Magic Banking on Young Players Growing into Better Shooters

Free-agent signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is expected to elevate the Orlando Magic's 3-point attack, but management also anticipates the younger players — Franz Wagner and Anthony Black to name two — becoming bigger outside threats.

Orlando Magic guard Anthony Black (0) shoots a three-point basket against Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the second quarter at KIA Center. / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

ORLANDO — As the Orlando Magic sought to build on their best season in over a decade, their outside shooting stood out as the biggest factor keeping them from becoming a bona fide contender in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando took a big step in addressing that need by signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to a three-year, $66 million deal on the first day of NBA free agency. Caldwell-Pope, 31, has been one of the best three-and-D players in the league, making better than 40 percent of his 3s in three of his last four seasons.

The Magic also used the NBA Draft to add shooting by taking Tristan da Silva with the No. 18 overall pick. Da Silva shot 38.6 percent from 3 during his four years at Colorado.

Caldwell-Pope and da Silva are the only additions thus far to a Magic team that ranked among the league's worst 3-point shooting teams — 23rd in 3-point percentage, 29th in 3-point attempts per game, and last in 3s made per game. The burden to improve those numbers won't fall just on the new guys.

Anthony Black and Jett Howard's ability to carve out consistent roles could impact Orlando's ability to improve its shooting. Black made 39.4 percent of his 3s, albeit with a small sample size. The 6-foot-7 guard made multiple 3s in just seven games.

Howard spent most of his rookie year in the G-League, where he made 37.7 percent of his 3s on 9.5 attempts per game.

"I think some of this is guys grow up, they get better, they find their rhythm and when you have a team as young as ours, when we talk about player development, part of developing a player is shooting," Weltman said. "They get better the longer they're in the league. It's a pretty linear chart in that respect." Both Black and Howard are 20 years old.

Jalen Suggs rewarded that patience. The All-Defensive second-team guard has gone from a 21.4 percent shooter from beyond the arc to making 39.7 percent of his 3s last season. Jonathan Isaac's 37.5 percent shooting in 2023-24 was the best of his career.

Paolo Banchero also made incremental progress, improving from making 29.8 percent of his 3s as a rookie to 33.9 percent in his All-Star Season. In the playoffs, he made 40 percent of his 3s against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Orlando also had its share of regression. Franz Wagner endured a precipitous drop in his 3-point shooting — 36.1 percent made 3s in his second season to 28.1 percent last year. Gary Harris saw a similar decrease — 43.1 percent from beyond the arc in 2022-23 to 37.1 percent last year.

Banking on the fifth-youngest team in the NBA to improve next season isn't far-fetched. Their growth from 2022-23 to last season led to a 13-win improvement and the first playoff appearance since 2020.

But if Orlando is going to make the jump from a playoff team to a contender next season, many of the same guys will need to make more jump shots.

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