milwaukee are tier two. Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, and Miami are tier three. The rest are tier four. I think the gap between tiers two and three is tighter than the gap between one and two.

[Pickled Prunes]

Boston is the tier one in the East. Philadelphia, New York, and Milwaukee are tier two. Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, and Miami are tier three. The rest are tier four. I think the gap between tiers two and three is tighter than the gap between one and two.

Yes, BOS is a tier-one on their own.
NYK might be tier-two on their own. They have at least six players that would start on most teams in the East.
MIL might be in tier-two if Middleton is healthy and Dame has his head right.
IND (I know, right) might sneak into tier-two as well. Turner, Siakam and Haliburton will be dangerous. A training camp together should help.

I would say ORL's upside is higher than every other remaining team in the East, ahead of or at least tied with PHI. PHI will likely have tier-two wins... but they have no shot at contention. They are very small outside of three centers that should never be on the floor together. Paul George is their next biggest player and will be forced to guard PF's much of the time. He's going to get beat up. Maxey is great, but Maxey/Lowry/Jackson is a small/old/bad guard rotation. They're a tier-three in a tier-two costume.

MIA is kind of the opposite of PHI. They will probably have an underwhelming season and be a tough out in the playoffs. I am a believer in Heat culture, but that roster composition is beat!

CLE has the assets to make significant moves, but right now their four best players are two centers and two PG's.

ATL is my wild card. Could surprise; could poop for coop. Their roster under performed with Murray and Snyder is a good coach that was handicapped by that pairing. I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting to avoid the play-in or fighting for lottery balls. Anything could happen outside of contending.

[watpho71]

Boston is the tier one in the East. Philadelphia, New York, and Milwaukee are tier two. Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, and Miami are tier three. The rest are tier four. I think the gap between tiers two and three is tighter than the gap between one and two.

Yes, BOS is a tier-one on their own.
NYK might be tier-two on their own. They have at least six players that would start on most teams in the East.
MIL might be in tier-two if Middleton is healthy and Dame has his head right.
IND (I know, right) might sneak into tier-two as well. Turner, Siakam and Haliburton will be dangerous. A training camp together should help.

I would say ORL's upside is higher than every other remaining team in the East, ahead of or at least tied with PHI. PHI will likely have tier-two wins... but they have no shot at contention. They are very small outside of three centers that should never be on the floor together. Paul George is their next biggest player and will be forced to guard PF's much of the time. He's going to get beat up. Maxey is great, but Maxey/Lowry/Jackson is a small/old/bad guard rotation. They're a tier-three in a tier-two costume.

MIA is kind of the opposite of PHI. They will probably have an underwhelming season and be a tough out in the playoffs. I am a believer in Heat culture, but that roster composition is beat!

CLE has the assets to make significant moves, but right now their four best players are two centers and two PG's.

ATL is my wild card. Could surprise; could poop for coop. Their roster under performed with Murray and Snyder is a good coach that was handicapped by that pairing. I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting to avoid the play-in or fighting for lottery balls. Anything could happen outside of contending.

Atlanta is pretty much in the same position as last season as far as most likely to be fighting for a spot to play Miami in the play-in game. The Hawks played their best basketball during a stretch in March beating Boston twice led by Murray, and sputtered down the stretch. Murray was the easier contract to trade and generated more interest.

My wild card is Charlotte and Charles Lee. They have roster organization/balance for the first time in a long time which should help to build some (a little bit) team chemistry. If healthy they could be looking at an opportunity for a play-in game.
Taj Gibson has never been a negative for any roster or locker room.

The team that might surprise is the team that has been so easy to criticize the past couple of seasons due to their underwhelming performance and run of bad luck, which is the Bulls. They just traded away their most-liked player (best defense) and lost their leading scorer in free agency, so they should be more of a mess. They attempted to move two other starters without success. There are zero expectations in the windy city for the Bulls. Yet they still have a respected coach who is not going to allow them to quit and so many players have something to prove on that roster that it would not surprise me if they are still a competitive team. Or at least until they trade them away. They need Patrick Williams to emerge and be on the court. Are 35 wins enough in the East for the play-in?

[Pickled Prunes]

Boston is the tier one in the East. Philadelphia, New York, and Milwaukee are tier two. Cleveland, Indiana, Orlando, and Miami are tier three. The rest are tier four. I think the gap between tiers two and three is tighter than the gap between one and two.

Yes, BOS is a tier-one on their own.
NYK might be tier-two on their own. They have at least six players that would start on most teams in the East.
MIL might be in tier-two if Middleton is healthy and Dame has his head right.
IND (I know, right) might sneak into tier-two as well. Turner, Siakam and Haliburton will be dangerous. A training camp together should help.

I would say ORL's upside is higher than every other remaining team in the East, ahead of or at least tied with PHI. PHI will likely have tier-two wins... but they have no shot at contention. They are very small outside of three centers that should never be on the floor together. Paul George is their next biggest player and will be forced to guard PF's much of the time. He's going to get beat up. Maxey is great, but Maxey/Lowry/Jackson is a small/old/bad guard rotation. They're a tier-three in a tier-two costume.

MIA is kind of the opposite of PHI. They will probably have an underwhelming season and be a tough out in the playoffs. I am a believer in Heat culture, but that roster composition is beat!

CLE has the assets to make significant moves, but right now their four best players are two centers and two PG's.

ATL is my wild card. Could surprise; could poop for coop. Their roster under performed with Murray and Snyder is a good coach that was handicapped by that pairing. I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting to avoid the play-in or fighting for lottery balls. Anything could happen outside of contending.

Atlanta is pretty much in the same position as last season as far as most likely to be fighting for a spot to play Miami in the play-in game. The Hawks played their best basketball during a stretch in March beating Boston twice led by Murray, and sputtered down the stretch. Murray was the easier contract to trade and generated more interest.

My wild card is Charlotte and Charles Lee. They have roster organization/balance for the first time in a long time which should help to build some (a little bit) team chemistry. If healthy they could be looking at an opportunity for a play-in game.
Taj Gibson has never been a negative for any roster or locker room.

The team that might surprise is the team that has been so easy to criticize the past couple of seasons due to their underwhelming performance and run of bad luck, which is the Bulls. They just traded away their most-liked player (best defense) and lost their leading scorer in free agency, so they should be more of a mess. They attempted to move two other starters without success. There are zero expectations in the windy city for the Bulls. Yet they still have a respected coach who is not going to allow them to quit and so many players have something to prove on that roster that it would not surprise me if they are still a competitive team. Or at least until they trade them away. They need Patrick Williams to emerge and be on the court. Are 35 wins enough in the East for the play-in?

I agree on ATL for the most part. My counter would be that the Murray pairing didn't work and their roster might be better (and their coach is definitely better) than when they went to the ECF. I expect play-in, but they could be a surprise tier-two and they could be a tire fire.

Brandon Miller is going to be a stud, but I don't believe CHA's roster is ready to compete. And I'm not sure any rookie head coach will get through to some of the bone-heads on that roster. That said, the East is shallow enough that they might accidentally make the play-in.

You lost me on CHI. I think everyone underestimated how important DeMar was to keeping them afloat; and I think they overestimated how important Caruso was... and it doesn't matter because they lost both. I am excited to see Giddy have a shot at running an offense but I doubt CHI have enough win a play-in game. My guess is that they enter the season with one goal: Feed LaVine as much as possible; try to prove he's healthy and can still put the ball in the hole. Whether they can trade him or not, the second half of the season should be all about Cooper.

Five teams in each conference miss the play-in. Is it weird that there are six teams in the East (CHI, BRK, TOR, DET, WAS and CHA) that will surprise me if they make the play-in? I know it's a mathematical necessity that at least one of them make it, and yet I will be shocked whichever of them pulls it off. It's a paradox of the NBA universe!

In the West, POR is the only team I know won't make it. Four teams are going to be disappointed!