Rebuilding an NBA team isn’t easy. There are a lot of concerns to balance and manage. For example, a team wants to stockpile young talent. Sure. When your talented young players don’t complement each other, you may eventually need to make a trade.
Take the Orlando Magic. This team has a surplus of young talent. Some of it fits perfectly well together. With that said Orlando has too many young guards with questionable shooting chops. Between Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, Anthony Black, and Cole Anthony, the Magic have too many players who fit that description. Eventually, they’re likely to trade one of them.
That’s not an issue that the Washington Wizards share. In fact, this team just started rebuilding. The Wizards could use young talent at any position. Could they acquire Cole Anthony from the Magic as a result?
The Trade Proposal
Orlando Magic Receive: G Tyus Jones, G Landry Shamet, 2024 Second-Round Pick (PHX via WAS), 2025 Second-Round Pick (PHX via WAS)
Washington Wizards Receive: F/C Jonathan Isaac, G Cole Anthony
We don’t mean to say that Orlando has mismanaged their roster. They haven’t. The Magic have done a fantastic job of acquiring young talent. They have an exciting young core that’s prepared for the future. They simply need to tinker with their roster.
Effectively, everything needs to fit around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. Give the Magic tremendous credit for acquiring the latter. Banchero was easy – the Magic had the first overall pick, and they selected the player with the most offensive upside. On the other hand, selecting Wagner in 2021 was a stroke of genius.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic & Washington Wizards Updates
Ironically, they selected Suggs in the same draft. Suggs was the higher pick, but Wagner has looked the part of a long-term cornerstone player. We’ll see what Orlando does with Suggs. Realistically, he’s an even worse fit alongside their franchise players than Anthony is. Should Orlando really trade Anthony instead?
Why The Orlando Magic Do The Deal
The answer to that question depends on your team-building philosophy. Anthony is a better shooter than Suggs, and some would prefer for Orlando to keep him on those grounds. With that said, Anthony hasn’t exactly shown a strong interest in playing off of the ball. This is a ball-dominant point guard with a scorer’s mentality.
That’s fine – in a vacuum. In practice, Orlando is going to want the ball in the hands of Banchero and Wagner. That’s part of why they’re making this deal. The Magic could consider moving Suggs down the line, but trading Anthony now makes sense. They just need to get quality off-ball players n return for him.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic & Washington Wizards Updates
They’re getting two of them here. Jones is among the best game managing point guards in the NBA – he routinely boasts the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA. Meanwhile, Shamet is a reliable shooter who should also find a place in this team’s rotation. Should the Wizards give this pair of useful players up?
Why The Washington Wizards Do The Deal
These are two franchises in different places. The Magic need to start consolidating their roster in an effort to win some games. The Wizards do not. This is the beginning of a rebuild. Washington needs good young players – full stop.
Anthony is a good young player. Washington will have the time to see how he develops. Could Anthony be a star scoring guard? It’s possible. Could he develop into a player with better off-ball habits? That’s possible as well. Washington can afford to wait and see.
NBA TRADES, NEWS & RUMORS: Cole Anthony, Orlando Magic & Washington Wizards Updates
Meanwhile, taking a flyer on Isaac is worth their time as well. He’s on an expiring contract. If Isaac is too injured to play next season – as he typically is – than Washington can just let him walk. With that said, if he can get healthy, the Wizards are acquiring one of the best young defensive wings in the NBA here. As a rebuilding team, that’s a gamble worth taking.
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