Orlando Needs Paolo Banchero: The Superstar Magic Fans Can Trust
There is a special connection between the city and the Orlando Magic, and time and time again, the team’s superstars have broken the hearts of Magic fans.
Shaquille O’Neal, gone to the Lakers in the dead of night in the Summer of 1996.
Penny Hardaway, asked for a trade in 1999 and was sent to the Phoenix Suns.
Dwight Howard famously lobbied for Coach Stan Van Gundy to be fired, then played the “who me?” card before asking to be shipped out the door in the Summer of 2012.
All of these superstars left a gaping hole in the team and community, and here we are again as Magic fans in the same situation with new superstar Paolo Banchero, only this time, we believe. What is it that is so different now? Is it the city? The league? The team, or the superstar? I would submit that it is all of the above, but it starts with the man himself Paolo Banchero. I had a chance to speak with him after the season ended, and what he said was simple, and gives Magic fans hope.
“I love it here man, I love it.” Paolo is learning what much of the northeast has learned in this largely transient community. ”I tell people all the time, my first two years, living downtown, didn’t really leave downtown, just went back and forth from here to the gym. I think in the last year or so, I’ve been really able to get myself settled in here, get more comfortable.”
It helps that new rules in the NBA make it easier for teams to re-sign their own superstars. A new deal for Banchero would come in somewhere between $235 and $265 million dollars over five years, over $50 million more than he could get somewhere else. Don’t discount what his teammates, his organization, and you the fans mean to our young superstar. “This is a place that I love spending time here, my family loves spending time here, and I couldn’t be more happy to be a part of the Orlando Magic” Paolo candidly told me after the team’s first round playoff exit. “Look forward to hopefully spending a lot more years here.”
Even with a smaller midweek turnout, the Ruckus makes its presence known, singing loudly on the 3 block walk. At the intersection of Church and Glenn, multiple smoke bombs are lit, and the chanting gets louder. Sam Atkinson isn’t looking to get arrested, but he admits he wants to push the edge: “As close to European hooliganism as you can be and still be legal.” The Godfather, Dan Conlee, encourages his group. “Just be as loud and obnoxious as possible, that’s our goal without causing a police helicopter to descend on the stadium. Otherwise, we are good.”
Paolo Banchero has done his work on the court, and in the community, and it is time for the team to reward him, and the fans to get behind him. While the President of Basketball Operations, Jeff Weltman would not detail with me any conversations he’s had with Banchero about a contract extension, you can be sure the team is working towards just that.
There has not been a more crucial offseason for the Orlando Magic since 1996 when Shaquille O’Neal became a free agent. Back then, Orlando was in Shaq’s own words, “a dried up little pond”. There is a special relationship between the Magic and its fans. Nothing can bring this city together more than a Magic run in the playoffs. You may think that a natural disaster can bring out our sense of community. That is until you approach a red light where the power is out, and watch helplessly as only about twenty percent of the population actually treats it as a four way stop. It’s time to show the world that the city of Orlando is growing up, and our superstars want to stay here.
– The Sportsaholic
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Author
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After two decades in news and politics, Mike Synan is returning to his roots to write Sports as “The Sportsaholic”. Mike hosted a talk show for 6 years on WDBO after Magic home games called “Magic Til Midnight”, and spent years working as an in-game correspondent for both ESPN and Fox Sports Radio. His column “Synan Says” has appeared on both www.wdbo.com and www.floridadaily.com. He has a BS in Political Science from Clemson University. You can reach him at msynan@sportsmail.com
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