The Orlando Magic went winless in their run at Summer League, but they were still one of the big talking points around the league.
Every discussion of the Eastern Conference made its way around to the fact that the Magic are in the running not only to advance out of the first round but to win the entire conference.
That speaks to the belief everyone around the league has in the potential for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to star in this league. It also speaks to how much of an impact everyone believes the team's big acquisition this offseason in Desmond Bane.
Since the Magic made that trade in mid-June, it has really felt like everything has changed for the Magic. Doors have opened for this team that did not feel open when the season concluded in Boston in late May.
Everyone is talking about the potential for the Magic to continue growing and become contenders in the Eastern Conference. It is just about figuring out the Magic's potential to grow.
"I think Paolo Banchero is a top-five player in this league, if you give him space, if you give him an extra foot, that's like giving him buckets," Mike Miller said on The OGs podcast (Miller is Paolo Banchero's agent, for the record). "Desmond Bane does that. He might not have to get 20 to affect the overall part of their game. . . . Bane I think has that same effect."
The hope for the Magic is indeed tied to these two things -- the emergence of the team's stars and the presence of an elite shooter and improving playmaker. Adding another All-Star-level talent who complements what the team already has is truly transformational.
It may not benefit anyone more than Paolo Banchero, the focal point of the Magic's offense.
Paolo Banchero needs some space from shooting
Paolo Banchero has put up gaudy numbers early in his career -- 25.9 points per game last season despite struggling with an oblique injury.
But criticisms still abound about Banchero's efficiency. He made only 45.2 percent of his shots last year, dragged further down by the month after he returned from his oblique injury, when he really struggled.
Context matters of course. His injury played a role in that. As did the space he had around him.
As everyone knows, the Orlando Magic finished last in the league in 3-point field goal percentage and last in 3-point makes. Getting shooting was a necessity for the team this year.
Banchero still thrived in the process. But his efficiency greatly suffered. He was one of the most double-teamed players in the league. And Banchero had to take a lot of tough shots, especially as trust in players making wide-open shots decreased.
Orlando was a league-worst 35.1 percent on wide-open threes, according to NBA.com. The team was at 28.9 percent on those shots in the Playoffs. The Magic's 18.0 attempts per game in the Playoffs was sixth in the Playoffs. Their 18.8 attempts per game in the regular season was 16th in the league.
It was not for lack of 3-point attempts. The Magic just missed a lot of shots.
Orlando entered the offseason knowing it needed to improve its shooting and be more consistent from beyond the arc. That was the only way the team would accomplish its goals.
That is why they pushed all-in on acquiring Desmond Bane.
Desmond Bane will change the Magic
It is not just a theoretical thing at this point. Everyone can sense how Desmond Bane's presence and Bane's shooting will lift the Orlando Magic's offense and, specifically, make Paolo Banchero a better player.
Bane had a down year statistically last year at 19.2 points per game and 39.2 percent shooting. But even that would be a dramatic improvement on the Magic's poor shooting.
Beyond anything else, Bane shot 42.3 percent on 2.6 catch-and-shoot 3-pointers per game according to Second Spectrum. Orlando had no players shot 40.0 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers last year. The team added two with Tyus Jones coming into the fold.
Orlando took 25.9 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game last year, 17th-most in the league. The team shot a league-worst 32.7 percent on those shots.
The Magic needed shooting, and they addressed it in a meaningful way with this shocking move. And now they are considered one of the favorites in the East.
"They had such horrific spacing and just adding one guy that you care about will help everybody," Andrew Schlecht said on The Athletic NBA Daily's offseason awards show. "It's not just about him shooting and making threes, that will help a lot. Paolo needs a little bit of space to be a better shooter. There is going to be a pretty big shift for the Magic just having a guy people care about on the perimeter."
Defenses now have shooters they must pay attention to. Or will attack closeouts when they overcommit to Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner. Teams will have to take some calculated risks when defending the Magic.
That is not something they had to do before.
As Sam Vecenie put it on the Game Theory podcast, reacting to Paolo Banchero's extension, formerly inefficient players like Cade Cunningham did not suddenly become better passers and more efficient; They got more shooters around them to make defenses pay and get sucked into his vortex.
Offense is a symbiotic relationship. Shooters benefit from having players that soak up defensive attention. Stars benefit from having shooters create gravity and hold defenders in their place.
Offenses in the league are so advanced that defense is really about which shots are you willing to give up and then how quickly you can recover to pressure thes hots you want them taking. Orlando's offense struggled because it was so one dimensional, even with two star players soaking up attention.
Adding shooting like in Bane is going to help Banchero take another leap. That much is clear. He should now have the space to explore his canvas and improve in every facet.