ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic began their offseason of building around Paolo Banchero by taking Tristan da Silva with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft., da Silva said he's looking forward to playing alongside the second-year All-Star and doing what he can in his rookie season to help Banchero take the Magic to another level.
"I'm super excited," da Silva said. "He already reached out to me last night, so seems like a great guy to be around with. I'm trying to make his life easier as well, so I'm coming in trying to complement his game and same with the other guys. Everyone seems like family. Everyone seems like they got a good vibe, good personality, a good character about them, so I can't wait to get to know them a little more.
The first-round pick's ability to shoot from distance is one way that he can make life easier for Banchero and the rest of his teammates. da Silva shot 38.6 percent on his 3-pointers in college, including 50 percent of his 3s across three games in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Orlando also added Kenvatious Caldwell-Pope in free agency. KCP has converted better than 40 percent of his 3s in three of the past four seasons.
Playing time could be tough for da Silva to come by next season, but his skill set potentially can add another dimension to an offense that ranked in the bottom 10 of the NBA in 3s made and 3-point percentage.While the Orlando Magic were in the sweepstakes for Paul George before he agreed to a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, signing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and having the cap space to add other pieces was the right move.