In light of recent developments read also ……………………
Magic Rookies Anthony Black and Jett Howard Can Provide a Big Boost Next Season ……………….
NBA teams can enhance their performance in a variety of ways throughout the offseason.
They have the ability to make trades, add excellent players through the draft, and sign free agents.
They can also make important processes just by developing internally.
The Orlando Magic in 2023–24 were the ideal illustration of the idea. The team improved by 13 wins, the most in the Eastern Conference, over the previous season despite only signing veteran Joe Ingles as an outside free agency.
Two rookies, Anthony Black and Jett Howard, were the only additional additions to that squad.
Even though their contributions fluctuated during the season, Black and Howard could be important members of the Magic in the following one. The team is eager to use both players’ skill sets, and with perseverance and hard work this summer, they can assist cover some of the present needs of the squad.
Regarding the team’s summer plans, Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman stated, “I’m not exactly sure yet how we’ll look to target our needs.” It can occasionally be accomplished through trades. Draft is one way to go about it. Think about what we’ve done this year—we added Joe Ingles and two rookies, and we went from 34 to 47 (wins)—when I stood here last year and spoke about internal growth.
This season, Black—the sixth overall choice in the 2023 NBA Draft—played in 69 games for the Magic, making 33 starts. In each game, he averaged 4.6 points, 1.3 assists, and 0.5 steals. The 6-foot-7, 200-pound player proved he could be a valuable member of a winning team by starting all nine of Orlando’s games during their winning run that lasted from November through December of last year.
“It was really beneficial,” Black said. “I got to play on a team that is competitive enough to make the playoffs and I also got to see some areas of my game that I need to improve on.” I believe that everything was really beneficial to me. Without a doubt, I’ll be viewing the movie again to see what we can improve on. Every experience, whether it was from playing or not playing, was beneficial. All of it benefits character. After all, everything works out well.
Black’s strongest defence right now is his defence. He is really long and large, and he approaches the other end of the floor with great tenacity. Should he secure a spot in the Magic’s rotation for the upcoming season, he would just complement a club that prioritised defence and achieved the third-best defensive rating in the league in 2023–24.
Weltman clarified, “(We want) to get better, but not at the expense of the things that cost us our DNA.” We were a strong squad this year for a reason, and we don’t want to lose it.
Conversely, Black wants to become a better shot. Although his outside shooting was seen as a weakness when he first entered the league, he improved both in terms of his shooting form and his self-assurance when taking open shots from the outside during his first season. Black fired over 44.4 percent from long range in both December and January of this year, after shooting just 26.1 percent from three-point range during the first two months of the season.
“Since coming here, Jeremiah (Boswell, the Magic shooting coach) and I have been working really hard on it,” Black stated. “Observing some results rather early on was definitely encouraging. As the season progressed, I could tell that my confidence was growing. I hope we can just keep improving on it in the upcoming year.
However, Howard can undoubtedly help the Magic with their most talked-about need, which is shooting. Despite making few appearances for Orlando this season, he played a big part of the season with the team’s G League affiliate in Osceola. The No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Howard, averaged 18.8 points per game while attending Osceola.
Weltman clarified, “I think Jett had a great rookie year.” “Obviously, fans who attend the Orlando games won’t see it, but Jett had a fantastic rookie campaign. He made significant progress in several of the areas we had targeted when we drafted him. Jett is one of the team’s most gifted young players when it comes to shooting. He has put in a lot of work. He has demonstrated his work ethic, dedication, and humility.
Wherever he is, he is there to heal. It makes no difference. His goal is to recover so that he can assist the club when he returns to Orlando. I’m thus quite happy about the season he had and the way the G League was applied.
The 6-foot-8, 215-pound former Michigan player made the fifth-most 3-pointers (104) in the G League this season while shooting nearly 38 percent from outside the arc.
“That’s something I’ve always been capable of,” he said. “It would be great if they trusted me to take those shots.” I think Caleb Houstan, Gary Harris, and Joe Ingles are some of our best shooters. All that has to be done is take them. In that locker room, it seems like everybody can shoot.
Orlando’s connection with its G League team is rigid. Before assuming their current positions, general manager Kevin Tiller II and head coach Dylan Murphy of Osceola both worked for the parent team. The G League squad uses the Kia Centre as its practice facility, and it employs certain ideas that are similar to those used in Orlando.
Murphy put in a lot of effort with Howard to improve all facets of his game, but he gave special attention to his defence. He would undoubtedly be able to secure a spot in Orlando’s rotation the following season with an improvement in that area.
Howard said, “I think this is the best defensive team I’ve ever seen and been around.” “I understand that I’m biassed, but that’s how I truly feel. One through five can be guarded by anyone. You become kind of sick from being around that all the time. Because Osceola follows the same exact plans and teaches the same material that we do up here, I believe I have come a long way. I believe my growth has been enormous.
In their farewell interviews, Black and Howard both stated that they intended to work closely with the Magic’s coaches in Orlando for the majority of the summer.
“This summer is very important for them,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley stated. “(They were able to) understand and acknowledge what it means to compete all season long, to get to a Game 7, and to be a playoff club. They discovered firsthand how physically demanding it can be, how hard you have to work, and how physically exhausting it can be on your body. Thus, over the summer, make sure you’re taking care of your body and mind to ensure that you’re positioning yourself to give yourself a chance.
For Magic kids, that formula has already been effective. Year after year, Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, and Franz Wagner have all made notable progress; they frequently attribute their achievements to Orlando’s trainers and instructors.
“That recipe is definitely something I’ve heard of before,” said Howard. “Just spending almost the entire summer here.” Really, I have no plans to travel anywhere. All I’m planning to do is learn and spend as much time as possible with the coaches. expanding one’s understanding. That, in my opinion, will be very important.
And if the Magic’s two rookies put in a lot of effort this summer with that objective in mind, they can contribute significantly to the team come playoff time.