The Anthony Black Thread

[basketballRob]

Exactly why he was picked.

He looks like one of our sponsor’s money maker.

He's also just a really good basketball player.

Yeah 30% from 3, 70% from the line, really good.

I could name dozens of college freshmen who put up those numbers and went on to be all-stars in the NBA.

Mike Conley had the exact shooting percentages as Black. Conley was playing with Odom, so he had more assists. Derozan was much worse.

Conley, after 15 NBA seasons, has shot .382 from 3, 82% from the FT.



https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/mike-conley-1.html

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[Magic#1]

Read on Twitter

Rocking those sweet sweet Magic shorts. We got one

Still a little bit of a slow release, but from that view his form looks like it has already improved. If Black and Suggs can develop decent shots, that's our starting backcourt.

[GatorKid117]

Watch on YouTube

Cool video. Was surprising to hear the Djoker leave him a voicemail wishing him luck. Wonder if he did that to all of the projected top picks?

[basketballRob]

Watch on YouTube

Cool video. Was surprising to hear the Djoker leave him a voicemail wishing him luck. Wonder if he did that to all of the projected top picks?

I think they have the same agent.

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[SOUL]

He's also just a really good basketball player.

Yeah 30% from 3, 70% from the line, really good.

I could name dozens of college freshmen who put up those numbers and went on to be all-stars in the NBA.

Mike Conley had the exact shooting percentages as Black. Conley was playing with Odom, so he had more assists. Derozan was much worse.

Conley, after 15 NBA seasons, has shot .382 from 3, 82% from the FT.



https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/mike-conley-1.html

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Not even dozens.. like most draft picks.. or else they would be #1/#2 picks lol..

[Braggins]

Black was my favorite player in the draft. I watched 20+ Arkansas games this season. I had him 4th on my board and think the Rockets are crazy for not taking him. I'll be watching a lot of Magic games this season and there is a non-zero chance I end up a straight up Orlando fan. Big fan of Franz as well.

[Anti Chalmers]

After missing out on the Thompson twins, Black was my top choice.

[Orl_Magic]

Yeah 30% from 3, 70% from the line, really good.

I could name dozens of college freshmen who put up those numbers and went on to be all-stars in the NBA.

Mike Conley had the exact shooting percentages as Black. Conley was playing with Odom, so he had more assists. Derozan was much worse.

Conley, after 15 NBA seasons, has shot .382 from 3, 82% from the FT.



https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/mike-conley-1.html

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Not even dozens.. like most draft picks.. or else they would be #1/#2 picks lol..

Okay Conleys shot release never took as long as Black's does. Black's shot is getting blocked against hard close outs.

[DiplomaticMagic]

We will never find out but I am dying to know if Ausar and AB were both on the board, who would we have drafted.

[eyriq]

"Anthony and Keyonte have been friends since childhood. We were able to catch a special moment between the two”

[basketballRob]

I could name dozens of college freshmen who put up those numbers and went on to be all-stars in the NBA.

Mike Conley had the exact shooting percentages as Black. Conley was playing with Odom, so he had more assists. Derozan was much worse.

Conley, after 15 NBA seasons, has shot .382 from 3, 82% from the FT.



https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/mike-conley-1.html

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Not even dozens.. like most draft picks.. or else they would be #1/#2 picks lol..

Okay Conleys shot release never took as long as Black's does. Black's shot is getting blocked against hard close outs.

Watch Haliburton and Shai shoot. Those players are always wide open because they dribble well enough to create space.

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[zaymon]

Those are not hot takes, dude is 25 and doesnt have anything he is good at besides shooting midrangers. Look at his stats and tell me what makes him a GOOD player. Becouse i dont see it on film and i dont see it looking at stats. What am i missing ? He is average at best.

Injuries may have stunted his growth because it doesn't appear that his numbers have plateued yet. I know Vuc didn't start shooting threes until he was 26 and had a big jump in his TS. Markelle could do the same.

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It's not like the guy didn't have to battle through recovery from TOS... after it was misdiagnosed by everyone and he was labeled a bust for it. I'm not a pro or anything... buuuuuut... I'm going to go off on a limb and guess that a shoulder is an important thing for shooting. Now... this has to be managed.... and it's like once he felt better that they said... go ahead and just jack up 1000 3's a day... as that could jeopardize his health again if not managed properly. The last 2 season have been marred by leg injuries.... one a knee injury that based on the sh** he was doing at the end of the season... athleticism is no longer an issue. then there was a toe that stripped him of the opportunity to practice and develop with our new core. I think they are going to love playing with Fultz once they are on the same page... where to cut and where to relocate. All that comes from practice and game reps. The BEST of Fultz and Franz/Paolo connections have just started. He showed a desire to let it fly at the end of the season... as he shifted from the parts of his game that he focused on utilizing and sharpening the skills he was more comfortable with. Down the stretch when play-ins were no longer a possibility.... he said "f*** it" and let it fly. Literally... lol.... but of course people had to make a big issue about that... "oh he's just saying it to get a new contract" and building their own narratives to continue their cycle of dislike. But hey... overlooking all of his talents and boiling it down simply to "he can't 3s right now and i don't think he ever will... cuz i say so" is a fallacy for some. We know he was decent at shooting before the NBA... had an injury that derailed his career... and we know that he's doing his best to build back up his confidence and continue his growth... YES... even at 26. Trajectory has been shifted... but his path to possible greatness still exists. Not sure if he will ever make it... but if I was a GM... i'm not giving up on this ticket unless what i'm receiving has true value. But just giving up on a guy to plug in another guy that is inexperienced and unproven might not be the best of ideas. If all someone wanted was to not extend fultz into next season.... then you might as well hold onto him till the end of next season and see what he's worth. And if he does great.... resign him... or at least sign and trade him. IF he doesn't do great.... move on and that's fine.

A lot of words to excuse a mediocre player.
Since college he was a negative player. I wont even go into his weird injuries, but its fiting that he is diagnosed with injury which cant be proven by any examination. A lot of risk for minimal upside. It would be crazy for us to invest in such a player. If we extend him its first big mistake by Weltman. I dont expect it.

[SOUL]

Let's stop turning every thread into a Fultz thread. First and last warning in this thread.

I don't care if you bring him up in terms of talking about Black playing with-behind-etc but there's plenty of Markelle threads to go around in circles again.

[drsd]

Let's stop turning every thread into a Fultz thread. First and last warning in this thread.

I don't care if you bring him up in terms of talking about Black playing with-behind-etc but there's plenty of Markelle threads to go around in circles again.

To be the first to break your "rule": Black isn't backing up Carter at the C slot. So I for one am excited to see how Black learns, grows and develops his game under they tutelage of Fultz. There can be little doubt that the purpose of this season is about creating growth for Black so that he can be this teams starting PG, hopefully from opening night of the 2024/25 season. That means that Fultz has the job of training his replacement. That will be fun and interesting to see how these two "get on" and work together.

In conclusion: Black is young and has the most room to grow of any player available at 6. Him being selected is going on me!

And Black is just so cute. You just want to pinch those cheeks given how happy he always is. If you told me he was 15/16 years old, I would believe you!







And off topic:

[eyriq]

His personality is a huge positive in his favor. I think him and Franz in particular will get along.

[Nyce_1]

"Anthony and Keyonte have been friends since childhood. We were able to catch a special moment between the two”

You could tell they talked about ending up in Orlando together. George points to AB's hat and says something like "...just like in the chat".

[eyriq]

"Anthony and Keyonte have been friends since childhood. We were able to catch a special moment between the two”

You could tell they talked about ending up in Orlando together. George points to AB's hat and says something like "...just like in the chat".

If Keyonte hits I'll be so bummed. He really needs to suck, for my mental health

[yoyojw17]

Injuries may have stunted his growth because it doesn't appear that his numbers have plateued yet. I know Vuc didn't start shooting threes until he was 26 and had a big jump in his TS. Markelle could do the same.

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It's not like the guy didn't have to battle through recovery from TOS... after it was misdiagnosed by everyone and he was labeled a bust for it. I'm not a pro or anything... buuuuuut... I'm going to go off on a limb and guess that a shoulder is an important thing for shooting. Now... this has to be managed.... and it's like once he felt better that they said... go ahead and just jack up 1000 3's a day... as that could jeopardize his health again if not managed properly. The last 2 season have been marred by leg injuries.... one a knee injury that based on the sh** he was doing at the end of the season... athleticism is no longer an issue. then there was a toe that stripped him of the opportunity to practice and develop with our new core. I think they are going to love playing with Fultz once they are on the same page... where to cut and where to relocate. All that comes from practice and game reps. The BEST of Fultz and Franz/Paolo connections have just started. He showed a desire to let it fly at the end of the season... as he shifted from the parts of his game that he focused on utilizing and sharpening the skills he was more comfortable with. Down the stretch when play-ins were no longer a possibility.... he said "f*** it" and let it fly. Literally... lol.... but of course people had to make a big issue about that... "oh he's just saying it to get a new contract" and building their own narratives to continue their cycle of dislike. But hey... overlooking all of his talents and boiling it down simply to "he can't 3s right now and i don't think he ever will... cuz i say so" is a fallacy for some. We know he was decent at shooting before the NBA... had an injury that derailed his career... and we know that he's doing his best to build back up his confidence and continue his growth... YES... even at 26. Trajectory has been shifted... but his path to possible greatness still exists. Not sure if he will ever make it... but if I was a GM... i'm not giving up on this ticket unless what i'm receiving has true value. But just giving up on a guy to plug in another guy that is inexperienced and unproven might not be the best of ideas. If all someone wanted was to not extend fultz into next season.... then you might as well hold onto him till the end of next season and see what he's worth. And if he does great.... resign him... or at least sign and trade him. IF he doesn't do great.... move on and that's fine.

A lot of words to excuse a mediocre player.
Since college he was a negative player. I wont even go into his weird injuries, but its fiting that he is diagnosed with injury which cant be proven by any examination. A lot of risk for minimal upside. It would be crazy for us to invest in such a player. If we extend him its first big mistake by Weltman. I dont expect it.

Well... if you can't see his value... there's not much i can do about it. Looking past everything that has happened to him... and circumstances he has admirably played in.... i still believe there is much more to his game and the fit might be better than people think, beyond the "Well... he can't shoot"

[basketballRob]

Keyonte probably wasn't picked because he's redundant to Cole, Suggs, and Harris. All of them are on the smaller side.

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[MAGICian619]

"Anthony and Keyonte have been friends since childhood. We were able to catch a special moment between the two”

Thought about you when I saw that part