NEWS: Paolo Banchero Agrees to a 5-Year Maximum Extension

[GelbeWand09]

Congrats Paolo.
I'm not a fan of his playertype (not eff. oneway scorer / drive 1st player without good finishing touch) and playing style (offensive flow killing 2000s iso style) and so far he only showed that he can put up scoring numbers on bad efficiency and leading bottom 8 offenses but I'm open minded and he is young enough to still improve a lot.
His best case scenario is probably Brunson/ Mitchell impact if he becomes a +.600TS% scorer and improves his playmaking. All other top 10-15 players are either 2way players or legendary good offense players like Luka, Curry Jokic who are just a different talent level. Hali who is only a good scorer + elite passer and bad defender is reachable too for him. If Franz ever becomes a +36% 3pointshooter he probably will never be the highest impact player on the Magic.

Good thing is that the east is so bad that your best player doesn't need to be a top 5 player and maybe not even a top 10 player if your team is deep enough to reach the east finals or NBA finals.

[Skin]

Watch on YouTube

.

[SloNick Russia]

I don't think Paolo is a negative defender by default. He doesn't have phisical limitations to play defense and with more balanced offense he should get better in terms of effort on D. Rebounding should improve for sure, but looks like he knows it himself.
Advanced stats are just bogus. Sure there are many role players with awsome efficency metrics, but would it be the same if they are given 1st option duties and opponents whole gameplan is to slow you down?
Last March we kind of saw Paolo at his full speed and production was impressive. Plus the playoffs. Dude is a force you need to play with the best teams.
P.S. Would not mind him to miss 18 games next season to save our cap.

Sent from my SM-S928B using RealGM mobile app

[YosemiteSam]

My favorite are the haters quoting the amount Paolo gets paid if he makes All NBA, and then saying he isn’t worth it when he just made All NBA in his fourth season. In other words, a Top 15 player.

[jezzerinho]

Congrats Paolo.
I'm not a fan of his playertype (not eff. oneway scorer / drive 1st player without good finishing touch) and playing style (offensive flow killing 2000s iso style) and so far he only showed that he can put up scoring numbers on bad efficiency and leading bottom 8 offenses but I'm open minded and he is young enough to still improve a lot.
His best case scenario is probably Brunson/ Mitchell impact if he becomes a +.600TS% scorer and improves his playmaking. All other top 10-15 players are either 2way players or legendary good offense players like Luka, Curry Jokic who are just a different talent level. Hali who is only a good scorer + elite passer and bad defender is reachable too for him. If Franz ever becomes a +36% 3pointshooter he probably will never be the highest impact player on the Magic.

Good thing is that the east is so bad that your best player doesn't need to be a top 5 player and maybe not even a top 10 player if your team is deep enough to reach the east finals or NBA finals.

It must be a breeze to be a top 3 defense in the NBA. After all, CoJo is useless as a defender, Paolo is a pure one-way player and Wendell is a waste of space in the paint.

60% of our team terrible at defending and yet we were top 3. Whoah, maybe we shouldn't have let KCP go - he and Franz were obviously doing everyone else's job too.

[drsd]

... maybe we shouldn't have let KCP go ...

Where is the "Report this Post" button?

[BlueBlazer]

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

25 seconds of lowlights?

[RichCollab]

I’m pumped we maxed him out.

I’m not sure where the hate comes from but let’s triple it by making a lot of noise this year.

[JoshuaPotter]

Small market team = Paolo has negotiating advantage if the player option was a holdup. Either way, this contract is completely underwhelming in terms of surprise.

I too would like to see Paolo improve. Good news is that there is a lot of room for growth both as a system around him and at an individual metric. Hopefully with actual scorers we can see his defense improve and his offense improve as he faces less lane clogging.

He (and Franz) need to do 2 things. - 1 - Get to league average in terms of 3 ball. - 2 - Improving the feed off of each other when they are on the court while playing to their strengths when they are off the court.

In reality, a healthy Suggs + Bane backcourt should be what makes Paolos world go round and the Mo - Franz - actual NBA point guard - Isaac - Black rotation is likely going to crush any 2nd string opponents.

[meatwad4343]

He also has consistently showed up big in the playoffs also

[drsd]

He also has consistently showed up big in the playoffs also

Playoff Paulo has been b-e-a-utiful.

[VFX]

Congrats Paolo.
I'm not a fan of his playertype (not eff. oneway scorer / drive 1st player without good finishing touch) and playing style (offensive flow killing 2000s iso style) and so far he only showed that he can put up scoring numbers on bad efficiency and leading bottom 8 offenses but I'm open minded and he is young enough to still improve a lot.
His best case scenario is probably Brunson/ Mitchell impact if he becomes a +.600TS% scorer and improves his playmaking. All other top 10-15 players are either 2way players or legendary good offense players like Luka, Curry Jokic who are just a different talent level. Hali who is only a good scorer + elite passer and bad defender is reachable too for him. If Franz ever becomes a +36% 3pointshooter he probably will never be the highest impact player on the Magic.

Good thing is that the east is so bad that your best player doesn't need to be a top 5 player and maybe not even a top 10 player if your team is deep enough to reach the east finals or NBA finals.

Here’s hoping he can be an above average rebounder or defender during this contract.

[jonbob17]

Player option? Thats a little dramatic. Kind of needling the front office and the team if you ask me.

Honestly, it’s there because there’s a path where Paolo can get the supermax from us earlier.
It’s wealth maximization.

I get why he wants it. But when is enough enough, and where does winning become more important. 5% doesn't sound like much but it's a huge deal under these new rules.

I guess it seems like of one of those ego things. Luka got this, so should I. but Luka was an MVP candidate in year two, with insane production and efficiency.

I am sure we all believe Paolo is going to get there, and his playoff run has been phenomenal. What makes a player/agent demand the player option vs guys like Franz, Cade, Mobley. Just seems like a little jab.

[CocoaFan]

Doesn’t the extension start two seasons from now?

starts after next season.

So: the Magic is on the 2026/27 books for:
Franz Wagner 41,754,636
Paolo Banchero 41,250,000
Desmond Bane 39,446,090
Jalen Suggs 32,400,000
Wendell Carter 18,102,000
Jonathan Isaac 14,500,000
Anthony Black 10,105,996
Goga Bitadze 7,608,696
Jett Howard 7,337,655
Tristan da Silva 3,991,200
Jase Richardson 3,132,360
Noah Penda 2,150,917

Total: 221,779,550

That's only 12 players, so 2 more MUST be signed. As the first apron is 209M and the second is 222M, there is some movement required. i.e. there is no "roll-it-back" roster for next year.

So: let's just enjoy this year and leave the future to a future discussion
(( but: Howard's got to go! ))

Not to worry. Some combination of Wendell ($18.1M), Goga ($7.6M)', Isaac ($14.5M)' and Jett ($7.3M -decline option) can be moved to get us under the 1st apron. Look for trades for expiring players at the trade deadline then signing cheaper players in the off-season. Weltman will have more work to do.

[magicfan217]

I dont know who needs to hear this but that player option has nothing to do with Paolo wanting to leave and everything to do with his ability to get more money. Paolo won't leave in free agency. He MAY decide he wants out and allow the magic to trade him but he will not leave money on the table. That's just not how it works anymore.

Regardless, we have the pieces around Paolo...if he's a legit top 10 NBA player he will have enough to win. That's what should make everyone excited!

[fateis007]

Glad to have him long term

And some people are just downright crazy. All you need to do is look at his playoff averages to see this guy is going to be a problem.

in 12 play games, he is averaging 28/9/5 and shooting 42% from three (on almost 6 attempts), at 22 years old and being absolutely suffocated by our shooting woes.

If that is not a franchise player, that steps up in the big lights, then idk what is.

[three3d]

The craziest thing about Paolo that gets lost in his numbers is just how good he is on such inefficient play. Seriously think about these numbers , 26 ppg , 7 rpg, and right at 5 assist per game in a horribly broken offense. By simply just improving his free throw percentage (72.7 % ) he will be right at 28 ppg, how many easy bunnies does Paolo miss around the rim? Bump that up to about 30 ppg just improving his finishing at the rim %. It’s crazy how much better he can be statistically with just the simple things.

[SloNick Russia]

We have seen Paolo games last season. He was very bad after the injury for over a month. His season stats don't tell the story, he made a legit leap at tge end of the season and should be even better in 25-26.

Sent from my SM-S928B using RealGM mobile app

[jonbob17]

The craziest thing about Paolo that gets lost in his numbers is just how good he is on such inefficient play. Seriously think about these numbers , 26 ppg , 7 rpg, and right at 5 assist per game in a horribly broken offense. By simply just improving his free throw percentage (72.7 % ) he will be right at 28 ppg, how many easy bunnies does Paolo miss around the rim? Bump that up to about 30 ppg just improving his finishing at the rim %. It’s crazy how much better he can be statistically with just the simple things.

Paolo's problem is settling for long jumpers. Last year he took 28% of his shots >10 feet and inside the arc. and he made those at just over 40%. Eventually those are going to turn in to passes or drives. I would also assume the FT% would rise a bit as he develops. Franz took 13% of his shots between 10 and Three(Franz efficiency torpedoed by the threes)

Really if he just reduced those long jumpers a bit he'd probably be at league average. eventually I reckon he'll be pretty efficient, 61% or so, especially with all the FTs. I'd like to see him cut down on some of the turnovers

I still see Paolo as a Jokic-lite or Lebron-lite. Their super powers are far more skill/athleticism, but he does some of the same things as both. If the over/under on career MVPs is 0.5, I'd take the over, but there sure are a lot of young talented guys coming up.

[three3d]

The craziest thing about Paolo that gets lost in his numbers is just how good he is on such inefficient play. Seriously think about these numbers , 26 ppg , 7 rpg, and right at 5 assist per game in a horribly broken offense. By simply just improving his free throw percentage (72.7 % ) he will be right at 28 ppg, how many easy bunnies does Paolo miss around the rim? Bump that up to about 30 ppg just improving his finishing at the rim %. It’s crazy how much better he can be statistically with just the simple things.

Paolo's problem is settling for long jumpers. Last year he took 28% of his shots >10 feet and inside the arc. and he made those at just over 40%. Eventually those are going to turn in to passes or drives. I would also assume the FT% would rise a bit as he develops. Franz took 13% of his shots between 10 and Three(Franz efficiency torpedoed by the threes)

Really if he just reduced those long jumpers a bit he'd probably be at league average. eventually I reckon he'll be pretty efficient, 61% or so, especially with all the FTs. I'd like to see him cut down on some of the turnovers

I still see Paolo as a Jokic-lite or Lebron-lite. Their super powers are far more skill/athleticism, but he does some of the same things as both. If the over/under on career MVPs is 0.5, I'd take the over, but there sure are a lot of young talented guys coming up.

He’s put up all his numbers on pure skill alone which is pretty amazing yet also not very efficient. Instead of having and actual offense around him he had to be the offense. That’s going to change this season by the free against signings and coaching staff changes.