The Chicago Bulls should be keeping a close eye on Orlando, because the Magic are running straight into a cap crunch that could force a painful choice.
At some point, Orlando is going to have to move on from at least one of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black. Marc Stein reported in the Oct. 11 edition of The Stein Line that a contract extension for Black is "unlikely at this current juncture."
That’s the first real clue about where this could go, and it matters in Chicago. Executive VP of basketball operations Bryson Graham ought to have the Bulls positioned to jump when Orlando finally decides who stays and who goes.
The money on the Magic roster is already stacked high. Banchero is due $186 million over the next four seasons and carries a player option worth $54.8 million in 2030-31.
Wagner just locked in an extension worth $185.6 million. Suggs signed a five-year, $150 million deal that runs through 2028-29.
That trio is expensive, but each player comes with an issue.
Banchero can look like one of the 10 best players in the league when his offense is rolling, yet he’s not especially efficient and gives the ball away too often. Wagner has settled in as a good player without making the leap to great, and he’s entering his sixth NBA season with 70 missed games over the last two years. Suggs brings elite perimeter defense, but his shooting remains a problem and he still doesn’t score often enough to be counted among the top lead guards.
Black, though, might be the one who looks best for the long haul. The 6-foot-7 guard gets to the rim at a borderline elite level, finishes in different ways, passes with craft, defends multiple spots and is only 22 years old.
Orlando simply can’t keep everybody. Someone has to be the odd man out.
For the Bulls, that opens the door. Banchero would be an awkward and expensive fit with Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson already in place at the forward spots, but Chicago badly needs a No. 1 scorer, and the 23-year-old is more equipped to handle that job than anyone on the roster.
Wagner would bring the kind of all-around connective play that fits just about anywhere. Suggs would give Chicago the point-of-attack stopper it has been chasing for years. And Black would fit the profile of a young, high-upside swing worth pursuing.
Graham has made plenty of the right moves since taking over. When Orlando makes its decision, he should be ready with an offer.
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An anonymous NBA executive has already pointed to Chicago and the Clippers as possible landing spots if Towns does not re-sign with New York, a reminder that every delay in extension talks can change the market quickly. For the Bulls, the appeal is obvious: a player of Towns caliber rarely becomes available, and if the Knicks continue to hold off on a deal, Chicago could find itself in a position to make a move it did not seem to have on the board not long ago. [Read more 🡒]