Mo Bamba's future with Orlando?

[MagicFan101]

I disagree. He was playable this year, if for nothing else to see where he stood against NBA competition and where his body stood. Now we know both.

With filter of :
minimum 10 games played
and minimum 10 min per game

Mo Bamba was 4th worst nba player by net rating ahead of : Cameron Payne, Frank Mason and Marqeese Chriss.
IF that's not unplayable i don't know what is.

Before season starter at OPP we as fans come to idea that he should only play home games and close road games to get stronger and avoid traveling. Lot of fans thought that he is so poorly suited for NBA for last year that team should red shirt him for whole season and just have him practice with a team and, if time is right , play him toward the end of a season.

History showed what we all knew, he wasn't ready for NBA.

my statement still stands. we had guesses but we didnt really know how he would compare. now we know exactly how much work he needs

In regards to the “how much work he needs” comment ...

I couldn’t help but think back on the Bamba selection this morning while listening to Golic & Wingo on the drive to work.

They were discussing the Daniel Jones #6 overall pick in the NFL draft. They brought up the questionable picks of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and even Baker Mayfield last year and how each of them had an unreachable trait that every could point to and say “I might not have made that choice but I can see why someone would take a chance.” On the contrary, in their opinion Jones completely lacks anything exciting at all.

For me, this fully captures Bamba. In no way have I have said that he was the one and only option worth taking. But given the information we had at the time (and still do today IMO), Bamba was every bit as worthy of that pick as anyone else available.

Simple minded fools like to begin and end their evaluation with length. But we say flashes of his handles in summer league. Yes, handles!!! on a guy that size. We saw shooting potential. We saw a lot of flashes of something special.

Those flashes were rare indeed but they exist. Let’s see if they can develop.

[Skin]

I think Bamba could have a breakout season in Year 3. By year 4, he could be a star.

However, if Vuc is a role block for playing time, all bets are off.

[MagicMatic]

Realistically, there is no "get good quick" fix in the NBA unless you sign a top 10 player in free agency or draft a generational talent. And drafting the generational talent is nice in theory, but they're "generational" for a reason. Teams like us have plodded through the lottery season after season without anything to show for it, while others have lapped us in that timespan.

That depends on who you deem “generational”. It’s hard to not be jaded about the NBA when every year the most elite talent (top 10 best players) ,or most stacked rosters, are always in contention conversations. Orlando was only able to achieve such success through the draft with Shaq, Penny, and Dwight. People must have forgotten that. Elite players today don’t go from good situations to worse, only seemingly or exponentially better in most scenarios.

All of this comes down to how you view the current assets of this roster and the potential the young guys carry. If you believe this roster is capable of 50+ win seasons, (GSW, MIL, HOU, PHI, TOR, POR, DEN were the only ones this season) then you have way higher hopes. Either that, or you believe WeHam will draft a diamond in the rough (Giannis, Jokic, Mitchell), that an elite player will sign as a FA, or that a big splashy trade with multiple assets will be made. My bets aren’t high on any of those things happening now or in the foreseeable future.

Being satisfied with progress is fine. Anyone can find their own personal gratification in improved success over the course of time. There are also sections of fans for certain teams that would rather blow it up, than be completely inconsequential in the larger landscape of the nba. There are fun regular season teams, fun playoff teams, and sometimes both. Orlando are neither currently.

I'd add though that the list of top ten players is dynamic and that the new entries onto that list aren't always predictable. It always seems that the players among the top ten were preordained when you have the benefit of retrospect, but it just isn't the case. How long ago was it that Jokic or Giannis weren't on the radar as among the NBA's elite? I certainly remember a time when Curry was struggling to find his footing with reoccuring ankle ailments.

Our best chance at such a player is to draft and develop it. Our current front office seems to appreciate this, at least to some extent, as they have targeted high-ceiling prospects in the draft. We will have a better idea of just how much appreciation they have by how this summer plays out.

Agreed. However, Giannis and Jokic are exceptions and not the rule. Possible to land them later in the draft, but odds aren’t as high picking lower or outside the lottery. Drafting and developing talent is the way to go and I’m looking forward to how it plays out with the rest of the roster. I’ll say this, player situation is the most underrated aspect to prospect development that is rarely taken into account by fans.

[OrlandoNed]

Agreed. However, Giannis and Jokic are exceptions and not the rule. Possible to land them later in the draft, but odds aren’t as high picking lower or outside the lottery

I'm hoping WeHam aren't planning on replicating their Bucks strategy of wandering around the NBA wasteland for years, capped out between the late lotto and the 7th seed, waiting to stumble onto the .0099%, one in a million chance of finding a future top 5 player in the league.

[tiderulz]

With filter of :
minimum 10 games played
and minimum 10 min per game

Mo Bamba was 4th worst nba player by net rating ahead of : Cameron Payne, Frank Mason and Marqeese Chriss.
IF that's not unplayable i don't know what is.

Before season starter at OPP we as fans come to idea that he should only play home games and close road games to get stronger and avoid traveling. Lot of fans thought that he is so poorly suited for NBA for last year that team should red shirt him for whole season and just have him practice with a team and, if time is right , play him toward the end of a season.

History showed what we all knew, he wasn't ready for NBA.

my statement still stands. we had guesses but we didnt really know how he would compare. now we know exactly how much work he needs

In regards to the “how much work he needs” comment ...

I couldn’t help but think back on the Bamba selection this morning while listening to Golic & Wingo on the drive to work.

They were discussing the Daniel Jones #6 overall pick in the NFL draft. They brought up the questionable picks of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and even Baker Mayfield last year and how each of them had an unreachable trait that every could point to and say “I might not have made that choice but I can see why someone would take a chance.” On the contrary, in their opinion Jones completely lacks anything exciting at all.

For me, this fully captures Bamba. In no way have I have said that he was the one and only option worth taking. But given the information we had at the time (and still do today IMO), Bamba was every bit as worthy of that pick as anyone else available.

Simple minded fools like to begin and end their evaluation with length. But we say flashes of his handles in summer league. Yes, handles!!! on a guy that size. We saw shooting potential. We saw a lot of flashes of something special.

Those flashes were rare indeed but they exist. Let’s see if they can develop.

I didnt say he wasnt worth the pick. And we knew he would need to work on conditioning, but i dont think we expected him to not even finish the season. I also think many people, or maybe just me, thought he would be better on defense and have at least some defensive instincts, but he couldnt even consistently keep his hands in the air to use his massive wingspan to alter shots.

Though to me also, a center had better be extremely rare in what they have, as most elite teams are built around their wing players not a center. Not sure if Bamba is in that elite category or can get there, guess we will see over the next few years.

[pepe1991]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

[MagicFan101]

my statement still stands. we had guesses but we didnt really know how he would compare. now we know exactly how much work he needs

In regards to the “how much work he needs” comment ...

I couldn’t help but think back on the Bamba selection this morning while listening to Golic & Wingo on the drive to work.

They were discussing the Daniel Jones #6 overall pick in the NFL draft. They brought up the questionable picks of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and even Baker Mayfield last year and how each of them had an unreachable trait that every could point to and say “I might not have made that choice but I can see why someone would take a chance.” On the contrary, in their opinion Jones completely lacks anything exciting at all.

For me, this fully captures Bamba. In no way have I have said that he was the one and only option worth taking. But given the information we had at the time (and still do today IMO), Bamba was every bit as worthy of that pick as anyone else available.

Simple minded fools like to begin and end their evaluation with length. But we say flashes of his handles in summer league. Yes, handles!!! on a guy that size. We saw shooting potential. We saw a lot of flashes of something special.

Those flashes were rare indeed but they exist. Let’s see if they can develop.

I didnt say he wasnt worth the pick. And we knew he would need to work on conditioning, but i dont think we expected him to not even finish the season. I also think many people, or maybe just me, thought he would be better on defense and have at least some defensive instincts, but he couldnt even consistently keep his hands in the air to use his massive wingspan to alter shots.

Though to me also, a center had better be extremely rare in what they have, as most elite teams are built around their wing players not a center. Not sure if Bamba is in that elite category or can get there, guess we will see over the next few years.

I wasn’t calling out anything you said I was simply adding to the conversation.

While you’re absolutely right that the center has to be extra special to warrant such a selection, you also have to factor in the options available. Not all draft classes are created equal. To jump back to the NFL comparison, Daniel Jones would have been no better than a 3rd round pick in the QB stacked class of 2018. But the lack of talent available pushed him higher in this class.

Last year was a big man dominant NBA class. That may not have matched our needs but it was the situation we found ourselves in. Luckily this upcoming class is very deep with wing talent.

[Def Swami]

I think Bamba could have a breakout season in Year 3. By year 4, he could be a star.

However, if Vuc is a role block for playing time, all bets are off.

My hope for Bamba is that his floor can be Rudy Gobert, which would be a huge get at pick #6. Gobert, like Bamba, came in to the league a bit too thin. Over a couple seasons, he added weight, got better, and was a full time starter by season 3, and has been a DPOY candidate since season 4. In Gobert's first 1.5 seasons, he backed up Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter, until he proved he was too much more a net positive over Kanter. If Bamba adds any semblance of a jumper to his game, he'll be a special player that will hopefully make Vucevic expendable.

[Hogified05]

my statement still stands. we had guesses but we didnt really know how he would compare. now we know exactly how much work he needs

In regards to the “how much work he needs” comment ...

I couldn’t help but think back on the Bamba selection this morning while listening to Golic & Wingo on the drive to work.

They were discussing the Daniel Jones #6 overall pick in the NFL draft. They brought up the questionable picks of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and even Baker Mayfield last year and how each of them had an unreachable trait that every could point to and say “I might not have made that choice but I can see why someone would take a chance.” On the contrary, in their opinion Jones completely lacks anything exciting at all.

For me, this fully captures Bamba. In no way have I have said that he was the one and only option worth taking. But given the information we had at the time (and still do today IMO), Bamba was every bit as worthy of that pick as anyone else available.

Simple minded fools like to begin and end their evaluation with length. But we say flashes of his handles in summer league. Yes, handles!!! on a guy that size. We saw shooting potential. We saw a lot of flashes of something special.

Those flashes were rare indeed but they exist. Let’s see if they can develop.

I didnt say he wasnt worth the pick. And we knew he would need to work on conditioning, but i dont think we expected him to not even finish the season. I also think many people, or maybe just me, thought he would be better on defense and have at least some defensive instincts, but he couldnt even consistently keep his hands in the air to use his massive wingspan to alter shots.

Lol I excepted him not to finish the season. We have been snake bit with rookies not finishing the year lately. AG and Issac both didn't finish their rookie season due to injury.

As far as his future with Orlando I have no idea ha. I'm ok with him staying and I'm ok with shopping him. Weird spot to be in with him and Vuc. Guess we will get an answer this summer.

[zaymon]

In regards to the “how much work he needs” comment ...

I couldn’t help but think back on the Bamba selection this morning while listening to Golic & Wingo on the drive to work.

They were discussing the Daniel Jones #6 overall pick in the NFL draft. They brought up the questionable picks of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen and even Baker Mayfield last year and how each of them had an unreachable trait that every could point to and say “I might not have made that choice but I can see why someone would take a chance.” On the contrary, in their opinion Jones completely lacks anything exciting at all.

For me, this fully captures Bamba. In no way have I have said that he was the one and only option worth taking. But given the information we had at the time (and still do today IMO), Bamba was every bit as worthy of that pick as anyone else available.

Simple minded fools like to begin and end their evaluation with length. But we say flashes of his handles in summer league. Yes, handles!!! on a guy that size. We saw shooting potential. We saw a lot of flashes of something special.

Those flashes were rare indeed but they exist. Let’s see if they can develop.

I didnt say he wasnt worth the pick. And we knew he would need to work on conditioning, but i dont think we expected him to not even finish the season. I also think many people, or maybe just me, thought he would be better on defense and have at least some defensive instincts, but he couldnt even consistently keep his hands in the air to use his massive wingspan to alter shots.

Lol I excepted him not to finish the season. We have been snake bit with rookies not finishing the year lately. AG and Issac both didn't finish their rookie season due to injury.

As far as his future with Orlando I have no idea ha. I'm ok with him staying and I'm ok with shopping him. Weird spot to be in with him and Vuc. Guess we will get an answer this summer.

It could be weird spot or it could be perfect spot. Bamba has to work HARD to replace Vucevic in starting five during next 3 seasons. They will work together, push themselves forward together. In 3 years Bamba will be 23, Vucevic 31. Maybe Vuc remains starter, maybe he takes massive discount for his next deal and comes of the bench, maybe he is traded.

[MagicFan4Lyfe]

I have privately messaged some people on this board with some info about Bamba.

Magic FO still really very HIGH on Bamba and are looking at the 2019-2020 season as his true rookie season. They knew drafting him that his core was incredibly weak but I don't think they realized how weak he was. His stress fracture was a blessing in disguise because it allowed him to work on his body instead of playing competitive basketball. I am looking forward to seeing all the core conditioning and work on his balance since his injury.


We have to remember that when these guys are coming into the NBA they have never had any formal or structured exercise program. Their high school programs were mostly lifting weights in the weight room. These guys are so physically gifted and incredible at their sport. But proper strength and conditioning doesn't get introduced until they are in professional sports and in some instances in college.

Bamba reminds me a lot of Brandon Ingraham coming into the league. If you speak to any NBA personnel or executive, they will tell you that in his rookie season, Brandon couldn't do an in-line lunge to save his life- a simple functional motion exercise. Another guy is Thon Maker- absolutely lost in the NBA combine. A lot of these guys are like that but with a structured program even in one off season, you can see improvements. What they do with their careers at that point is a combination of their god given athleticism and more hardwork in the gym. So I think we are going to see a much stronger Bamba this upcoming season but Magic FO realize he still isn't ready to take the reins at the center position.

If we don't resign Vuc, I can see the Magic signing a veteran center to start next season. No matter how much as fans we want to see Bamba start and kick butt, he wont' be handed the starting job. Coach Cliff loves Bamba's potential but Weltman has created an incredible culture with the Magic where accountability is the key. Nothing will be handed to you.

[MagicFan4Lyfe]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

I would also add working on this strength and conditioning without the stress of competitive basketball is going to do wonders to unlock his athleticism and basketball skills.

[BadMofoPimp]

I think Bamba could have a breakout season in Year 3. By year 4, he could be a star.

However, if Vuc is a role block for playing time, all bets are off.

He could just as easily have a Noel projection and people end up being thankful the team kept Vooch!

[BadMofoPimp]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

Preach to them panicking haterz!!!

[Magic4champ]

Bamba has a lot of ceiling among all the draft in his class. He needs to get stronger physically and develop stamina for his motor. He has the intelligence to play within his strength and develop his passing skills to complement his shooting skills. He wiil be a force defensively eventually and be a part of the modern offense of the magic. He cannot match up well with the modern bigmen like Embid and Jokic at this point. Give it 3 yrs athe end of his rookie scale contract he will define the modern bigman. Not Embid but Bamba will be a force against Jokic in 3 years.

[Blue_and_Whte]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

there's only a few still pushing the faux player fan groups that don't exist but its finally starting to phase out.
Bamba had a low motor, lacked defensive instincts, would use his storied length. My hope is that he can at least get better at those things.

[pepe1991]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

there's only a few still pushing the faux player fan groups that don't exist but its finally starting to phase out.
Bamba had a low motor, lacked defensive instincts, would use his storied length. My hope is that he can at least get better at those things.

Imo lot of his low motor could be product of poor conditioning.
Embiid also looks like has poor motor nowdays , but mostly because he got fat.
I always tell story how in highschool i played intense defense and blocked shots, than i got fat and my friends were like " dude why don't you try any more" and i was out of breath there like " b*** i'm dying here you think i don't try ?, i'm surviving " .

[Blue_and_Whte]

Bamba will be fine, he just needs time to develop lower body and expend his game.
Playing backup without any pressure to produce right away is best thing that could happen in his career.
Also healthy competition and practicing against crafty, talented allstar will be huge for him learning other basketball skills and not just being dude with long limbs.

" But he will never develop if he does not start" . James Harden started 7 out of 244 games in first 3 seasons. That really hurted him,h just become one of best scorers in basketball history, leagues MVP and scoring champion

But as usual, people care more about personal agenda than facts.

there's only a few still pushing the faux player fan groups that don't exist but its finally starting to phase out.
Bamba had a low motor, lacked defensive instincts, would use his storied length. My hope is that he can at least get better at those things.

Imo lot of his low motor could be product of poor conditioning.
Embiid also looks like has poor motor nowdays , but mostly because he got fat.
I always tell story how in highschool i played intense defense and blocked shots, than i got fat and my friends were like " dude why don't you try any more" and i was out of breath there like " b*** i'm dying here you think i don't try ?, i'm surviving " .

I’m sure bamba will figure it out, to what level we won’t know but he’s young so I’m certain we’ll see some progress next season.

[Skin]

If Vuc gets a 5 year deal, in what year do you think Bamba becomes the starter?

[Furinkazan]

I think Bamba could have a breakout season in Year 3. By year 4, he could be a star.

However, if Vuc is a role block for playing time, all bets are off.

Amen.Thats how I see it.