Cole World: Orlando Magic Select Cole Anthony at #15

[Dub_Sax]

Maturity level: fighting on twitter he won't let team down and won't tank. Than look at standings and see 21-44 record.
It will be fun in few years when we draft some projected role player and Jalen Green turns into 25 ppg to read comments how career backup Cole Anthony had army of fanboys that tried to convice themselfs that he will "lead" Orlando because it's "his town"

#MoralVictories2018Again

To be clear, I am much more enthusiastic about Fultz than Anthony. In particular, Fultz can be an elite Pick and Roll player. That is an NBA skill. Anthony for me looks like he could become a really good back-up so far.

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Hampton than Cole.

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[Skin]

To be clear, I am much more enthusiastic about Fultz than Anthony. In particular, Fultz can be an elite Pick and Roll player. That is an NBA skill. Anthony for me looks like he could become a really good back-up so far.

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Hampton than Cole.

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Wouldn't shock me one bit if Hampton turned out to be the superior player. Cole is a poser.

[paperboymafia]

Maturity level: fighting on twitter he won't let team down and won't tank. Than look at standings and see 21-44 record.
It will be fun in few years when we draft some projected role player and Jalen Green turns into 25 ppg to read comments how career backup Cole Anthony had army of fanboys that tried to convice themselfs that he will "lead" Orlando because it's "his town"

#MoralVictories2018Again

To be clear, I am much more enthusiastic about Fultz than Anthony. In particular, Fultz can be an elite Pick and Roll player. That is an NBA skill. Anthony for me looks like he could become a really good back-up so far.

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Fultz. Cole is fun at the moment, that's great , not knocking him or his fire but it's clear that when you watch Fultz play that everything seems more "natural" to him and to me it just = more promise, now...if it comes together for him or not is the real question!

[drsd]

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Hampton than Cole.[/quote]

It is interesting that Orlando basically was choosing between Anthony and Hampton, and now these two players get to duke it out to be the starting PG next year; auditioning as the future primary backup behind Fultz. I guess the odd man out would be traded or used as a backup SG. I cannot see either Anthony or Hampton being retained as a 3rd stringer.


..

[nicnac215]

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Hampton than Cole.

It is interesting that Orlando basically was choosing between Anthony and Hampton, and now these two players get to duke it out to be the starting PG next year; auditioning as the future primary backup behind Fultz. I guess the odd man out would be traded or used as a backup SG. I cannot see either Anthony or Hampton being retained as a 3rd stringer.


..[/quote]
I think Fultz is the backup pg if he doesn’t come back firing open 3s with no hesitation. We need our starting guards being a threat to shoot it from deep anytime they have the ball. Rj looks like a SG, but he will go as far as his shooting takes him. Cole is going to be in the NBA for a long time. I teeter on him being a fringe starter at best to becoming an all star level player. It really just depends on if he can get to the ft line consistently and shoot efficiently. He works really hard and I bet he will train in the off-season with stars (Westbrook) and then down the line mentor our younger/new players. Future is exciting. Hopefully some lottery luck and we can draft our cornerstone.

[RookieStar]

I have higher hopes for Fultz than Cole as irrational as it may sound too

I have higher hopes for Hampton than Cole.

It is interesting that Orlando basically was choosing between Anthony and Hampton, and now these two players get to duke it out to be the starting PG next year; auditioning as the future primary backup behind Fultz. I guess the odd man out would be traded or used as a backup SG. I cannot see either Anthony or Hampton being retained as a 3rd stringer.


..

I think Fultz is the backup pg if he doesn’t come back firing open 3s with no hesitation. We need our starting guards being a threat to shoot it from deep anytime they have the ball. Rj looks like a SG, but he will go as far as his shooting takes him. Cole is going to be in the NBA for a long time. I teeter on him being a fringe starter at best to becoming an all star level player. It really just depends on if he can get to the ft line consistently and shoot efficiently. He works really hard and I bet he will train in the off-season with stars (Westbrook) and then down the line mentor our younger/new players. Future is exciting. Hopefully some lottery luck and we can draft our cornerstone.[/quote]

I think we will slot-in Cole as the starting SG to go along with Fultz as the PG. That's why im hoping for Cade, so he can slide in to the starting SF spot. Give us 3 ball-handlers in the back-court so anyone we sub-in ( be it MCW, Ross, Chuma, RJ, Harris ) doesn't have to worry about match-ups.

Fultz right now has the best ball-handling and court-general skill in our lineup injured or not.

[Knightro]

I liked Hampton a lot more in the pre-draft process than Anthony.

On my overall top 40, I had Hampton 17th and Anthony 30th.

Eliminating guys who I didn't think would make it to 15, I had Hampton as my third choice for that pick behind Kira Lewis Jr who ended up going 13 and Josh Green who hasn't cracked the Mavericks rotation yet.

RJ is bigger and longer than Cole. 6'3" barefoot with a 6'7" wingspan compared to 6' 1/2 barefoot with a 6'4" 1/2 wingspan.

Anthony is really just a one position defender at that size. Theoretically Hampton should eventually be able to guard 1s and 2s.

I don't think he's a point guard, but I think he has enough size and length to potentially be a starting shooting guard who provides some secondary creation skill.

Cole pretty much has to play point guard at his size if he's going to start. Off the bench he can be a microwave type of scorer, but Hampton probably has more upside overall.

[pepe1991]

You guys are stressing too much about future bench players.
Hampton does not have shooting to be shooting guard nor creativity, BBIQ nor patience to play point guard.

Cole can't shoot well enough nor defend SGs to be SG and also has no skills to be lead point guard.

Both are projected rotation players/ bench players, depending on situation. When you have MCW, who is definition of "depth" player, and who is head and shoulders better than them , despite him, himself being almost out of league few times already, you get clear picture what you are having.

Sure they are rookies, but they can't run offense at all. ( we are second worst offense only ahead of OKC who on purpose puts teams without point guards...) Cole has games where he plays 30 min, shoots 15 times and has like 2 assists. He doesn't get what's his job should be. He sits on season 48,7% TS and he flat out does not bring positive vlaue when he shoots.

Both Hampton (-15,2) and Cole (-13,7) are terrible when it comes to impact after allstar break ( trades). Their net ratings are in both cases lower than team's net rating in that period.

Other than typical " just a rookie" BS there is very little positive to say about them.

If Orlando wants bright future, finding starting SG will be one of a keys. And those two guys are not objective solutions.
Fultz, himself, is below average starting PG but compared to this guys, he is like Chris Paul. At least he understands what his role as playmaker should be.

[drsd]

Cole pretty much has to play point guard at his size if he's going to start. Off the bench he can be a microwave type of scorer, but Hampton probably has more upside overall.

I admired Vinnie Johnson's game. His attitude a bucket-pail approach to defence would be admiral qualities for Anthony to develop.

[KillMonger]

Cole’s size and length is an issue but his athleticism saves him a bit. I definitely see him as a microwave off the bench. RJ has something that’s elite already and that’s his speed. The game has to slow down for him though. Both these kids have the potential to exceed being role players but only time will tell. Either way if this is the ground floor I can’t to see how the rest is built.

P.S

This has to be said though, if Clifford is still around we HAVE to change the way we play. We have too much speed and athleticism to not take advantage of it. We should be running teams out the gym next season. I think I’m going to lose my mind if next season comes around and we’re still walking the ball up court.


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[MagicMatic]

You guys are stressing too much about future bench players.
Hampton does not have shooting to be shooting guard nor creativity, BBIQ nor patience to play point guard.

Cole can't shoot well enough nor defend SGs to be SG and also has no skills to be lead point guard.

Both are projected rotation players/ bench players, depending on situation. When you have MCW, who is definition of "depth" player, and who is head and shoulders better than them , despite him, himself being almost out of league few times already, you get clear picture what you are having.

Sure they are rookies, but they can't run offense at all. ( we are second worst offense only ahead of OKC who on purpose puts teams without point guards...) Cole has games where he plays 30 min, shoots 15 times and has like 2 assists. He doesn't get what's his job should be. He sits on season 48,7% TS and he flat out does not bring positive vlaue when he shoots.

Both Hampton (-15,2) and Cole (-13,7) are terrible when it comes to impact after allstar break ( trades). Their net ratings are in both cases lower than team's net rating in that period.

Other than typical " just a rookie" BS there is very little positive to say about them.

If Orlando wants bright future, finding starting SG will be one of a keys. And those two guys are not objective solutions.
Fultz, himself, is below average starting PG but compared to this guys, he is like Chris Paul. At least he understands what his role as playmaker should be.

As someone that wanted AG out after his contract extension, I think people don’t really know what they have until after their sophomore season.

This depends entirely on what Cole and RJ do with their development time.

That being said, I don’t really believe Cole is a starting point guard in this league. Hampton has more of a chance imo of earning that spot. I also don’t really believe Fultz is a starting caliber point guard for nearly all nba teams.

We can’t really write them off as anywhere close to finished projects.... at least Cole and Hampton.

[MagicFan101]

We have already seen a lot of growth from Cole and RJ in such short period of time. You can see the lights turning on and the game slowing down for them.

I don’t understand how anyone can start writing the book on them today.

They are rookies with great attitudes, great energy and a clear drive for improvement. What is there to stress or complain about? Just be happy we have them and enjoy the progress.

Hopefully we have Fultz or Suggs healthy and ready to be the lead PG next year so Cole and RJ can step back to bench roles they are better suited for. Still, they should be getting plenty of playing time even in reserve roles.

[Bensational]

I'm not in the camp that have high hopes for Cole or RJ becoming all stars, but I like what they're showing so far, despite their flaws. Cole is a hard worker who's hungry to be great, with some big energy. RJ seems to respond to that, and I think the two could do well driving each other to improve.

Let the kids grow, we've got nothing else to do right now.

[RookieStar]

We have already seen a lot of growth from Cole and RJ in such short period of time. You can see the lights turning on and the game slowing down for them.

I don’t understand how anyone can start writing the book on them today.

They are rookies with great attitudes, great energy and a clear drive for improvement. What is there to stress or complain about? Just be happy we have them and enjoy the progress.

Hopefully we have Fultz or Suggs healthy and ready to be the lead PG next year so Cole and RJ can step back to bench roles they are better suited for. Still, they should be getting plenty of playing time even in reserve roles.

Same.. judging rookies or 2nd year players already? Wow.. how low have we come too?

Let's face it.. if Cole and even RJ/Chuma continues their upwards trajectory in improvement, they could become better players in 2-3 years over Cade/Green if those 2 does not put in the same type of work and instead rely on their natural born talent and skills only.

[pepe1991]

We have already seen a lot of growth from Cole and RJ in such short period of time. You can see the lights turning on and the game slowing down for them.

I don’t understand how anyone can start writing the book on them today.

They are rookies with great attitudes, great energy and a clear drive for improvement. What is there to stress or complain about? Just be happy we have them and enjoy the progress.

Hopefully we have Fultz or Suggs healthy and ready to be the lead PG next year so Cole and RJ can step back to bench roles they are better suited for. Still, they should be getting plenty of playing time even in reserve roles.

You don't understand how people will "write them off" but also point how they are better suited for bench role, witch is execlly what "other people " said. So you don't understand something that you tend to agree with ?

That's execlly the point. They are better suited for bench of one of worst teams i nba. That means they are projected marginal nba players at best. And if they develop, witch is vague prediction because Cole won't grow any more and Hampton won't learn how to shoot like elite shooter becaues he never could shoot is always nicer way to say "they suck now but i'm not ready to call it".

The truth is, we are bad team, we play bad players on purpose. That's why they got so much playing time. If we are not active tanker with injuries of Ross and Fultz in particular ,they would play 12-15 mpg and would not get 15 shots a game. Because they don't have leash nor limited PT, every once in a awhile they will put nice games here and there. Because they are still nba players and that's execlly what nba players do. Dwayne Bacon putting 18-20 points a game is best example how little context of stats you have while watching this sort of basketball. Where front office puts crap together on purpose.

However, that doesn't mean they are now "great prospects" , or how somebody said that Hampton is better than Green. That's asinine. Basketball is usage driven sport, just look context of usage of our "next year allstar" Gordon when he is pulled from 23% usage rate to only role he was ever suited to play. Guy looks like Ronda Hollis Jefferson twin brother.

[MagicFan101]

We have already seen a lot of growth from Cole and RJ in such short period of time. You can see the lights turning on and the game slowing down for them.

I don’t understand how anyone can start writing the book on them today.

They are rookies with great attitudes, great energy and a clear drive for improvement. What is there to stress or complain about? Just be happy we have them and enjoy the progress.

Hopefully we have Fultz or Suggs healthy and ready to be the lead PG next year so Cole and RJ can step back to bench roles they are better suited for. Still, they should be getting plenty of playing time even in reserve roles.

You don't understand how people will "write them off" but also point how they are better suited for bench role, witch is execlly what "other people " said. So you don't understand something that you tend to agree with ?

a) I didn’t say “write them off” ... read my post again.

b) Even if it was, why is a bench role being “written off”? Terrance Ross comes off the bench and has a defined role on the team with plenty of playing time. Was Manu “written off” in San Antonio while coming off the bench? It depends on their role.

[pepe1991]

We have already seen a lot of growth from Cole and RJ in such short period of time. You can see the lights turning on and the game slowing down for them.

I don’t understand how anyone can start writing the book on them today.

They are rookies with great attitudes, great energy and a clear drive for improvement. What is there to stress or complain about? Just be happy we have them and enjoy the progress.

Hopefully we have Fultz or Suggs healthy and ready to be the lead PG next year so Cole and RJ can step back to bench roles they are better suited for. Still, they should be getting plenty of playing time even in reserve roles.

You don't understand how people will "write them off" but also point how they are better suited for bench role, witch is execlly what "other people " said. So you don't understand something that you tend to agree with ?

a) I didn’t say “write them off” ... read my post again.

b) Even if it was, why is a bench role being “written off”? Terrance Ross comes off the bench and has a defined role on the team with plenty of playing time. Was Manu “written off” in San Antonio while coming off the bench? It depends on their role.

Manu was only "bench" player because he didn't start in first min of a game. Guy averaged 30 mpg for vast majority of his peak career.

If Fultz starts and gets 30 mpg, whoever we draft gets 30 mpg, Ross & Harris are there, at laest one of Cole/Hampton is DNP/ fringe rotation player guy. There is no "plenty of time" to develop everybody. You have 48 min per game. Your starters will eat majority of it. There is no point of rolling out with 4 to 5 guys who are all 6'1-6'4 and have similar, overlapping skills. Simply waste of time.

[tiderulz]

You don't understand how people will "write them off" but also point how they are better suited for bench role, witch is execlly what "other people " said. So you don't understand something that you tend to agree with ?

a) I didn’t say “write them off” ... read my post again.

b) Even if it was, why is a bench role being “written off”? Terrance Ross comes off the bench and has a defined role on the team with plenty of playing time. Was Manu “written off” in San Antonio while coming off the bench? It depends on their role.

Manu was only "bench" player because he didn't start in first min of a game. Guy averaged 30 mpg for vast majority of his peak career.

If Fultz starts and gets 30 mpg, whoever we draft gets 30 mpg, Ross & Harris are there, at laest one of Cole/Hampton is DNP/ fringe rotation player guy. There is no "plenty of time" to develop everybody. You have 48 min per game. Your starters will eat majority of it. There is no point of rolling out with 4 to 5 guys who are all 6'1-6'4 and have similar, overlapping skills. Simply waste of time.

Harris isnt here for long. that guy is cooked

[pepe1991]

a) I didn’t say “write them off” ... read my post again.

b) Even if it was, why is a bench role being “written off”? Terrance Ross comes off the bench and has a defined role on the team with plenty of playing time. Was Manu “written off” in San Antonio while coming off the bench? It depends on their role.

Manu was only "bench" player because he didn't start in first min of a game. Guy averaged 30 mpg for vast majority of his peak career.

If Fultz starts and gets 30 mpg, whoever we draft gets 30 mpg, Ross & Harris are there, at laest one of Cole/Hampton is DNP/ fringe rotation player guy. There is no "plenty of time" to develop everybody. You have 48 min per game. Your starters will eat majority of it. There is no point of rolling out with 4 to 5 guys who are all 6'1-6'4 and have similar, overlapping skills. Simply waste of time.

Harris isnt here for long. that guy is cooked

it's not like you can trade him, $20M of dead cap or take longer equally terrible- dead cap.
Maybe he can return in some shape next year. Guy is 26 years old

[tiderulz]

Manu was only "bench" player because he didn't start in first min of a game. Guy averaged 30 mpg for vast majority of his peak career.

If Fultz starts and gets 30 mpg, whoever we draft gets 30 mpg, Ross & Harris are there, at laest one of Cole/Hampton is DNP/ fringe rotation player guy. There is no "plenty of time" to develop everybody. You have 48 min per game. Your starters will eat majority of it. There is no point of rolling out with 4 to 5 guys who are all 6'1-6'4 and have similar, overlapping skills. Simply waste of time.

Harris isnt here for long. that guy is cooked

it's not like you can trade him, $20M of dead cap or take longer equally terrible- dead cap.
Maybe he can return in some shape next year. Guy is 26 years old

lol. you write off 19 yr olds, yet Harris who has now looked bad for years AND constant health problems, you talk about him returning to shape next year.

I personally dont think the team needs to make any plans that involve Harris long term. Yes, Orlando wont be able to trade him, but it shouldnt stop if Orlando has an "extra" SG on the roster to develop