Tag: Wendell Carter Jr.

Ranking the Top 10 big men for Team USA if Joel Embiid declines invitation to Paris Olympics in 2024

Anthony Davis is the top option but there are some interesting sleepers, too.

After shockingly failing to medal during the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA has lots of questions to answer before the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

One of the reasons why Team USA struggled to even earn a bronze medal was due to a lack of size in the frontcourt. They struggled on the defensive end of the floor and had a massive deficiency when it came to rebounding the ball.

This is a team that will need legitimate big men in order to compete with tough international talent in the post such as Serbia’s Nikola Jokic as well as France’s Rudy Gobert and Victor Wembanyama.

Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was asked about what changes may come before the Olympics and he mentioned that the team needed to have very specific intentions when it came to the types of big men they would target for the roster (via The Athletic):

“I think it’s a worthwhile point of discussion, but the discussion has to go to, ‘OK, then who is that?” […] “You can’t just say, we’re going to have size for size’s sake. You have to have players who are going to help you win, and you have to determine who those guys are. It’s not just the size, it’s the way the game is played. […] But I don’t think it’s as simple as saying it’s just size. I think you have to examine who you’re talking about if you go down that path.”

Of course, the first name that comes to mind is Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid. He could join the likes of Hakeem Olajuwon, who helped lead Team USA to win a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta after he became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

The six-time All-Star is an international free agent who is eligible to play for Team Cameroon (after they clinched a spot to compete in the FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament) as well as Team France and Team USA.

Team USA managing director Grant Hill said Embiid “knows our desire” to have him on the team. According to Brian Windhorst, however, it’s too early to assume that the league’s reigning MVP will decide to actually suit up for the Americans at the 2024 Olympics in Paris (via ESPN):

“Team USA has done some recruiting of Joel Embiid, who holds both United States and French citizenship, but the Philadelphia 76ers star has thus far been noncommittal.”

So if Team USA is not able to successfully recruit Embiid, here are the other top options that they could consider:

Duke’s Jon Scheyer on Banchero, Carter: They are two of my all-time favorite guys 

With Duke set to begin the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Scheyer reflected on coaching Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.

ORLANDO, Fla. — With the Duke Blue Devils set to begin their postseason, Jon Scheyer took a moment to reflect on coaching two players that now call Central Florida home: Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter Jr.

Scheyer spent nine seasons as an assistant coach under Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski in Durham. He was named the 20th head coach in program history in June 2021 and took over the reins of the program following the 2021-22 season. He guided the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament in his first season in charge as the fifth seed after winning the ACC championship.

Of course, he coached some of the best players to ever set foot onto the hardwood at Duke since joining the coaching staff during the 2013-14 season, including Banchero and Carter.

Carter played with the Blue Devils during the 2017-18 season and was a unanimous selection to the ACC All-Freshman team. He became the seventh pick in the 2018 NBA draft, taken by the Chicago Bulls, and joined the Orlando Magic in 2021 at the trade deadline. Banchero was named an All-American last season and helped the program reach the Final Four for the first time since 2015. He was the top pick of the Magic and is the favorite to win Rookie of the Year.

Scheyer and the Blue Devils will begin the NCAA Tournament on Thursday against No. 12 seed Oral Roberts at Amway Center, where Banchero and Carter play.

He is happy to have coached them at the collegiate level.

I was able to come down here in the fall to see them and just to see what they’ve done. I know Paolo last night (had) 27 in a loss (to the Spurs) and had a great game, but those are two of my all-time favorite guys.

They’re as talented as anybody to have come through here but also as coachable as can be and great guys off the court. I’m a Magic fan because of them, I can tell you that much. Hopefully, we have some good vibes and good memories in their city while we’re here.

Banchero and Carter have helped the Magic find success this season.

The team, despite losing to San Antonio on Tuesday, is 28-41 and four games out of the last play-in spot in the Eastern Conference. The Magic have already surpassed their win total from last season (22) with 14 games left to play.

Carter is having his best season yet, averaging a career-high 15.3 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 46 games. He has registered 18 double-doubles, which ranks 30th in the NBA. Banchero is averaging 20.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 62 games. He leads the rookie class in scoring and is one of two first-year players with multiple 30-point games (5).

Jeremy Roach, who played with Banchero last season, has been keeping up with him this season and has been impressed with his rookie campaign with the Magic.

He is appreciative that they continue to stay in touch.

“(I’ve) been watching (Paolo) all season,” Roach said. “He’s been killing, doing his thing. Obviously, he has been coming back, showing support and texting me on the side. (He) is always showing love to Duke. That’s the brotherhood. Obviously, he went off to the NBA but they still have that connection with us. They still love us.”

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Magic’s Wendell Carter Jr. excited to play with Paolo Banchero

Carter missed playing with Banchero at Duke but sounds eager to take the court with his new teammate this season.

Wendell Carter Jr. may have missed playing with Paolo Banchero at Duke by a few years, but the Orlando Magic center had nothing but nice things to say about his new teammate.

Carter played with the Blue Devils during the 2017-18 season and was a unanimous pick to the ACC All-Freshman team. He became the seventh pick by the Chicago Bulls in 2018 and joined the Magic in 2021 at the trade deadline.

Banchero arrives in Orlando after a productive freshman year at Duke.

He was named an All-American and helped the Blue Devils reach the Final Four for the first time since 2015. The Magic took him with the first pick, and Banchero enters the season as the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award.

Banchero is viewed as a key player that should help Magic take the next step in their rebuild. Carter, speaking on Wednesday, sounded excited to take the court with a fellow Dukie.

Paolo is a great person. I met him when he came down to Orlando not too long ago. I didn’t have the best relationship with him since I was three years removed from when he went to Duke, so I didn’t really know too much about him. I’ve heard good things about him from everybody else. My relationship with him, even though it just began, is pretty good. I think we’ll be good on and off of the court.

While lineups for next season are from being decided, Carter and Banchero each project to start in the frontcourt. The two players bring versatility to the floor and have many of the same characteristics, from shooting to rebounding and working in the post.

The Magic retained essentially the same group as last season; Banchero and fellow rookie Caleb Houstan are the notable additions. While the team has great chemistry, training camp will be crucial to get Banchero acclimated.

Players will likely begin filtering back into Orlando soon with training camp set to begin on Sept. 27. The team seems to be excited about getting to work with Banchero, including Carter himself.

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ACC players selected in the 2022 NBA draft

Who from the Irish’s conference have made the jump?

For the fourth time since 1999, a Duke player was the first overall selection of the NBA draft. That also made it the ninth consecutive year in which the ACC had one of its players taken within the first four picks. The conference had a decent night overall, but the 2022 NBA Draft particularly was amazing for Duke, like that surprises anyone. Meanwhile, Notre Dame saw one of its own selected in the first round, which had not happened in seven years.

While it would be nice to guarantee that all of these players will hit it big in the NBA, we all know that’s unlikely. Some might be future superstars, and others might not even register a single minute in the league. Time will let all of these careers play out, and it’s not really the time to speculate on who will be good or bad. This is the time for them to celebrate the next chapter of their lives.

Here are the ACC players who were drafted by NBA teams in 2022:

OKC Thunder player grades: Thunder lose critical lottery game to Magic, 90-85

The Thunder are now closer to top lottery odds than they are to fifth place in the reverse standings.

Out of all the games in the NBA, that was certainly one of them. In a game that featured two of the four worst teams in the league in terms of standings, the Oklahoma City Thunder fall to the Orlando Magic, 90-85.

Both teams struggled to generate any type of offense as the fourth quarter began with a score in the low 60s. The Thunder were without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he deals with right ankle soreness while the Magic continue to be the Magic.

Wendell Carter Jr. helped led the Magic to its 19th win of the season with a season-high 30 points and 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, the Thunder had arguably its worst offensive performance of the season — which says a lot for the worst offensive-rated team in the league. The Thunder shot just 32.6% from the field which included going 27.1% from three.

More importantly, the Thunder lose a crucial game to a team with a worse record than it. Due to its current nine-game losing streak, the Thunder are just a game back from top three lottery odds and just three games back for the worst record in the league. Considering how things looked just a month ago as the Thunder fought off other threats for top four lottery odds, it feels like the team has made a lot of progress in that area as it’s safe to say the team will have the fourth best lottery odds at worst come seasons end.

But yeah, this was an ugly and sloppy game between two of the worst teams in the league. What was expected is what happened with this game. Let’s take a look at player grades.

Jalen Green continues elite efficiency in Houston’s loss at Orlando

Rookie guard Jalen Green had another strong game, but it wasn’t enough for Houston to win in a matchup at Orlando that potentially had significant stakes for 2022 NBA draft positioning.

Rookie guard Jalen Green continued his run of strong efficiency, but it wasn’t enough for the Rockets in Friday’s 119-111 loss (box score) at Orlando. Houston has now lost eight consecutive games overall.

The result was arguably more important from the perspective of 2022 NBA draft odds. With the victory, the Magic (14-47) only have one less win than the rebuilding Rockets (15-44) in the race for the NBA’s worst record and the best potential odds related to 2022 draft positioning.

Green led Houston with 23 points and 4 steals on 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%), including 4-of-9 on 3-pointers (44.4%), but backcourt mate Kevin Porter Jr. shot just 2-of-10 (20.0%) and only played 21 minutes due to a left ankle injury. Head coach Stephen Silas said postgame that he did yet not know the severity. Big man Christian Wood had 21 points and 11 rebounds, though he made only 3-of-13 free throws (23.1%).

Chuma Okeke scored 26 points off the bench for Orlando, including a dagger 3-pointer in the closing minutes to put the game away. Overall, Okeke hit 5-of-7 shots (71.4%) from 3-point range.

On the interior, Wendell Carter Jr. added 24 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic on 9-of-11 shooting (81.8%), and his 5-of-7 night (71.4%) from the free-throw line was a significant improvement relative to Wood.

Scroll on for highlights and analysis from Friday’s game in Orlando, as well as postgame interviews and media/fan reaction.

‘The sky is the limit’: Wendell Carter Jr. impressed by Jalen Suggs

Suggs on Tuesday drew praise from Carter for his ability to impact games on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Jalen Suggs on Tuesday drew praise from Orlando Magic teammate Wendell Carter Jr. for his ability to impact games on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

Suggs is off to a rather slow start offensively but his teammates and coaching staff still believe he is making a big impact. He is averaging 12 points, 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 11 games on 30.9% shooting from the field, including 22% from 3-point range.

Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley isn’t too concerned with Suggs’ early shooting struggles. He commended Suggs last week for continuing to put in the work and knows it will just be a matter of time before his shots begin to fall.

Suggs knows his offense will come around, too.

The offense is going to come, whether it’s missing easy bunnies, little layups, jump shots — all of those will start to fall. As time goes on, (I) continue to get comfortable and get my legs under myself. I am not worried about that at all. Just continuing to get the pace and comfortability to where I’m out there and people are not dictating what I’m going to do. I’m going to dictate that myself.

With the offense still a work in progress, Suggs has impressed on the defensive end of the floor. Rookie players often have a difficult time adjusting to defending tougher competition but Suggs has had minimal lapses in coverage.

Suggs said the biggest adjustment on defending in the NBA really just comes down to effort. He is more than willing to lock in defensively and put his body on the line and that is something that he wants to bring on a nightly basis.

Carter likes what Suggs brings on defense and on offense.

Defensively, he is phenomenal. He is just a pest on the ball. He just knows how to read the ball really well. Offensively, a lot of us have been trying to preach to him to take the open shot. Sometimes, I think he overthinks some things, which is normal. He just wants to make the right basketball play. Sometimes the right basketball play is just for him to shoot. We have just been preaching that to him.

He’ll get his own feel for the game on the offensive end. Other than that, he has been playing really well. He has been reading the court very well on the offensive end. The sky is the limit for him, for sure.

When shots don’t fall for players, they can often continue to manufacture points by driving into the paint and drawing contact. While Suggs has certainly done that — he has attempted 42 free throws, second-most among all rookies — he has noticed it is a challenge to earn those calls.

Houston Rockets rookie Jalen Green infamously struggled to get to the free-throw line to start the season, and acknowledged first-year players may not get the benefit of the whistle. It is something that Suggs has also noticed, as well.

(There are) definitely a lot of bump slaps, different kind of things that definitely could go other ways. Through the course of the game, sometimes you see it go for another All-Star or veteran and they may get that call. I think, at the end of the day, that’s just basketball and sometimes you’re going to get it and sometimes you are not.

I’m just trying to play through the fouls, play through the contact, get to my finishes and continue to find people and things like that. It’s a physical league and you’re going to have a lot of those plays in the course of a game.

Despite some offensive-shooting struggles, Suggs continues to make improvements each game and it seems like only a matter of time before he breaks out. He brings effort and energy to the court and it is clear he has earned his teammates’ trust to this point.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Report: Warriors and Bulls have discussed draft day trade involving Wendell Carter Jr. and picks

According to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, the Golden State Warriors and Chicago Bulls have discussed a trade involving Wendell Carter Jr. and draft picks.

After an extended wait, the 2020 NBA draft is officially here. Before the Minnesota Timberwolves are on the clock with the No. 1 overall pick later in the evening, trade chatter is heating up.

Since the Golden State Warriors landed the No. 2 overall selection in the 2020 draft, there’s talk of a potential trade for the pick. With Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green in the rotation, Bob Myers and Steve Kerr could deal the pick to acquire a win-now option that helps push Golden State back to the postseason in 2021.

As the draft rapidly approaches, Kevin O’Connor of The Athletic is reporting the Warriors and Bulls have discussed a deal involving a former Duke Blue Devil.

According to O’Connor, the Warriors and Bulls have discussed trading the No. 2 overall pick for Wendell Carter Jr. and the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft.

Via @KevinOConnorNBA on Twitter:

In 2018, the Bulls landed Carter Jr. out of Duke with the No. 7 overall pick on draft night. Prior to entering the draft, the former McDonald’s All-American averaged 13.5 points on 56.1% shooting from the field with 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in 37 games for coach Mike Krzyzewski’s program.

During his two seasons in Chicago, Carter Jr. is averaging 10.8 points on 50.8% shooting from the field with 8.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks in 27.2 minutes per game.

Although he’s posted steady numbers in his two seasons in the association, Carter Jr. has dealt with injuries. Carter Jr.’s rookie season was cut short due to a thumb injury. As a sophomore in 2019-20, Carter Jr. missed time with an ankle injury.

While the Bulls could move up to target a player like James Wiseman or LaMelo Ball, the Warriors add a 21-year-old former top-prospect to a position of need while opening up the opportunity to draft a wing.

Moving from No. 2 to No. 4, the Warriors could target a player like Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton or Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Deni Avdija. Golden State could leave draft night with needed depth on the wing and the frontcourt.

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