Why Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva's Growth Requires Patience

The upcoming season for the Orlando Magic is one of the most anticipated in recent memory. Not since Dwight Howard manned the paint have expectations been this high. There's hope of possibly reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2010. But with those expectations comes pressure on the young group in Central Florida. That pressure will be shouldered by their stars in Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane, and Franz Wagner. But the remaining weight will be on the tertiary group of role players.

Among that group of role players are the raw but talented duo of past first-round draft picks in Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva. When Orlando drafted both talents, the expectations were that they would require three to four years of development, at minimum. Now that the Magic are possible contenders in the Eastern Conference, the expectations of these young prospects might be different. But the organization and fans shouldn't rush them as they look to become the best team in the East.

The Magic have the luxury of not needing to fast-track anyone on the roster. They aren't a team like the New York Knicks or Los Angeles Clippers, who feel as though they need to sacrifice developing young guys for going all-in. Orlando can take the bumps and turns of Black and da Silva's road to development, while not veering away from their overall team goal.

Last season there were glimpses and signs of what they could do. The athleticism, length, and tenacity that attracted Orlando's front office to them in the first place. But there were moments of wondering if the offense will be there to support the core of Wagner and Banchero. In the playoffs it was clear that there was a long way for these upstarts to go.

This is where the offseason move for Desmond Bane was so crucial. It adds another buffer for their expected growth. They have one more player now who takes a considerable amount of the workload on offense. Letting Black and da Silva act as play-finishers or working within the flow of the offense. The inevitable mistakes and miscues will be a lot easier to stomach with the added margin of error Bane brings. Not to mention the off-court leadership he'll add as a player who had to follow his own developmental journey amongst a young upstart team in those Memphis Grizzlies teams.