The Official Paolo Banchero Thread: 2022-2023 NBA Rookie of the Year

[D12VCMagic]

Claiming this is Fultz or Suggs team... oh boy.

This place is turning into reddit

The trade market hints at the true leader of this team.

Spoiler:

Certainly the most valuable asset to the DeVos family, that’s for sure.

[nymets1]

FYI, this is nobodies team yet.
It's up for grabs until someone takes the reigns.
The hope is that Paolo will come in and make it his team.
If he does and he deserves it, then the number 1 pick will be a success.

If is nobodies team yet, That's MUCH BETTER than saying Paolo Banchero who hasn't played with the team yet and just GOT DRAFTED. Suggs, Cole Anthony and Franz are the candidates. Seriously though with PAOLO, He must play at least 1 regular season game before possibly being declared his team.

[Skybox]

If it's not Paolo's team, we blew it...This guy is not a role player or a complementary player. He's a star or a bust, IMO. Weltman might not get to it immediately, but building around Paolo is our focus now, for better or worse. Franz is great, but he is our Hedo. Suggs is looking more like Marcus Smart than a leading man-which could be OK. WCJ is the definition of a solid supporting man. Isaac, if he gets back, is a specialist. Fultz, coulda woulda shoulda been a star-and I'd say he's got this year to salvage that (I'm rooting for but not betting on that happening). Jabari could be a role player who becomes a star, somewhat surprisingly, but is more likely a second chair even if he's an All-Star someday. Paolo is a terrible fit for this roster, so some of the roster must change around him.

This IS Paolo's team. He's not here to take part...he's here to take over.

[yoyojw17]

He's a big dude but he's pretty quick already

Feels like Tide and I might be thinking on the same level. lol

6'10" 235-240 lb ideal tweener type player would make things interesting.

Fultz/franz/PB/JI/WJ would be a physically imposing lineup. lol

On a sidenote... PB might not be as far off defensively as we think.

https://www.nba.com/draft/2022/prospects/paolo-banchero

Defensive Analysis

• Holding his own as an individual defender allowing 0.54 points per one-on-one possession [89th percentile] last season, Banchero’s combination of size and athleticism stood out at times when containing the ball on the perimeter and challenging shots inside.

• Showing some timing and instincts to make plays on occasion, Banchero still has room to become a more consistent contributor on the defensive end as he remains early in his development as a defensive rebounder and off-ball defender.

He's not a bad on ball defender at all. He's solid. Off ball is the issue. It will probably be an issue most of his rookie year. I expect teams to run alot of screen and rolls his way too. He'll learn though.

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That's what makes that stat so encouraging. If no one saw that stat... most would flat out say he's a weak defender all over. but in actuality he's an amazing man to man defender .... but needs work on the team defense. I heard on a podcast saying that the Duke team defensive schemes were not helpful to banchero either. And this help me understand why Weltman has no problem referring to Paolo on occasion during his interviews as a 2 way player. So this excites me even more cuz when you wrap it in with the shooting deficiency talk.... and the fact that he shot 45% from 3 through the last 11 games and 50%+ in the tournament ... that shines a positive light on 2 things that were his biggest question marks.

place him in a great system with a great environment .... and he might be "everything we want him to be" from the getgo.... and all he has to do is continue to flourish from there.

deeper dives and not following consensus has made me realize why this might have been the pick.

And for those that talk about on air that we never worked him out etc.... i really don't think the FO cared about that as much as they had all the scouting and analytics probably already compiled and analyzed.

LET'S GO!!!

[tiderulz]

Did Paolo have a growth spurt in the last year? Before the season I remember people saying that Paolo grew and was 6'10" now. After this season they said he grew and was 6'10.5" now. He could still be in the midst of a growth spurt.

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i mean, he is only 19. not surprising if he is still growing

[D12VCMagic]

If it's not Paolo's team, we blew it...This guy is not a role player or a complementary player. He's a star or a bust, IMO. Weltman might not get to it immediately, but building around Paolo is our focus now, for better or worse. Franz is great, but he is our Hedo. Suggs is looking more like Marcus Smart than a leading man-which could be OK. WCJ is the definition of a solid supporting man. Isaac, if he gets back, is a specialist. Fultz, coulda woulda shoulda been a star-and I'd say he's got this year to salvage that (I'm rooting for but not betting on that happening). Jabari could be a role player who becomes a star, somewhat surprisingly, but is more likely a second chair even if he's an All-Star someday. Paolo is a terrible fit for this roster, so some of the roster must change around him.

This IS Paolo's team. He's not here to take part...he's here to take over.

Exactly. I’m not as high on Paolo as others, but his skillset is that of a ball dominate player. The team needs to move forward as if he’s the guy. You don’t draft players #1 overall to just be another dude on the team. I don’t think we help his development much by acting like he has to prove he’s better than Cole Anthony (lol) or something anyways.

[shadrock]

I think this was the right pick. We needed a 3-level scorer, and that's really hard to find. He's 6'10" with a handle and ability to make plays for himself and others. He has a lot of the qualities that made me like Wagner last year. Having two guys with this kind of size being able to handle and pass is going to be an advantage for us.

I was out on Banchero when the college basketball season ended. But, this article by Dean on the Draft really sold me and made me want to rewatch some of his old games. When I went back, his shot making in March and playmaking really stood out. I encourage anyone on edge to give it a read.
https://deanondraft.com/2022/03/24/where-does-paolo-banchero-fit-in-the-modern-nba-and-2022-draft/

Something about picking Smith #1 never sat right with me. I feel like we were doing too many mental gymnastics trying to imagine him as some Jayson Tatum-like figure, when in reality the closest thing to a wing scorer was actually Banchero. Smith is going to be really good. I have no doubts about it. And as much as he shot the ball from 3 really well, I felt like settling for jumpers was the extent of his ability on offense. There's so much more to being a good offensive player than just shooting. Ball handling, passing, vision, finishing at the rim are important attributes. You can be a knock down shooter, but if you can't do anything else, it's going to get exposed at some point, especially in the playoffs. Maybe Smith develops that at some point, but Banchero does a lot of things at his size that is far harder to find right now.

I do think think the fit on this roster is awkward, but I'm not dodging a player who I think is the best player because they don't fit with my guards who might not even be starting on 90% of the teams in the league. Either two of Fultz, Suggs, Anthony, Hampton get much better at shooting, or Weltman and Hammond are going to have to make some changes. Regardless of who we picked, our back court sucked and needs improvement. I wouldn't be married to any of those young guards until they prove they can play good offensive basketball for a full season.

In terms of how Weltman and Hammond conducted the draft and keeping it a secret, you have to hand it to them. They did an amazing job of holding their cards to their chest. I imagine they tried to drive the Smith message home to punk Houston or OKC into trading up for Smith, and the Magic taking their Banchero at #3 or #2 while picking up another asset. Neither team bit, and the Magic just took their guy at #1. Excellent gamesmanship.

Great read. I've never heard of this guy before, but looking back at his Jabari Parker article linked in this one, he called Parker being a bust back in 2014 Summer League. Back when Parker's hype was at an all-time high, he was pointing out red flags in otherwise good performances if you only looked at box score stats. Seems like he knows his stuff, and he's really high on Paolo.

Great read, thanks for sharing. My jaw hit the ground on the paragraph about Len Bias though...yikes.

"Len Bias may be an unfair example since he died of a cocaine overdose and never played in the NBA. But this group includes some all time bad basketball IQ’s, and dying of a drug overdose suggests poor off court intelligence. Perhaps he would have busted in the NBA had he lived to have a normal career."

[basketballRob]

Paolo about to put on a show at summer league. Better get your ROY bets in now before those odds come way down.

He's got a tough matchup in the first game against Houston. Eason will probably play the four and Jabari Smith the three.

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[Rainwater]

I have been watching highlights and super excited about Paolo, I hope he pans out. I hope he can become that guy. A core of Franz and Paolo would be a great start to the rebuild. Don't think Fultz or JI have much of a future on this team. And kinda worried about Suggs, he really needs to improve his jumper, if not he really won't fit. The biggest need for the magic going into the future will be a PG in my opinion.

[magickingdom]

I also hate the fit but Banchero is definitely a great prospect with a good chance to become the best player in the draft, his footwork and feel for the game are special, a lot depends on his outside shot which I'm sceptical about, hopefully he proves me wrong.

It's the weirdest built team ever.

Orlando's Rebuilding Plan... Duplicating talent everywhere and hoping it fits and doesn't sink.

I thought they called that “Depth”?

[PrimeThyme]

Everything for me going forward will be about the Franz/Paolo pairing.

There’s a lot that entices me about that combination of skill, length, playmaking, and shot creation in the frontcourt but I think it will be important to put the right players around them.

We’re going to need to give each guy the runway to develop as creators. That to me means Cole has to go. I just cannot see the appeal of having Cole hijacking possessions for stretches at a time next year and I cannot see the appeal of having the ball in his hands during late game situations over Franz/Paolo either.

I want as many on ball reps going to those two as possible.

[KillMonger]

Read on Twitter

[VFX]

Everything for me going forward will be about the Franz/Paolo pairing.

There’s a lot that entices me about that combination of skill, length, playmaking, and shot creation in the frontcourt but I think it will be important to put the right players around them.

We’re going to need to give each guy the runway to develop as creators. That to me means Cole has to go. I just cannot see the appeal of having Cole hijacking possessions for stretches at a time next year and I cannot see the appeal of having the ball in his hands during late game situations over Franz/Paolo either.

I want as many on ball reps going to those two as possible.

One thing that Weltman said in a recent podcast was that they plan on going in on Free agency next season. Well I can only imagine that would really mean it would be throwing money at an elite SG considering the core of Paolo/Franz/WCJr.

I just don’t see that kind of player as being available in that year. Cole definitely is not that guy and I really don’t want the FO to hand him a large contract after this season with that in mind.

[tiderulz]

I have been watching highlights and super excited about Paolo, I hope he pans out. I hope he can become that guy. A core of Franz and Paolo would be a great start to the rebuild. Don't think Fultz or JI have much of a future on this team. And kinda worried about Suggs, he really needs to improve his jumper, if not he really won't fit. The biggest need for the magic going into the future will be a PG in my opinion.

agree that Suggs needs to improve his jumper. but his defense is already NBA caliber and you always needs good defenders

[Rainwater]

Everything for me going forward will be about the Franz/Paolo pairing.

There’s a lot that entices me about that combination of skill, length, playmaking, and shot creation in the frontcourt but I think it will be important to put the right players around them.

We’re going to need to give each guy the runway to develop as creators. That to me means Cole has to go. I just cannot see the appeal of having Cole hijacking possessions for stretches at a time next year and I cannot see the appeal of having the ball in his hands during late game situations over Franz/Paolo either.

I want as many on ball reps going to those two as possible.

Completely agree with this. The Paolo and Franz pairing is intriguing. The only thing I disagree with is that I would love to see Franz more in Klay role more off the ball as he picks and chooses when he does his thing on ball. Still hoping for one more dynamic player in the backcourt then surround those 3 with shooters and the magic are in excellent spot.

[CZ Eddie]

I've read that Paulo seems to have growth "spurts" rather than a more linear growing.
I'm not tall, so I don't have personal experience on how it all works.
But I wonder if he's got another growth "spurt" left in him where he grows another couple inches this coming year like he did during his college year.
He may end up being our Center of the future if he keeps up like this.

[VFX]

I've read that Paulo seems to have growth "spurts" rather than a more linear growing.
I'm not tall, so I don't have personal experience on how it all works.
But I wonder if he's got another growth "spurt" left in him where he grows another couple inches this coming year like he did during his college year.
He may end up being our Center of the future if he keeps up like this.

Believe me.. you don’t want Paolo as a Center.

Unless he develops some post defense out of nowhere I think they are rolling with WCJ for the foreseeable future.

[Rainwater]

I have been watching highlights and super excited about Paolo, I hope he pans out. I hope he can become that guy. A core of Franz and Paolo would be a great start to the rebuild. Don't think Fultz or JI have much of a future on this team. And kinda worried about Suggs, he really needs to improve his jumper, if not he really won't fit. The biggest need for the magic going into the future will be a PG in my opinion.

agree that Suggs needs to improve his jumper. but his defense is already NBA caliber and you always needs good defenders

I absolutely agree with this and I didn't mean to make the situation with Suggs seem so dire he has plenty of time to improve although that may not be the case with JI and Fultz . I just Invision the magic with 3 dynamic players (Paolo, Franz, and a player yet to be determined, Scoot Henderson maybe?!?!?). But for this to work they need shooters that defend surrounding them. Hopefully Suggs can improves his shooting.

[CZ Eddie]

Yeah, I'm not expecting him to be our Center as-is.
But I mean, if he grows to 7'1 and 270lbs next year.... he's going to have to slow down a bit.

It's unlikely he'll grow another two inches at 19+ y/o... I'm just surmising because he did grow two more inches after he hit 18 y/o.

[Skybox]

I also hate the fit but Banchero is definitely a great prospect with a good chance to become the best player in the draft, his footwork and feel for the game are special, a lot depends on his outside shot which I'm sceptical about, hopefully he proves me wrong.

It's the weirdest built team ever.

Orlando's Rebuilding Plan... Duplicating talent everywhere and hoping it fits and doesn't sink.

I thought they called that “Depth”?

or "BPA"