October 1, 2024 • 35 mins
Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman joined Dante, David, Jeff and Jake to preview the 24-25 season for his young squad. He describes the scene in the locker room after last year's game 7 loss in Cleveland and how that pain can drive a young group to bigger things, what brought Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to Orlando and how his young group can level up once again.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
We got a good one for you Magic fans. A
conversation with President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman on this
episode of Gjiic Pods Squad Gagic Fans. The Forida Department
of Transportation reminds you that fans don't let fans drive drunk.
If you've been drinking, don't get behind the wheel. Instead,
find a sober driver or catch a ride service. Remember,
drive sober or get cold over. Have a great night
(00:23):
at drive.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Sea wants to talk to Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
About in regards to this Orlando Magic team, including what
the players have been up to over the summer, the
decision to sign Contavious Caldwell Pope and what went into
him deciding to join the Orlando Magic. Bagic re signed
a lot of players on their roster. Mo Wagner Gogabatase.
We'll discuss that and what lies ahead for this Magic
roster that got a taste of the postseason last year
(00:48):
and how that could propel them moving forward. It's a
great conversation, lots of insight with President of Basketball Operations
Jeff Weltman this edition of Magic Pod Squad.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Those fawns long enough to Orlando, this is this is
jenn and Suggs.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
This is Paulo man Carroll of the Orlando Magic and
you're listening to the Pod Squad.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Welcome every one to another episode of Orlando Magic Pod Squad.
Great to have you with us. Dante Marcatelli, Jeff Turner,
David Steele, Jake Chapman. That's all we could fit in here.
We would put more in here if we could.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Good thing. Everybody fits.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Jeff Wellman, Magic President of Basketball Operations, kind enough to
join us, and Jeff, it's always great to talk to you.
Kick off another season of Magic basketball for you. This
will be number eight here in Orlando. Wow, how about
out that? What goes through your mind when you hear
that season eight?
Speaker 4 (01:39):
I'm getting old, man, No, no, no, no, It's It's
been a great run here, man. I've had a great
you know experience, you know, with the organization, with the city,
Our families loved it, and you know we've been through
a lot of iterations of the team, you know, first
getting here, kind of hitting the lay of the land,
(02:01):
assessing what it was that we had, kind of trying
to you know, fit that together and take it as
far as we could. Obviously, recalibrating and going in another direction.
And you know, haven't been more excited than I am
as we sit here today going into season eight.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
For me, for us, we get excited. This is the
start of another season. We get excited. David Steele starts
answering our calls again, come on, because the games are coming.
What are your emotions as you get ready for it?
Do you get as excited as you did when you started?
What do you think as we start training camp?
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Yeah, I mean I'm excited that David's answering our call. Yeah,
you too, right, Yeah, it's it is an exciting time. No,
you know, hey, this time of year is always exciting,
but I will say it's exciting for every team, you know,
all of the work that you put in over the summer,
all the planning. I think for us, you know, specifically,
because we've been kind of stare stepping and we're at
(02:56):
a place now where it's going to get harder to
do that, you know, and we're a team that, unlike
a lot of the teams that we're competing with, and
we make no mistake like that's what we're competing with,
we have not yet kind of pushed our chips in
you know, so we're still, by and large, you know,
(03:16):
constituted by young players who are still in the process
of growing and understanding how they affect winning with one another. Obviously,
we're excited about the additions this year, but yeah, I
think the whole organization, I think you can feel it
when you walk into the building, has a great sense
of excitement for the season ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
You know, as you look at where the team is
right now.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You mentioned that there's been a process that you've been
through some evaluation periods. Are you do you feel like
you're more now beyond the evaluation period or is there
still a certain amount of evaluation that's going on before
you move to that next step.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Honestly, David, in our jobs, I feel like you never
outgrow the evaluation period. It's just the lens through which
we have to say see the whole world. You know.
I will say that it's tough, you know, the league
makes it. It's tough for all of us in the NBA,
and it's really tough for the players because the timetables
(04:12):
in the NBA are set by contract lengths, and so
when we have to when we always say there's a
lot of hard decisions coming at us. That's because you know,
contracts have lived their lives, and when they get to
the end of their lives, decisions must be made. And
the first wave of those decisions come from players who
are just starting to scratch the surface, you know. So
(04:34):
all we try to do is give the players as
much space and nourishment and you know what what I
guess is called player development as possible, to have them
grow into the league the right way, understand what the
league values, what what our team values, and give them
a chance to show who they can be. But you know,
(04:56):
the earlier you have to make these decisions, the more fuzzy,
you know, the the the probably byproducts are going to be.
And so you know, this is this is something that
the whole league is up against, you know, and especially
if you're a young team and you're building through the
draft and through young players. You know, we believe in
our young guys. You know, we haven't really recruited over then,
(05:18):
we haven't done a lot of as I said earlier,
kind of pushing our chips into the middle of the tables,
sorts of deals. So you know, right now we've been
able to stare step because they've been able to stare step,
you know, and when you win forty seven games, you're
eating up a lot, a lot you know, more difficult
space as you go forward. So, you know, we're excited
(05:39):
about this season where where we never stop evaluating and
this is a tough league and they know that, you know,
the players know that, and they know that what we're
evaluating is who drives winning, who drives winning. So you know,
there's a lot to kind of factor into the whole,
you know, wash of what what constitutes and NBA team
(06:00):
and you know, but but at the end of the day,
the players that affect winning, the players that make each
other better, that make it easier to play with one another,
those are the guys that we gravitate towards.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
And Frands you've already taken care of from the twenty
one draft contractually, Jalen Suggs the next name on that
twenty one list. How do you expect for that to
play out that negotiation?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
I mean, I don't have any expectations, you know, I
know that Jalen is like an extremely important, you know,
part of what we're doing here. He's an exceptional young talent,
and he's an exceptional young man. And you know, we've
had conversations with his representatives, you know, and and we'll
just see where that goes. Obviously, I'm not going to
(06:44):
really kind of open the door to those discussions other
than to say that, you know, jalen Is is a
really vital, you know, part of our team and he's
been a big part of our success.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Jeff, It's it's interesting when we hear you talk. You've
used words like this is it's horror, it's tough. You know,
You're you're talking about contracts and making it all go together,
the step by step process. I think as fans people listening,
you know, for us, you know, I consider myself a fan.
It's what are we doing this year? But you can't
(07:16):
do that ken Ye talk about the process of how
far out from a timeline you're looking at when you're
when you're building this thing.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
All the way out, I can't see that far. I
feel that, you know, we never want to lose sight
of this season. You know, we want to be better
than last year. We want to compete, we want to
we want to win a championship. You know, we also
have to understand that, you know, the things that have
driven us to this point have been the growth of
(07:48):
our young players, and we have to invest ourselves as
deeply as possible to continue that process because that is
what's going to attract other players. You know, there's a
reason that a guy like Cantavia called well Pope wanted
to be here, you know, because he sees the way
our young guys are developing, the way our team is trending.
And I do believe that there are a lot of
(08:08):
players around the league that notice that that that see
what we're doing here, and we have to continue that.
So uh, you know, with the with the nature of
of you know, the CBA, and and you know the
financial compression that's going to really hit the whole league
at some point. You know, the more you kind of
build through the draft and reinvest in your own players, like,
(08:28):
the tighter you get financially, the tougher those decisions get made.
But what really makes them difficult, like I said, is
we have to make in them so early. These guys
are so young, and you know, the earlier you have
to make them, the more room there is for you know,
the the less accurate probably your your data collection can be.
(08:48):
If I can put it that way, and so you know,
we need to give these guys a chance to show
who they are, you know, and as people, as workers,
as teammates, every in every way. So so to answer
your question, we look all the way ahead because our
goal is to win a championship. You know, I want,
I'd love to win one this year, and if we
see that we're trending that way, we'll do everything we can.
(09:10):
But that being said, I feel that, you know, this
is the position that we're in right now, is we
are competing at the highest level. We we do want
to get better and compete for a title right now,
but we'd also we also, as I've said before, I
want to follow our north star and we won't deviate
from that, which is, you know, we have a lot
of young players on this roster who we feel have
(09:30):
a lot of potential and a lot of growth in them,
and we are obligated to them to get them as
far as we can, you know, and give them all
the nourishment that they that we can organizationally. And so
it's trying to do two things, you know, and that's
where I get to it gets a little tricky at times,
you know, It's not it's it's not.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I always say the NBA seldom presents you with an
obvious choice, you know, but this is this is what
we're trying to do.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Jeff. They say progress isn't linear. I say that a lot.
I think I probably heard it from you.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Our analytic guys say that a lot.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Yeah, unless you're Jamal Mosley and you're talking about win
totals right right.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
But aside from that, like.
Speaker 6 (10:11):
Expectations and plus twelve plus thirteen just for you man
to man to watch coach mostly get some of that
recognition Coach of the Year votes to select team.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
How gratifying has that been for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
I think it's it's terrific And I think like that's
emblematic of our organization.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
That's why I love it so.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Much, because you know, coach deserves it. I mean, he's
so invested, he's so invested in the team.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
He's so the way that we think.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Ahead, you know, years and years and you know, how
how does our team unfold? You know, he's thinking that
way about each of our guys every single day, you know,
and there's just no substitute for that. It's just authentic.
It's genuine and you know, uh, you know, it's the
old expression, but our guys would run through a wall
(10:56):
for him, you know, they know how much he cares.
And he's good. He's a really good coach, you know.
And I think that like our team, if you think
about it, he came here three years ago, and you
talk about the growth. He was a rookie, so you know,
he's getting better and better himself, you know. And and
so I I couldn't you know, ask for anything more,
(11:18):
h to have as as a partner, to go through
this you know, process with and and and to watch
him the way that he treats people, the way that
he invests in people, the way that he gives of
him of his own time. You know, it's so gratifying.
And and again, Jake, it speaks to the way that
we work here. It speaks to who we are and
who we want to know, who we want our players
(11:40):
to know. This is what we're about, you know, and
I believe that they do.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
That's such a good question. It's kind of why we
replaced him with George, you know, it's kind of why
we kind of why we made that substitution. Sorry, George,
I've kidding kidding. That's going to come back to Bible would.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Have been something about the Matts or something.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Take us through this summer, you say, got yourself up
so nicely with salary cap flexibility, the ability to add
a contavious Caldwell Pope who you mentioned. We know the
numbers we look at. I mean, he's missed twenty four
games in six years, which is remarkable. Three point shooter.
What are the things that sold you on KCP? And
just take us through the decision to bring him on.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
You know, KCP is one of those guys who because
he's he doesn't have these gaudy numbers and kind of
you know, a top ten sports center guy every night,
maybe flies a little under the radar, but I can
tell you that, you know, guys around the league in
my position are no, no, a lot about KCP, and
everybody admires him. I know one one GM told me
(12:42):
after we signed him, we're always looking for a guy
like him. You guys got the real one, you know,
And so I think that, you know, KCP, he's about
all the stuff that we talked about. You know, he
just makes guys better. You know, he's he's he's economical,
he's smart, he's every single possession know every night. I
mean already, even even in kind of like open Jim scenarios,
(13:05):
guys are already blown away. Like man, he tries to
get over every screen, even we're just running up and down.
You know, it's just kind of like one of those
guys that knows no other way. Obviously, you know. The
shooting piece is something that we were, you know, like
looking to improve upon this summer, and I think he'll
hopefully add that. If history is any indicator, but who
(13:25):
he is as a person, man CACP was one of
the biggest free agent signings this summer. You haven't heard
him one time talk about now I can spread my wings,
now I can show the league who I am. All
he talks about is I want to show these guys
the importance of defense support.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
You know, this is what I do.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
You know, the importance of showing up every day. And
so I think he's going to be a great influence
on our team. I think he's going to help us
on the court off the court, and you know, he's
got a hunger and a humility about him that I think,
you know, like I said, a lot of guys in
my position around the league recognize.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Jeff could you pull the kurt back a little bit
with regard to what the players have been doing this summer?
Things have changed in the NBA. When Jeff was playing,
you know, I think the season ended and there were
there was a lot of off time, a lot of downtime,
a lot of golf, which I'm sure there's still some
of that, But how has that changed overtime? And could
you tell us what our guys have been doing to
get ready for training camp?
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Yeah, because when Jeff played, I don't think pickleball was
a thing.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
Whether I don't recall that man, Yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Don't think so. So, you know, they they I mean
when you say you know what our guys, I mean,
you know, sixteen guys, they all they've all had their
own summers obviously, you know, you know, go going back
to to to try to qualify for Olympics with his
national team. They didn't make it. Franz and Mo had
their German national team experience, had a great run you
(14:46):
know in the Olympics, and a lot of our other
guys have you know, a lot of our young guys
have been here for the predominance of the summer, and
some guys have been bopping around in and out. Our
coaches and performance staff have done a great job of
just sending guys out. You know, as a matter of fact,
I met with our player development crew yesterday and you know,
(15:07):
they've quantified everything. They measure everything, how many visits we
we've taken what we worked on in those visits, and
we're trying to get to a place where everything is measured.
The players understand what their offseason goals are both for
a team fit and and individually and and so we're
not wasting time over the summers. So, like you said,
summers have changed, you know, like we've we've tried to
(15:29):
get as efficient as we can. But with that, you know,
the foundation of all of that is relationships. You know,
the players have to feel whether they're here or at
home or you know, in another place, even working with
a third party trainer, that they're attached to the team,
that that that we're we got them. And so our
guys have done a great job of attaching to whatever
(15:52):
workout they're doing, and and and and and making it
make sense for how it helps us win this season.
Everything is done what helps us win this season, and
so you know, I so it's a it's a. It's
a big question because it entails like sixteen different guys.
But I know that, you know, our guys have worked
really hard. And I know I can say that with credibility, David,
(16:14):
because our fans have seen it carry over the last
couple of seasons. You know, that doesn't do The improvements
that we've had don't come without a lot of hard
work and.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
The importance of that. Those off seasons are you know,
really getting more and more significant, aren't they.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Yeah, And it's the work. And it's also honestly, in
this age of you know, social media and the incredible
level of scrutiny and intensity that these young guys are
going through, they need to chill a little bit too,
you know. They need to get away and and and
not think about the magic, be with their families, be
(16:49):
with their buddies, and you know, catch their breath, you know,
because once we we always say like we take our inhale,
you know about now and basically U x hell at
the end of the season, and it's it's it's a lot,
you know, it's a lot that comes at him. And
uh so, so these summers are important in a lot
of ways, you know, you know, and and a lot
of our guys, their bodies are still growing, you know,
(17:11):
and changing, you know, and even to the point where,
you know, one of the guys that's that that has
been around a lot the summer is Jonathan and Jonathan
you know, it's I think our fans will see, you know,
he's he's he's added a lot of weight, you know,
and uh, it's it's it's partially the work that he's
done and the guys as hard a worker as there is,
but he's growing up, you know, and it takes time.
(17:32):
That's kind of like harkening you back to like the
earlier part of the discussion, you know, doesn't happen like that,
you know. So so we have to you know, ride
that timeline with them and understand, you know, the curve
that they're on. You know, when you talk about like
seeing years ahead.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
TeV is interesting because you know, kind of going back
to when I played, you know, a lot of the
players would begin in September and start getting back into
the central Florida area and we we'd find gyms to
play pick up games and things like that. What you
read about now is the players will will congregate, somebody
will set something up by player, and they will congregate
(18:11):
and and have a weekend or a week where they'll
all be together, go to dinner and things. Are we
seeing anything like that with this young group and who
would be kind of leading that for us?
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yeah, I think we're seeing a lot of that. You know,
these guys stay so attached. Obviously, you know, you didn't
have Instagram. I don't think no.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Instagram.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
We don't even actually have cell phones, so I really
didn't see.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
But I would argue he doesn't have a cell phone
still he doesn't.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Know how to way.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
You know, our guys stay attached, man, I think you know,
I think there are obviously a lot of ways you
can say attached these days. Our guys are, by NBA standards,
I think, a particularly tight knit group. And so yeah,
they did do a lot of that, you know, on
their own. They also do a lot of their own stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
So you know, the Peel go to Seattle and he's
got his guys he wants to work with. And I
think it's important that our guys recognize, like, man, this
is a guy that played you know, USA basketball. You know,
this last season season before was his draft summer. He
hasn't had a summer with his family in a couple
of years. You know, you think about everything this guy's
been through. So he goes back to Seattle, he gets
(19:26):
his work in. Man, we're sending guys out, We're attaching
to the guys that he's working with, and I think
it's important that those guys, you know, know that even
that we want them to have that time, we want
them to have it, but also they have that awareness
of how they impact the rest of the team. And
(19:48):
so you know, when you talk about like who's setting
things up, you know, I think a lot of our
young guys are starting to step up and grow into that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Fronz and Pee, I think are really feeling, you know,
where this is going and you know, starting to pick
up some of the onus of that.
Speaker 5 (20:05):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
But I think they all had great summers, you know,
in their own respects, and a lot of those times
were together, you know, on their own, you know, kind
of like under their own instigation. So I mean, I
love that they do that, and they really care about
each other. It's a very you know, tight ening group.
And the other thing Jeff obviously is like we have
(20:27):
this facility now so you talk about like the home
away from home, and and you know, our young guys,
Anthony jet I mean, you know, Caleb, they lived in here,
They lived in here. They put so much work in
and you know, they really the thing I love about
our guys is they just buy in. You know, they
(20:49):
want to come into the league the right way. You know,
I say, like, you are in this league, man. You
look at like careers of players. You are how you
come into the league. More often than not, you know,
if you come in the right way and you learn
and learn what matters and what people are evaluating from you,
it generally puts you in a good place for the
rest of your career, you know. And I think our
guys are really like getting an understanding of that, and
(21:11):
it just goes so far. It allows them to be coached,
It allows them to understand the big picture, you know,
understand like what the next step is, you know, and
you know, those things, those things are so important to
young players, you know. So I think like they all
had different summers, and you know, they all need to
have different summers because they're all at different stages of
their careers. And you know, but I think collectively they
(21:33):
always stay attached and keep each other up on what's
going on, and you know, so kind of excited to
bring that back and see them all start to filter in.
Now is a really exciting time of year and they
all get to be together for the first time.
Speaker 6 (21:46):
Jeff, it's interesting you say that about young players.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I was in Detroit when.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
KCP was I think it was a year two through
four in his career, and I want to ask you
about Corey Joseph as well. Both those guys, it seems
like identified things that they were good at, got really
good at it, and it's able to prolong their careers.
What great examples are they for the young core that
we have here, just as far as staying power in
the league.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
I mean, you know, I was with Corey in Toronto,
and you you want to talk about just a spectacular person. Man.
You know, Corey has like that great mix of kind
of like that that Ontario you know, very kind of
like rule following, like organized like way about him that
(22:30):
I'm familiar with living in Toronto, which is, you know,
great city, and he's also got his Island background and
he's he's always got.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
A smile on his face.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
You know, he's a very like lighthearted guy and the
experiences that he's had and it's very interesting. I'm sure
you guys will talk to him at some point and
one of the things he'll tell you is his last
stop in Golden State. This is this is a guy
who's in his thirties now gets to Golden State and
has an eye opening experience with how hard Steph Curry
(22:59):
works and it really you know, and and when I
talk to him this summer, you know, before we kind
of brought him up here and started like getting a
look at him and met with him just to see
where he is and everything. You know, he talked, He
talked about that and how it kind of like recalibrated
him and it shows. I mean, it was.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It was amazing.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Man. When he came up in July, he was in
game shape. I'm like, dude, you're in better shape now
than you were in Toronto.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
You know so.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But but I say that as like like the starting point.
But the beauty of Corey is Corey knows when to
let the young guys leave. You know, I know that
our team is in good hands with our vet guys
because they're not trying to impress the coach by being
(23:44):
the loudest guy in the room or act differently when
there's a coach around or something, you know, one of
us around. They're just authentic guys. They're good guys. They
understand what it takes to win, and at this point
in their careers, they just want to help these young
guys and they'll do that. They'll do that by sometimes
this following, you know. And I think that's that's wisdom,
(24:06):
you know, that's smart.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
So so Corey is just a great guy. And Corey
can still play, and Uh, I'm really excited that that
he's going to kind of, you know, be in our
locker room, be around our guys. I think he's going
to be a great influence on them.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
You mentioned Jet and Anthony Black. I think when you
look back at what Anthony was able to do last year,
getting thrust into starters minutes at times and contributing the
way he did. You mentioned they've been in the gym
the entire summer, which is great. Uh, You've got competition
at every position. It's such a deep team. What what
are you telling Anthony and Jet and what what are
you expecting with those two as they try to carve
out minutes.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
I think that you know, these are these are talks
that you know, coach Moses having with them daily, and
you know, I think this all folds into like the
same conversation about just understanding your progression. You know, don't
don't sorry guys, don't don't try to get too much
too soon. And you know that that's one of the
(25:02):
hardest things for a young guy to to recognize. And
so you know, when Anthony got thrown into the fire
last year, I thought he acquitted himself. Well you know,
but you know this gets back to like who you
are and the character and the ability to understand, the
ability to buy in, the ability to be coached.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Both of those.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Guys, you know, are tremendous talents, tremendous kids, and man,
they had really good summers.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
They they work their tails off the summer. You know,
they put so much time in every day, every day.
And I look at them and you know, their bodies
are starting to change. But you know, to your earlier question, Jeff,
you know you think about like Jonathan, you know, is
I say, starting to grow into his body now he's
twenty what six twenty seven? I mean, like these guys
(25:52):
are twenty you know, p's twenty one, you know, so
it's like what are they going to look like? And
if you years, you know that that's what we have
to keep asking ourselves. And in the meantime, you know,
as you say, like, well here's here's here's like the
point off in the horizon that I'm looking at. Okay,
Like what do we have to do every step of
the way so that when they get to this point
(26:13):
they're the best they can be And for them to
understand that that's part of this process, you know, uh,
takes a lot of work from our staff and it
takes the right player to be able to get that.
So it's a big part of like when we try
to bring guys in here even throughout the draft process
that you know, can they internalize you know that that
(26:36):
timetable and it's not easy. It's not easy. Like you
get in the season and guys want to play and
they want to show who they are. But you know, ultimately,
like you know, we just like is this helping the team?
Is this helping the team? And you know, our guys,
I think for the right people, they understand that that's
the question that that they need to answer for US
and for any team in this in this league. So yeah,
(26:58):
I think I think those guys both had summers. I think,
you know, they're both really talented. What that means this year,
you know, we'll see. It's like you said, Dante, we
are very deep.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
We have depth at every.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Position, you know, and coach is going to be able
to look down that bench and have a lot of
arrows in this quiver and a lot of options and
a lot of different answers for different questions that might
be thrown at them in different games and matchups and circumstances,
and you know what injuries are going to hit. That's
one area where I feel, you know, good about our roster.
(27:30):
But that said, you know it, as I said earlier,
it comes with that kind of like duality of you know,
we want to win now, we want to win a championship,
but our pathway to doing that is to make sure
that we're developing our young players properly.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
You mentioned Palo and Frauds. How young they are. Froz
just heared twenty three. I think you said Pallo twenty one.
In the future for those two guys, what makes you
confident knowing them and what they're all about as human
beings that they're going to reach a very very high
potential at the end of their arc.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I feel like those guys are more mature than I am.
And I'm not talking about when I was their age.
I mean, they're they're just they're incredible, man like the
the the level of maturity and the willingness to like
put themselves in difficult situations and get uncomfortable and work
(28:26):
and sacrifice. It's just you just don't see it very
often in guys that age, you know, any walk of life.
And so for them to be able to do that,
you know, honestly, that's what we need to bet on.
That's the sort of stuff that if the Magic are
going to win a championship, that's the sort of stuff
we need to bet on, you know. And they're not
(28:47):
the only guys, but but but you ask about those
guys specifically, you know, they they they're extremely smart, extremely competitive,
and even as they grow through their own process of
everybody no one's immune from wanting to show who you
are and kind of blow up and be that guy.
You know, But even as they go through this at
(29:08):
the very earliest stage, I mean, they're not even in
their pre primes. Yet you know, even as they go
through at the very earliest stages, you already see this
awareness of is that helping the team win? And you know, ultimately,
you know, you see a lot of great players in
this league kind of get to the middle part of
their careers before that, you know, switch flips and you
(29:30):
can already see it flipping with them, you know, at
ages like you know, twenty one and twenty two, twenty three.
I think Howlo will be uh twenty two in November.
But my point is, like I think the way that
our guys look at kind of you know, the stages
of a career. You know, you know, your your pre
prime is almost like twenty three to twenty five, twenty six,
and they haven't even hit that part of their career yet.
(29:51):
You know, they're you know, so so so for them
to be doing what they're doing, not just you know,
putting up numbers and kind of like you know, garnering
all these accolades, but to understand like what take what
it takes to win, and how they lift up their
teammates and that it's no good if you're not taking
everybody with you. To have that awareness, man, that's Uh,
(30:11):
that's unique.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Last thing, Jeff, and I want to get your thoughts that.
Jeff talks about it all the time, and he may
want to weigh in two, but getting a taste of
the playoffs, these young guys getting a taste, right, and
that's we've heard from all of them, seemingly through social
media sites which Jeff is not on, but they're say
how much that has fueled them and how much that
has motivated them the entire summer. A lot of people
(30:35):
are just smarting jeffs mart to stay off Jeff. But
what that can do for a guy like Paul. Obviously
for everybody, but for a guy like Polo, what do
you think that did making the playoffs? I know coach
Moseley will say when I'm in January and I'm talking
about the playoffs are like this. Now they get it,
they've seen it, they understand how important the games are.
What does that do to a guy like Polo getting
(30:56):
that taste?
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, Honestly, Dante with particular question, I just want to
expand that because it's not just p it's the whole team. Sure,
and and I feel like, you know, walking through that
locker room after Game seven, I mean it was like
a wrecking ball had just come through there. Man, you know,
tears and eyes. No one wanted to talk. You know,
(31:21):
you could tell right then and there, okay, game on,
you could you could just see it right there. And
I think that's carried through the whole summer. I think
that the only way to gain that kind of you know,
those battle scars, is to go through it, you know,
and especially the nature of the way we went through
(31:42):
it to get to the seventh game, to get a
big lead and then to lose a close game.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
I think that grows people up. It grows it grows
up players. And how how does it impact them? We'll see,
we'll see. I know it's in them and I know that,
like there's still a lot for them to process, and
so they haven't been through. Okay, now we're going to
play after we've been through that experience. It's not like
(32:11):
that happened two or three or four times. It just
happened once. So the first time you never know. So
we'll see how how how they internalize that, how that
hits them immediately. But it's in there and it will
come out at some point.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
That's great. I think that fires us all up, and
I think we can't wait, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (32:28):
And Jeff was on a team that made the playoffs
and got knocked out, upset in the first round by Indiana,
and then the next season that team made it to
the NBA Finals. So it you know, it does happen.
It has happened. He's happened here.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Well, well, I was a big part of that. So yeah,
I know why. That's why I was injured and that,
you know, so when I came back, it just changed there.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Your contract, the locker room were exceptionally No.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
I know, we want to wrap it up, but if
I'm not, may just so, Jeff, when I go around town,
people stop me all the time. What people around town
And you guys have probably heard this. They love this
team and you've talked about how close they are. It's
so apparent. It's so obvious to fans, the way they
cheer for one another and everything. And I always always
(33:16):
laugh and I tell them, you know, it's like, yeah,
it is very unusual at our level because I've been
there and I know every one of those guys. They
think they should be on the floor and I tell
them and I and you can comment I believe that
what you've talked about the philosophy of this organization and
it comes from the top, and that's hu je f Willman.
(33:38):
That this belief that you know, we're going to do
everything we can if you'll just stay with us to
make sure you're the best player you can be. I
think that's a big part of what you've created here
and why this team is so close And to the
playoff question, I think that because of that closeness and
experiencing that together, not just one guy felt you know anything,
(34:03):
it's all of them together. It's why I get excited
about this crew.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Well, I first of all, I appreciate that I want
to I want to say I'm not at the top,
but I want to say that that m comes from
the devices and you know, and yeah, obviously you're out
school and then to Alex and then you know, listen,
I was recruited here, you know, and I felt it,
you know, And so I do think it's a part
(34:32):
of our ethos. It's hoped, you know, the magic way.
That's what we want to establish, the magic way. You know,
when you come here, you're part of something bigger than yourself,
and if you're not looking for that don't come uh
you know that said, Man, I so appreciate all of that, Jeff,
but I'll just I'll just finish with this. Man. Everything
that you said is just because we got the right dudes. Man,
(34:54):
It's just because we got the right dudes. They are
just such good people and I can't tell you how
how deeply we try to get to know them through
the draft process, and you know, the amount of homework
that we do even when we're looking at free agency.
It's just it's so important too. We just can't do
what we're doing without that component, you know. So I'm
(35:15):
really glad that you bring that up and kind of
like maybe that's a great way to like tie it
all together at the end, you know, I really appreciate that.
But it's it's it's really it's at the end of
the day, we everybody in this building, man, like, they
work their butt off and they'd work the right way.
And I always say, the right information has to find
the right person with no ego. But all of that,
it doesn't mean anything without without without the character and
(35:38):
who those who those players are as people, you know,
and that's that's what we're about.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Well, I love that it's a great way to wrap
it up. I think that's what we all see, that's
what gets fans so excited about this group that you've
put together here and we can't wait to get started.
That'll do it for this addition of Magic Pod Squad
with Jeff Wellman
We got a good one for you Magic fans. A
conversation with President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman on this
episode of Gjiic Pods Squad Gagic Fans. The Forida Department
of Transportation reminds you that fans don't let fans drive drunk.
If you've been drinking, don't get behind the wheel. Instead,
find a sober driver or catch a ride service. Remember,
drive sober or get cold over. Have a great night
(00:23):
at drive.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Sea wants to talk to Jeff.
Speaker 1 (00:25):
About in regards to this Orlando Magic team, including what
the players have been up to over the summer, the
decision to sign Contavious Caldwell Pope and what went into
him deciding to join the Orlando Magic. Bagic re signed
a lot of players on their roster. Mo Wagner Gogabatase.
We'll discuss that and what lies ahead for this Magic
roster that got a taste of the postseason last year
(00:48):
and how that could propel them moving forward. It's a
great conversation, lots of insight with President of Basketball Operations
Jeff Weltman this edition of Magic Pod Squad.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Those fawns long enough to Orlando, this is this is
jenn and Suggs.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
This is Paulo man Carroll of the Orlando Magic and
you're listening to the Pod Squad.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Welcome every one to another episode of Orlando Magic Pod Squad.
Great to have you with us. Dante Marcatelli, Jeff Turner,
David Steele, Jake Chapman. That's all we could fit in here.
We would put more in here if we could.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Good thing. Everybody fits.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Jeff Wellman, Magic President of Basketball Operations, kind enough to
join us, and Jeff, it's always great to talk to you.
Kick off another season of Magic basketball for you. This
will be number eight here in Orlando. Wow, how about
out that? What goes through your mind when you hear
that season eight?
Speaker 4 (01:39):
I'm getting old, man, No, no, no, no, It's It's
been a great run here, man. I've had a great
you know experience, you know, with the organization, with the city,
Our families loved it, and you know we've been through
a lot of iterations of the team, you know, first
getting here, kind of hitting the lay of the land,
(02:01):
assessing what it was that we had, kind of trying
to you know, fit that together and take it as
far as we could. Obviously, recalibrating and going in another direction.
And you know, haven't been more excited than I am
as we sit here today going into season eight.
Speaker 1 (02:15):
For me, for us, we get excited. This is the
start of another season. We get excited. David Steele starts
answering our calls again, come on, because the games are coming.
What are your emotions as you get ready for it?
Do you get as excited as you did when you started?
What do you think as we start training camp?
Speaker 4 (02:34):
Yeah, I mean I'm excited that David's answering our call. Yeah,
you too, right, Yeah, it's it is an exciting time. No,
you know, hey, this time of year is always exciting,
but I will say it's exciting for every team, you know,
all of the work that you put in over the summer,
all the planning. I think for us, you know, specifically,
because we've been kind of stare stepping and we're at
(02:56):
a place now where it's going to get harder to
do that, you know, and we're a team that, unlike
a lot of the teams that we're competing with, and
we make no mistake like that's what we're competing with,
we have not yet kind of pushed our chips in
you know, so we're still, by and large, you know,
(03:16):
constituted by young players who are still in the process
of growing and understanding how they affect winning with one another. Obviously,
we're excited about the additions this year, but yeah, I
think the whole organization, I think you can feel it
when you walk into the building, has a great sense
of excitement for the season ahead.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
You know, as you look at where the team is
right now.
Speaker 5 (03:39):
You mentioned that there's been a process that you've been
through some evaluation periods. Are you do you feel like
you're more now beyond the evaluation period or is there
still a certain amount of evaluation that's going on before
you move to that next step.
Speaker 4 (03:52):
Honestly, David, in our jobs, I feel like you never
outgrow the evaluation period. It's just the lens through which
we have to say see the whole world. You know.
I will say that it's tough, you know, the league
makes it. It's tough for all of us in the NBA,
and it's really tough for the players because the timetables
(04:12):
in the NBA are set by contract lengths, and so
when we have to when we always say there's a
lot of hard decisions coming at us. That's because you know,
contracts have lived their lives, and when they get to
the end of their lives, decisions must be made. And
the first wave of those decisions come from players who
are just starting to scratch the surface, you know. So
(04:34):
all we try to do is give the players as
much space and nourishment and you know what what I
guess is called player development as possible, to have them
grow into the league the right way, understand what the
league values, what what our team values, and give them
a chance to show who they can be. But you know,
(04:56):
the earlier you have to make these decisions, the more fuzzy,
you know, the the the probably byproducts are going to be.
And so you know, this is this is something that
the whole league is up against, you know, and especially
if you're a young team and you're building through the
draft and through young players. You know, we believe in
our young guys. You know, we haven't really recruited over then,
(05:18):
we haven't done a lot of as I said earlier,
kind of pushing our chips into the middle of the tables,
sorts of deals. So you know, right now we've been
able to stare step because they've been able to stare step,
you know, and when you win forty seven games, you're
eating up a lot, a lot you know, more difficult
space as you go forward. So, you know, we're excited
(05:39):
about this season where where we never stop evaluating and
this is a tough league and they know that, you know,
the players know that, and they know that what we're
evaluating is who drives winning, who drives winning. So you know,
there's a lot to kind of factor into the whole,
you know, wash of what what constitutes and NBA team
(06:00):
and you know, but but at the end of the day,
the players that affect winning, the players that make each
other better, that make it easier to play with one another,
those are the guys that we gravitate towards.
Speaker 5 (06:12):
And Frands you've already taken care of from the twenty
one draft contractually, Jalen Suggs the next name on that
twenty one list. How do you expect for that to
play out that negotiation?
Speaker 4 (06:23):
I mean, I don't have any expectations, you know, I
know that Jalen is like an extremely important, you know,
part of what we're doing here. He's an exceptional young talent,
and he's an exceptional young man. And you know, we've
had conversations with his representatives, you know, and and we'll
just see where that goes. Obviously, I'm not going to
(06:44):
really kind of open the door to those discussions other
than to say that, you know, jalen Is is a
really vital, you know, part of our team and he's
been a big part of our success.
Speaker 3 (06:55):
Jeff, It's it's interesting when we hear you talk. You've
used words like this is it's horror, it's tough. You know,
You're you're talking about contracts and making it all go together,
the step by step process. I think as fans people listening,
you know, for us, you know, I consider myself a fan.
It's what are we doing this year? But you can't
(07:16):
do that ken Ye talk about the process of how
far out from a timeline you're looking at when you're
when you're building this thing.
Speaker 4 (07:26):
All the way out, I can't see that far. I
feel that, you know, we never want to lose sight
of this season. You know, we want to be better
than last year. We want to compete, we want to
we want to win a championship. You know, we also
have to understand that, you know, the things that have
driven us to this point have been the growth of
(07:48):
our young players, and we have to invest ourselves as
deeply as possible to continue that process because that is
what's going to attract other players. You know, there's a
reason that a guy like Cantavia called well Pope wanted
to be here, you know, because he sees the way
our young guys are developing, the way our team is trending.
And I do believe that there are a lot of
(08:08):
players around the league that notice that that that see
what we're doing here, and we have to continue that.
So uh, you know, with the with the nature of
of you know, the CBA, and and you know the
financial compression that's going to really hit the whole league
at some point. You know, the more you kind of
build through the draft and reinvest in your own players, like,
(08:28):
the tighter you get financially, the tougher those decisions get made.
But what really makes them difficult, like I said, is
we have to make in them so early. These guys
are so young, and you know, the earlier you have
to make them, the more room there is for you know,
the the less accurate probably your your data collection can be.
(08:48):
If I can put it that way, and so you know,
we need to give these guys a chance to show
who they are, you know, and as people, as workers,
as teammates, every in every way. So so to answer
your question, we look all the way ahead because our
goal is to win a championship. You know, I want,
I'd love to win one this year, and if we
see that we're trending that way, we'll do everything we can.
(09:10):
But that being said, I feel that, you know, this
is the position that we're in right now, is we
are competing at the highest level. We we do want
to get better and compete for a title right now,
but we'd also we also, as I've said before, I
want to follow our north star and we won't deviate
from that, which is, you know, we have a lot
of young players on this roster who we feel have
(09:30):
a lot of potential and a lot of growth in them,
and we are obligated to them to get them as
far as we can, you know, and give them all
the nourishment that they that we can organizationally. And so
it's trying to do two things, you know, and that's
where I get to it gets a little tricky at times,
you know, It's not it's it's not.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (09:52):
I always say the NBA seldom presents you with an
obvious choice, you know, but this is this is what
we're trying to do.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Jeff. They say progress isn't linear. I say that a lot.
I think I probably heard it from you.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
Our analytic guys say that a lot.
Speaker 6 (10:05):
Yeah, unless you're Jamal Mosley and you're talking about win
totals right right.
Speaker 2 (10:09):
But aside from that, like.
Speaker 6 (10:11):
Expectations and plus twelve plus thirteen just for you man
to man to watch coach mostly get some of that
recognition Coach of the Year votes to select team.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
How gratifying has that been for you?
Speaker 4 (10:21):
I think it's it's terrific And I think like that's
emblematic of our organization.
Speaker 2 (10:25):
That's why I love it so.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Much, because you know, coach deserves it. I mean, he's
so invested, he's so invested in the team.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
He's so the way that we think.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
Ahead, you know, years and years and you know, how
how does our team unfold? You know, he's thinking that
way about each of our guys every single day, you know,
and there's just no substitute for that. It's just authentic.
It's genuine and you know, uh, you know, it's the
old expression, but our guys would run through a wall
(10:56):
for him, you know, they know how much he cares.
And he's good. He's a really good coach, you know.
And I think that like our team, if you think
about it, he came here three years ago, and you
talk about the growth. He was a rookie, so you know,
he's getting better and better himself, you know. And and
so I I couldn't you know, ask for anything more,
(11:18):
h to have as as a partner, to go through
this you know, process with and and and to watch
him the way that he treats people, the way that
he invests in people, the way that he gives of
him of his own time. You know, it's so gratifying.
And and again, Jake, it speaks to the way that
we work here. It speaks to who we are and
who we want to know, who we want our players
(11:40):
to know. This is what we're about, you know, and
I believe that they do.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
That's such a good question. It's kind of why we
replaced him with George, you know, it's kind of why
we kind of why we made that substitution. Sorry, George,
I've kidding kidding. That's going to come back to Bible would.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Have been something about the Matts or something.
Speaker 1 (11:58):
Take us through this summer, you say, got yourself up
so nicely with salary cap flexibility, the ability to add
a contavious Caldwell Pope who you mentioned. We know the
numbers we look at. I mean, he's missed twenty four
games in six years, which is remarkable. Three point shooter.
What are the things that sold you on KCP? And
just take us through the decision to bring him on.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
You know, KCP is one of those guys who because
he's he doesn't have these gaudy numbers and kind of
you know, a top ten sports center guy every night,
maybe flies a little under the radar, but I can
tell you that, you know, guys around the league in
my position are no, no, a lot about KCP, and
everybody admires him. I know one one GM told me
(12:42):
after we signed him, we're always looking for a guy
like him. You guys got the real one, you know,
And so I think that, you know, KCP, he's about
all the stuff that we talked about. You know, he
just makes guys better. You know, he's he's he's economical,
he's smart, he's every single possession know every night. I
mean already, even even in kind of like open Jim scenarios,
(13:05):
guys are already blown away. Like man, he tries to
get over every screen, even we're just running up and down.
You know, it's just kind of like one of those
guys that knows no other way. Obviously, you know. The
shooting piece is something that we were, you know, like
looking to improve upon this summer, and I think he'll
hopefully add that. If history is any indicator, but who
(13:25):
he is as a person, man CACP was one of
the biggest free agent signings this summer. You haven't heard
him one time talk about now I can spread my wings,
now I can show the league who I am. All
he talks about is I want to show these guys
the importance of defense support.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
You know, this is what I do.
Speaker 4 (13:41):
You know, the importance of showing up every day. And
so I think he's going to be a great influence
on our team. I think he's going to help us
on the court off the court, and you know, he's
got a hunger and a humility about him that I think,
you know, like I said, a lot of guys in
my position around the league recognize.
Speaker 5 (13:58):
Jeff could you pull the kurt back a little bit
with regard to what the players have been doing this summer?
Things have changed in the NBA. When Jeff was playing,
you know, I think the season ended and there were
there was a lot of off time, a lot of downtime,
a lot of golf, which I'm sure there's still some
of that, But how has that changed overtime? And could
you tell us what our guys have been doing to
get ready for training camp?
Speaker 4 (14:19):
Yeah, because when Jeff played, I don't think pickleball was
a thing.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
Whether I don't recall that man, Yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
Don't think so. So, you know, they they I mean
when you say you know what our guys, I mean,
you know, sixteen guys, they all they've all had their
own summers obviously, you know, you know, go going back
to to to try to qualify for Olympics with his
national team. They didn't make it. Franz and Mo had
their German national team experience, had a great run you
(14:46):
know in the Olympics, and a lot of our other
guys have you know, a lot of our young guys
have been here for the predominance of the summer, and
some guys have been bopping around in and out. Our
coaches and performance staff have done a great job of
just sending guys out. You know, as a matter of fact,
I met with our player development crew yesterday and you know,
(15:07):
they've quantified everything. They measure everything, how many visits we
we've taken what we worked on in those visits, and
we're trying to get to a place where everything is measured.
The players understand what their offseason goals are both for
a team fit and and individually and and so we're
not wasting time over the summers. So, like you said,
summers have changed, you know, like we've we've tried to
(15:29):
get as efficient as we can. But with that, you know,
the foundation of all of that is relationships. You know,
the players have to feel whether they're here or at
home or you know, in another place, even working with
a third party trainer, that they're attached to the team,
that that that we're we got them. And so our
guys have done a great job of attaching to whatever
(15:52):
workout they're doing, and and and and and making it
make sense for how it helps us win this season.
Everything is done what helps us win this season, and
so you know, I so it's a it's a. It's
a big question because it entails like sixteen different guys.
But I know that, you know, our guys have worked
really hard. And I know I can say that with credibility, David,
(16:14):
because our fans have seen it carry over the last
couple of seasons. You know, that doesn't do The improvements
that we've had don't come without a lot of hard
work and.
Speaker 5 (16:23):
The importance of that. Those off seasons are you know,
really getting more and more significant, aren't they.
Speaker 4 (16:28):
Yeah, And it's the work. And it's also honestly, in
this age of you know, social media and the incredible
level of scrutiny and intensity that these young guys are
going through, they need to chill a little bit too,
you know. They need to get away and and and
not think about the magic, be with their families, be
(16:49):
with their buddies, and you know, catch their breath, you know,
because once we we always say like we take our inhale,
you know about now and basically U x hell at
the end of the season, and it's it's it's a lot,
you know, it's a lot that comes at him. And
uh so, so these summers are important in a lot
of ways, you know, you know, and and a lot
of our guys, their bodies are still growing, you know,
(17:11):
and changing, you know, and even to the point where,
you know, one of the guys that's that that has
been around a lot the summer is Jonathan and Jonathan
you know, it's I think our fans will see, you know,
he's he's he's added a lot of weight, you know,
and uh, it's it's it's partially the work that he's
done and the guys as hard a worker as there is,
but he's growing up, you know, and it takes time.
(17:32):
That's kind of like harkening you back to like the
earlier part of the discussion, you know, doesn't happen like that,
you know. So so we have to you know, ride
that timeline with them and understand, you know, the curve
that they're on. You know, when you talk about like
seeing years ahead.
Speaker 3 (17:48):
TeV is interesting because you know, kind of going back
to when I played, you know, a lot of the
players would begin in September and start getting back into
the central Florida area and we we'd find gyms to
play pick up games and things like that. What you
read about now is the players will will congregate, somebody
will set something up by player, and they will congregate
(18:11):
and and have a weekend or a week where they'll
all be together, go to dinner and things. Are we
seeing anything like that with this young group and who
would be kind of leading that for us?
Speaker 4 (18:24):
Yeah, I think we're seeing a lot of that. You know,
these guys stay so attached. Obviously, you know, you didn't
have Instagram. I don't think no.
Speaker 2 (18:35):
Instagram.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
We don't even actually have cell phones, so I really
didn't see.
Speaker 1 (18:39):
But I would argue he doesn't have a cell phone
still he doesn't.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Know how to way.
Speaker 4 (18:48):
You know, our guys stay attached, man, I think you know,
I think there are obviously a lot of ways you
can say attached these days. Our guys are, by NBA standards,
I think, a particularly tight knit group. And so yeah,
they did do a lot of that, you know, on
their own. They also do a lot of their own stuff.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
So you know, the Peel go to Seattle and he's
got his guys he wants to work with. And I
think it's important that our guys recognize, like, man, this
is a guy that played you know, USA basketball. You know,
this last season season before was his draft summer. He
hasn't had a summer with his family in a couple
of years. You know, you think about everything this guy's
been through. So he goes back to Seattle, he gets
(19:26):
his work in. Man, we're sending guys out, We're attaching
to the guys that he's working with, and I think
it's important that those guys, you know, know that even
that we want them to have that time, we want
them to have it, but also they have that awareness
of how they impact the rest of the team. And
(19:48):
so you know, when you talk about like who's setting
things up, you know, I think a lot of our
young guys are starting to step up and grow into that.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
You know.
Speaker 4 (19:55):
Fronz and Pee, I think are really feeling, you know,
where this is going and you know, starting to pick
up some of the onus of that.
Speaker 5 (20:05):
You know.
Speaker 4 (20:07):
But I think they all had great summers, you know,
in their own respects, and a lot of those times
were together, you know, on their own, you know, kind
of like under their own instigation. So I mean, I
love that they do that, and they really care about
each other. It's a very you know, tight ening group.
And the other thing Jeff obviously is like we have
(20:27):
this facility now so you talk about like the home
away from home, and and you know, our young guys,
Anthony jet I mean, you know, Caleb, they lived in here,
They lived in here. They put so much work in
and you know, they really the thing I love about
our guys is they just buy in. You know, they
(20:49):
want to come into the league the right way. You know,
I say, like, you are in this league, man. You
look at like careers of players. You are how you
come into the league. More often than not, you know,
if you come in the right way and you learn
and learn what matters and what people are evaluating from you,
it generally puts you in a good place for the
rest of your career, you know. And I think our
guys are really like getting an understanding of that, and
(21:11):
it just goes so far. It allows them to be coached,
It allows them to understand the big picture, you know,
understand like what the next step is, you know, and
you know, those things, those things are so important to
young players, you know. So I think like they all
had different summers, and you know, they all need to
have different summers because they're all at different stages of
their careers. And you know, but I think collectively they
(21:33):
always stay attached and keep each other up on what's
going on, and you know, so kind of excited to
bring that back and see them all start to filter in.
Now is a really exciting time of year and they
all get to be together for the first time.
Speaker 6 (21:46):
Jeff, it's interesting you say that about young players.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
I was in Detroit when.
Speaker 6 (21:49):
KCP was I think it was a year two through
four in his career, and I want to ask you
about Corey Joseph as well. Both those guys, it seems
like identified things that they were good at, got really
good at it, and it's able to prolong their careers.
What great examples are they for the young core that
we have here, just as far as staying power in
the league.
Speaker 4 (22:08):
I mean, you know, I was with Corey in Toronto,
and you you want to talk about just a spectacular person. Man.
You know, Corey has like that great mix of kind
of like that that Ontario you know, very kind of
like rule following, like organized like way about him that
(22:30):
I'm familiar with living in Toronto, which is, you know,
great city, and he's also got his Island background and
he's he's always got.
Speaker 2 (22:37):
A smile on his face.
Speaker 4 (22:39):
You know, he's a very like lighthearted guy and the
experiences that he's had and it's very interesting. I'm sure
you guys will talk to him at some point and
one of the things he'll tell you is his last
stop in Golden State. This is this is a guy
who's in his thirties now gets to Golden State and
has an eye opening experience with how hard Steph Curry
(22:59):
works and it really you know, and and when I
talk to him this summer, you know, before we kind
of brought him up here and started like getting a
look at him and met with him just to see
where he is and everything. You know, he talked, He
talked about that and how it kind of like recalibrated
him and it shows. I mean, it was.
Speaker 2 (23:16):
It was amazing.
Speaker 4 (23:16):
Man. When he came up in July, he was in
game shape. I'm like, dude, you're in better shape now
than you were in Toronto.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
You know so.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
But but I say that as like like the starting point.
But the beauty of Corey is Corey knows when to
let the young guys leave. You know, I know that
our team is in good hands with our vet guys
because they're not trying to impress the coach by being
(23:44):
the loudest guy in the room or act differently when
there's a coach around or something, you know, one of
us around. They're just authentic guys. They're good guys. They
understand what it takes to win, and at this point
in their careers, they just want to help these young
guys and they'll do that. They'll do that by sometimes
this following, you know. And I think that's that's wisdom,
(24:06):
you know, that's smart.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
You know.
Speaker 4 (24:07):
So so Corey is just a great guy. And Corey
can still play, and Uh, I'm really excited that that
he's going to kind of, you know, be in our
locker room, be around our guys. I think he's going
to be a great influence on them.
Speaker 1 (24:18):
You mentioned Jet and Anthony Black. I think when you
look back at what Anthony was able to do last year,
getting thrust into starters minutes at times and contributing the
way he did. You mentioned they've been in the gym
the entire summer, which is great. Uh, You've got competition
at every position. It's such a deep team. What what
are you telling Anthony and Jet and what what are
you expecting with those two as they try to carve
out minutes.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
I think that you know, these are these are talks
that you know, coach Moses having with them daily, and
you know, I think this all folds into like the
same conversation about just understanding your progression. You know, don't
don't sorry guys, don't don't try to get too much
too soon. And you know that that's one of the
(25:02):
hardest things for a young guy to to recognize. And
so you know, when Anthony got thrown into the fire
last year, I thought he acquitted himself. Well you know,
but you know this gets back to like who you
are and the character and the ability to understand, the
ability to buy in, the ability to be coached.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Both of those.
Speaker 4 (25:23):
Guys, you know, are tremendous talents, tremendous kids, and man,
they had really good summers.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
You know.
Speaker 4 (25:31):
They they work their tails off the summer. You know,
they put so much time in every day, every day.
And I look at them and you know, their bodies
are starting to change. But you know, to your earlier question, Jeff,
you know you think about like Jonathan, you know, is
I say, starting to grow into his body now he's
twenty what six twenty seven? I mean, like these guys
(25:52):
are twenty you know, p's twenty one, you know, so
it's like what are they going to look like? And
if you years, you know that that's what we have
to keep asking ourselves. And in the meantime, you know,
as you say, like, well here's here's here's like the
point off in the horizon that I'm looking at. Okay,
Like what do we have to do every step of
the way so that when they get to this point
(26:13):
they're the best they can be And for them to
understand that that's part of this process, you know, uh,
takes a lot of work from our staff and it
takes the right player to be able to get that.
So it's a big part of like when we try
to bring guys in here even throughout the draft process
that you know, can they internalize you know that that
(26:36):
timetable and it's not easy. It's not easy. Like you
get in the season and guys want to play and
they want to show who they are. But you know, ultimately,
like you know, we just like is this helping the team?
Is this helping the team? And you know, our guys,
I think for the right people, they understand that that's
the question that that they need to answer for US
and for any team in this in this league. So yeah,
(26:58):
I think I think those guys both had summers. I think,
you know, they're both really talented. What that means this year,
you know, we'll see. It's like you said, Dante, we
are very deep.
Speaker 2 (27:07):
We have depth at every.
Speaker 4 (27:08):
Position, you know, and coach is going to be able
to look down that bench and have a lot of
arrows in this quiver and a lot of options and
a lot of different answers for different questions that might
be thrown at them in different games and matchups and circumstances,
and you know what injuries are going to hit. That's
one area where I feel, you know, good about our roster.
(27:30):
But that said, you know it, as I said earlier,
it comes with that kind of like duality of you know,
we want to win now, we want to win a championship,
but our pathway to doing that is to make sure
that we're developing our young players properly.
Speaker 5 (27:44):
You mentioned Palo and Frauds. How young they are. Froz
just heared twenty three. I think you said Pallo twenty one.
In the future for those two guys, what makes you
confident knowing them and what they're all about as human
beings that they're going to reach a very very high
potential at the end of their arc.
Speaker 4 (28:03):
I feel like those guys are more mature than I am.
And I'm not talking about when I was their age.
I mean, they're they're just they're incredible, man like the
the the level of maturity and the willingness to like
put themselves in difficult situations and get uncomfortable and work
(28:26):
and sacrifice. It's just you just don't see it very
often in guys that age, you know, any walk of life.
And so for them to be able to do that,
you know, honestly, that's what we need to bet on.
That's the sort of stuff that if the Magic are
going to win a championship, that's the sort of stuff
we need to bet on, you know. And they're not
(28:47):
the only guys, but but but you ask about those
guys specifically, you know, they they they're extremely smart, extremely competitive,
and even as they grow through their own process of
everybody no one's immune from wanting to show who you
are and kind of blow up and be that guy.
You know, But even as they go through this at
(29:08):
the very earliest stage, I mean, they're not even in
their pre primes. Yet you know, even as they go
through at the very earliest stages, you already see this
awareness of is that helping the team win? And you know, ultimately,
you know, you see a lot of great players in
this league kind of get to the middle part of
their careers before that, you know, switch flips and you
(29:30):
can already see it flipping with them, you know, at
ages like you know, twenty one and twenty two, twenty three.
I think Howlo will be uh twenty two in November.
But my point is, like I think the way that
our guys look at kind of you know, the stages
of a career. You know, you know, your your pre
prime is almost like twenty three to twenty five, twenty six,
and they haven't even hit that part of their career yet.
(29:51):
You know, they're you know, so so so for them
to be doing what they're doing, not just you know,
putting up numbers and kind of like you know, garnering
all these accolades, but to understand like what take what
it takes to win, and how they lift up their
teammates and that it's no good if you're not taking
everybody with you. To have that awareness, man, that's Uh,
(30:11):
that's unique.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Last thing, Jeff, and I want to get your thoughts that.
Jeff talks about it all the time, and he may
want to weigh in two, but getting a taste of
the playoffs, these young guys getting a taste, right, and
that's we've heard from all of them, seemingly through social
media sites which Jeff is not on, but they're say
how much that has fueled them and how much that
has motivated them the entire summer. A lot of people
(30:35):
are just smarting jeffs mart to stay off Jeff. But
what that can do for a guy like Paul. Obviously
for everybody, but for a guy like Polo, what do
you think that did making the playoffs? I know coach
Moseley will say when I'm in January and I'm talking
about the playoffs are like this. Now they get it,
they've seen it, they understand how important the games are.
What does that do to a guy like Polo getting
(30:56):
that taste?
Speaker 4 (30:57):
Yeah, Honestly, Dante with particular question, I just want to
expand that because it's not just p it's the whole team. Sure,
and and I feel like, you know, walking through that
locker room after Game seven, I mean it was like
a wrecking ball had just come through there. Man, you know,
tears and eyes. No one wanted to talk. You know,
(31:21):
you could tell right then and there, okay, game on,
you could you could just see it right there. And
I think that's carried through the whole summer. I think
that the only way to gain that kind of you know,
those battle scars, is to go through it, you know,
and especially the nature of the way we went through
(31:42):
it to get to the seventh game, to get a
big lead and then to lose a close game.
Speaker 3 (31:49):
You know.
Speaker 4 (31:49):
I think that grows people up. It grows it grows
up players. And how how does it impact them? We'll see,
we'll see. I know it's in them and I know that,
like there's still a lot for them to process, and
so they haven't been through. Okay, now we're going to
play after we've been through that experience. It's not like
(32:11):
that happened two or three or four times. It just
happened once. So the first time you never know. So
we'll see how how how they internalize that, how that
hits them immediately. But it's in there and it will
come out at some point.
Speaker 2 (32:24):
I love that.
Speaker 1 (32:24):
That's great. I think that fires us all up, and
I think we can't wait, right, you know.
Speaker 5 (32:28):
And Jeff was on a team that made the playoffs
and got knocked out, upset in the first round by Indiana,
and then the next season that team made it to
the NBA Finals. So it you know, it does happen.
It has happened. He's happened here.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Well, well, I was a big part of that. So yeah,
I know why. That's why I was injured and that,
you know, so when I came back, it just changed there.
Speaker 5 (32:50):
Your contract, the locker room were exceptionally No.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
I know, we want to wrap it up, but if
I'm not, may just so, Jeff, when I go around town,
people stop me all the time. What people around town
And you guys have probably heard this. They love this
team and you've talked about how close they are. It's
so apparent. It's so obvious to fans, the way they
cheer for one another and everything. And I always always
(33:16):
laugh and I tell them, you know, it's like, yeah,
it is very unusual at our level because I've been
there and I know every one of those guys. They
think they should be on the floor and I tell
them and I and you can comment I believe that
what you've talked about the philosophy of this organization and
it comes from the top, and that's hu je f Willman.
(33:38):
That this belief that you know, we're going to do
everything we can if you'll just stay with us to
make sure you're the best player you can be. I
think that's a big part of what you've created here
and why this team is so close And to the
playoff question, I think that because of that closeness and
experiencing that together, not just one guy felt you know anything,
(34:03):
it's all of them together. It's why I get excited
about this crew.
Speaker 4 (34:08):
Well, I first of all, I appreciate that I want
to I want to say I'm not at the top,
but I want to say that that m comes from
the devices and you know, and yeah, obviously you're out
school and then to Alex and then you know, listen,
I was recruited here, you know, and I felt it,
you know, And so I do think it's a part
(34:32):
of our ethos. It's hoped, you know, the magic way.
That's what we want to establish, the magic way. You know,
when you come here, you're part of something bigger than yourself,
and if you're not looking for that don't come uh
you know that said, Man, I so appreciate all of that, Jeff,
but I'll just I'll just finish with this. Man. Everything
that you said is just because we got the right dudes. Man,
(34:54):
It's just because we got the right dudes. They are
just such good people and I can't tell you how
how deeply we try to get to know them through
the draft process, and you know, the amount of homework
that we do even when we're looking at free agency.
It's just it's so important too. We just can't do
what we're doing without that component, you know. So I'm
(35:15):
really glad that you bring that up and kind of
like maybe that's a great way to like tie it
all together at the end, you know, I really appreciate that.
But it's it's it's really it's at the end of
the day, we everybody in this building, man, like, they
work their butt off and they'd work the right way.
And I always say, the right information has to find
the right person with no ego. But all of that,
it doesn't mean anything without without without the character and
(35:38):
who those who those players are as people, you know,
and that's that's what we're about.
Speaker 1 (35:43):
Well, I love that it's a great way to wrap
it up. I think that's what we all see, that's
what gets fans so excited about this group that you've
put together here and we can't wait to get started.
That'll do it for this addition of Magic Pod Squad
with Jeff Wellman
Host
Dante Marchitelli
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Intentionally Disturbing
Join me on this podcast as I navigate the murky waters of human behavior, current events, and personal anecdotes through in-depth interviews with incredible people—all served with a generous helping of sarcasm and satire. After years as a forensic and clinical psychologist, I offer a unique interview style and a low tolerance for bullshit, quickly steering conversations toward depth and darkness. I honor the seriousness while also appreciating wit. I’m your guide through the twisted labyrinth of the human psyche, armed with dark humor and biting wit.