eyriq wrote:To reach this upside he needs playing time. To get playing time we need to avoid blocking him. Which is why I vote no on acquiring a PG with our pre-extension cap space and draft equity.
This here is ultimately the disconnect.
Unlike Jett Howard who isn't playing at all, Anthony Black actually has played somewhat regularly this year. He's almost at 1000 minutes. And he's probably going to end up playing roughly 1500 minutes this season. He has a chance to finish top 10 among rookies in minutes played.
But ultimately he is not really developing simply by playing because - through a combination of how he's being used and his own limitations from a skill and personality perspective - he's not really doing any of the things he needs to do on the court offensively to really expand his horizons as a player and ultimately assume a larger role next season.
He's basically a stand still and wait for a pass player offensively who sometimes dribbles the ball across halfcourt. He initiates no offense for himself or others on his own.
That isn't going to change until a combination of the Magic using him differently and him improving his skill and confidence level to actually try and do... anything... offensively with the ball actually happens.
It would be a brutal mistake to not acquire a high end point guard because of Black's presence.
Get Fultz and Cole the hell out of here, bring in somebody capable of handling 28-33 minutes a night to be the starter and get Black to develop as a lead guard by actually using him as the on the basketball as the backup PG. Live with the consequences of his inevitable struggles that they *should* have gotten out of the way this year, but didn't.