It's no secret that Paolo Banchero is making a simply ludicrous amount of money in the coming years.
Earning a modest $15M on the last year of his rookie deal this season, Banchero's value immediately skyrockets to $41M/yr next season, increasing year by year through 2030-2031, where he'll be consuming nearly $55M worth of Orlando's cap space.
After a disaster of a regular season from Banchero, Paolo was able to temporarily silence the critics with an impressive 7-game series against the incumbent 1-seeded Detroit Pistons. Nobody expected Banchero's Magic to take Detroit to 7, much less without Franz Wagner for a significant chunk of the series.
With the firing of head coach Jamahl Mosley, it's unlikely the changes end there. Having been mocked much higher than the 8-seed going into last season, Orlando seems ready for a change, and Atlanta should take advantage.
Orlando's track record with big money: rotten endings
The Magic have played this game before. Twice, actually.
In 1996, Shaquille O'Neal departed the Magic - without a return haul - to join the LA Lakers in free agency. Then again in 2012, Dwight Howard departed the Magic (at least for a haul of picks) to join who else, but the LA Lakers.
Now, it seems abundantly unlikely that Banchero will end up on the Lakers, with their cap space being largely consumed by Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves, and a possible re-signing of LeBron James for one final trip around the sun.
Banchero or otherwise, though, Orlando seems to have too many cooks in the kitchen. Between Banchero, Wagner, Bane, Suggs, and the rise of youngster Anthony Black, there's simply not enough money to feed the entire flock.
Enter the Atlanta Hawks, eager to snap up a buy-low opportunity clearly present in Orlando.
Three pieces in Orlando could instantly improve the Hawks
While Paolo Banchero and Desmond Bane are no doubt incredibly talented players, their contracts and respective talent don't quite move the needle enough for me to be interested in a lightning trade to send them north to Atlanta.
Rather, it's Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs, and Anthony Black that intrigue me.
Franz Wagner is no doubt the most talented of the three, and his asking price would likely be the highest. That being said, Wagner has proven himself a winning player time and time again with the Magic. Most recently, Wagner missed three games against the Pistons in the first round. The four games he played resulted in a 3-1 record for the Magic, and the three he missed resulted in three consecutive losses.
Similar to his counterpart in Atlanta (Jalen Johnson), Wagner's downfall thus far in his career has been his injury history. Being unavailable against Detroit undoubtedly led to their early demise, and the Magic may desire a more consistent talent to replace him.
Jalen Suggs is another interesting buy-low commodity that should interest the Hawks. Suggs' defensive prowess is near-unmatched in the entire NBA at the guard position, but his inconsistent shooting has sunk Orlando more times than they'd care to admit.
Sound familiar? If Suggs and Dyson Daniels get paired together, they'd make attacking the Hawks an absolute nightmare for opposing guards - not to mention Nickeil Alexander-Walker on the flank.
Finally, Anthony Black has shown a surprising amount of playmaking and defensive chops early in his career. Add to that his incredible athleticism, and the Magic find themselves with yet another youngster due for a hefty payday - likely too much for their cap room to handle.
Whoever the Hawks target in Orlando, one thing is certain - it would be a blunder if Onsi Saleh doesn't at least pick up the phone to inquire about all three of Wagner, Suggs, and Black. Things could get incredibly interesting in the A if Orlando is indeed ready for a shake-up.
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