The Orlando Magic could be preparing to lock up Jalen Suggs as the long-term answer at the point guard position.
Over the past couple of seasons, the Orlando Magic have built quite a strong foundation for one of the young, emerging teams in the Eastern Conference. And we began to see the fruits of those moves as the Magic made a return to the NBA Playoffs last season. However, if the Magic were going to take another step forward in the East, the overwhelming belief heading into the offseason was that the team needed to make improvements to their backcourt.
Orlando managed to accomplish that with the signing of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. While he will provide a much-needed two-way boost at the shooting guard position, there are still some big questions at the point guard position. The Magic haven't had a natural playmaker at the position each of the last few seasons and it's something that needs to be addressed if they're going to emerge as a playoff threat this season.
That said, the speculation all summer long has seemed to suggest that the Magic may be comfortable in handing the long-term keys to the position to Jalen Suggs. He's in line for a huge contract extension and all signs point to him getting it before the October deadline.
Is Jalen Suggs the long-term answer for the Orlando Magic?
It's not that surprising the Magic would be interested in signing Suggs to an extension. After all, he's coming off a season in which he started all 75 games he played in for the Magic. On top of that, he also enjoyed a career-high season, averaging 13 points on 47 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from 3-point range. He's also a good defender.
Ultimately, the hesitation I would have if I were the Magic revolves around Suggs' lack of consistent playmaking out of the lead-guard position. Despite career highs nearly across the board, Suggs is coming off a season in which he averaged less than three assists per game.
For a team that was bottom five in the league in assists per game, it would help if Orlando could find a more playmaking guard to start at the 1, especially with the offensive weapons like Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner on the wings.
If the Magic is going to commit big money to Suggs as their answer to their point guard concerns, it could come back to haunt them if he isn't able to make strides when it comes to playmaking. At the same time, the Magic may not have many other options. Losing Suggs for nothing next summer in restricted free agency could end up being the bigger mistake.
All signs point toward the Magic giving Suggs a hefty extension. However, there's at least a small chance it ends up being a big mistake as he may not be the best fit for the rest of the starting 5.