The offseason talk about Orlando Magic forward Paolo Banchero has begun.
After squandering a 3-1 to the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA Playoffs led to the end of the season for the Orlando Magic, the organization chose to part ways with head coach Jamahl Mosley on May 4.
Mosley coached the Magic for five seasons and went 189-221 during his tenure in the regular season and 7-12 in 19 playoff games. His firing has caused reactions around the league, and two of those reactions recently came from Magic legends Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
On a recent episode of the Cousins with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady podcast, the two hall-of-famers touched on the firing, but mainly opened the conversation with the growth of Paolo Banchero.
"A team that we both played for, the Orlando Magic, fired their coach," Carter said. "I feel like it was probably right after the game on the plane home because it happened to drop so quickly. Five seasons with the Magic; that's three years in a row they didn't get out of the first round.
We talked about it on air, but I think Paolo showed us something.
"And that's what star players, to me, have to do in the postseason," Carter added.
"You have to be able to find another gear. And sometimes we have to find another way to be effective, because like we said, they're going to take away what you've been doing all year. They have 65 to 82 games of game film and shot charts of what you do."
Banchero did not play his best basketball during the regular season, but was able to reach another level at various points in the playoffs. In Games 5 and 7 against the Pistons, he scored 45 points and 38 points respectively.
"Yeah, I was pleased with Paolo,and I think the growth, I should say, of what we've seen from him this year," McGrady said. " Because, you know, we was on him, and it's not criticism, it's constructive criticism. I would say, it is not something that we're attacking him on, you know, him being a bad player.
"No, it's what we're trying to do is unlock another level that we see from him that can help he can do," McGrady added. "He could tap into and to elevate his team. That's what this is about. But I did see tremendous growth from him, especially in these playoffs and Game 5, man."
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast
For additional coverage, subscribe to our Full Court Magic Podcast!