Paolo Banchero was compared to.... who?

Kirk Goldsberry, long of ESPN, compared Banchero to long-time Atlanta Hawk forward Josh Smith, who had a productive career with plenty of flashes, but also was known for taking bad shots and not getting the most out of his ridiculous talent.

Goldsberry made his comments on The Zach Lowe Show.

“I’m going to raise the red flag over Paolo Banchero Island. This is such a key moment for him, and I hesitate to admit this — but at times, he reminds me of Josh Smith. He’s made just five of his 27 jump shots this year, and I’m not cherry-picking. I love Paolo — he’s a huge part of the future of American basketball — but last season, among the 62 most active jump shooters in the NBA, he ranked 60th in efficiency. He has a jump-shooting problem, and as the team’s most active scorer, that’s an issue. Some of the advanced numbers aren’t trending in the right direction, and this start to the season has cemented in my mind that he might not be improving at this key phase of his career.”Kirk Goldsberry

The point seems to be that Banchero isn't accurate enough from outside the paint, and it's a reasonable thing to say by the metrics. But Smith never consistently did a lot of the things Banchero already does. It's more an issue of tightening Banchero's jumper, and not relying on it too much. The Magic playing at a faster pace may also help him get to preferred spots.

It would be no shame to have a career like Smith did. Smith averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds and was a defensive demon at times. But the expectations are higher for Banchero, who processes on the court quicker than Smith typically did. The odds are that Banchero will fix his flaws, but if he doesn't, the Magic made a bad bet on his future.

He's just 22, and he's already produced better numbers than Smith ever did.

The Orlando Magic don't pick up all their player options

Should there be real concerns about the Magic's start?