Magic forward Paolo Banchero believes his team is on the same level as the Celtics, Knicks, and Sixers

Orlando Magic power forward Paolo Banchero went on ESPN’s First Take today and stated that he thought his team was on the same level as the Boston Celtics, the New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

“We feel like we’re right there, we’re right there with all those teams,” said Banchero. “ I remember last year we started as a top 3 seed and everybody thought it was a fluke. Everyone thought we would be a play-in team, and we finished strong as a 5 seed. We were right there last year, and we got better this year, and we’re trying to make some noise.”

The Magic have made some deals in the offseason, signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for some needed shooting, and drafted Tristan da Silva, who averaged 16 points per game and 40% from deep for the Colorado Buffaloes. They also re-signed Franz Wagner, Jonathan Isaac, and Garry Harris to new deals.

Everyone has also improved on the team. The Magic are built around their young core, and they brought in more shooting talent to help that core, and they locked down other parts of their young core on long-term contracts.

So will the Magic be a top tier team in the East? Most definitely. They already proved they were a playoff team, and they brought in players to try and get rid of their one glaring weakness. They also won’t be going anywhere soon by locking their young core down.

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