Paolo Banchero recently confirmed that his national team commitment lies with Italy, and not with the United States. Banchero initially told Marc Stein that he was planning to play for Italy and confirmed that commitment again in a conversation with Orlando Magic teammate R.J. Hampton.

While on Hampton's "Young Person" show, Banchero explained that him playing for Italy has been in the works for a while.

"When I was 16, the Italian national team reached out to my dad," Banchero said. "They were like, 'Does he have Italian roots? Can he get citizenship?' And my dad told them yes. So, the whole process started. I flew to San Francisco multiple times to meet them at the Italian embassy, we had a few meetings, and I ended up getting my Italian passport."

Banchero said he doesn't know when he'll make his debut for Italy, but that he's excited for the opportunity.

"I'm planning to play for the Italian national team, but I'm not sure when," Banchero said. "I haven't been out there yet, but man, the amount of love I'm getting from there... it's crazy, man. It's crazy. I can't wait to go to Italy."

The Orlando Magic backcourt rotation has been hit by several injuries to start the season. Cole Anthony is the latest player to go down, as he has an oblique injury that will sideline him indefinitely.

Anthony was injured during Wednesday's loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. The third-year guard still managed to play 32 minutes, but was largely ineffective, as he shot 2-of-10 from the floor.

Orlando's list of injured guards has now grown to Anthony, Markelle Fultz, Gary Harris and Jalen Suggs. The only healthy Magic guards are R.J. Hampton, Kevon Harris and Terrence Ross.

None of the three healthy Orlando guards are primary ballhandlers. That will likely see the Magic increasingly lean on big lineups, featuring Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner taking on increased playmaking roles.

Paolo Banchero signed a multi-year endorsement deal with Jordan Brand. 

"The marketing and the product, and just how exclusive they are. Jordan, to me, is real sharp and stylish at the same time. I feel like that fit me real well," said Banchero on what lead him to choose Jordan Brand.

Banchero also drew interest from Adidas and Puma.

The deal was negotiated by Mike Miller's LIFT Sports Management.

Banchero will wear several Jordan models this season, including the Luka 1, Zion 2, and the mid and low-top cuts of the Air Jordan 37.

Bryan Colangelo zeroed in on Markelle Fultz during the 2017 NBA draft and traded up from No. 3 with the Boston Celtics to select him.

According to multiple former executives with the Philadelphia 76ers tell Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer that front office members urged Colangelo to take a second look at selecting either Lonzo Ball or Jayson Tatum.

Colangelo refused and selected Fultz, who ended up having an issue with his shoulder that impacted his shooting.

Fultz didn't make his debut with the Sixers until March of the 17-18 season.

The Sixers traded Fultz to the Orlando Magic in February 2019.

The Orlando Magic have dealt with a lot of injuries over the last few seasons. They finally got good news with Jalen Suggs. After previously thinking Suggs might miss the start of the season due to a knee injury, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said Suggs will be available for the season opener.

Suggs was injured less than two minutes into Orlando's preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks on October 7. At the time, there was a thought the second-year guard might miss up to three weeks. Now, it appears Suggs will be able to play when the Magic travel to play the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, October 19.

Suggs missed 34 games during his rookie season due to various ailments. He's considered a big part of Orlando's young core, along with Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr, Cole Anthony and rookie forward Paolo Banchero.

The Orlando Magic waived guard Devin Cannady. Cannady's contract for this season was fully non-guaranteed.

Orlando also waived Jay Scrubb and Simi Shittu. These moves got the Magic into regular season roster compliance.

Cannady appeared in 13 games for the Magic over two seasons. In 16 games with the Lakeland Magic of the G League, Cannady averaged 15.8 points and shot 46.8% on three-pointers.

Because his contract included no guaranteed money, Cannady is eligible to return to Lakeland for this season. Scrubb and Shittu are both likely to play for Lakeland this season.

The Orlando Magic waived guard Drake Jeffries. Orlando then signed forward/center Simi Shittu to bring their roster back up to the maximum of 20 players.

Both Jeffries and Shittu are expected to play for the Lakeland Magic of the G League this upcoming season.

Jeffries went undrafted out of Wyoming at the 2022 NBA Draft. Shittu has played two seasons in the G League, and he played professionally in Israel last season.

The Orlando Magic waived Alex Morales. Orlando signed Drake Jeffries to bring their roster back up to 20 players.

Morales was signed-and-waived in order for the Magic to gain his G League rights. Morales is expected to play for the Lakeland Magic of the G League this season.

Jeffries went undrafted out of Wyoming at the 2022 NBA Draft. As a senior, Jeffries averaged 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Cowboys. He also shot 41% on 6.8 three-point attempts per game.

Jeffries was signed to a non-guaranteed camp contract. He's also expected to play for Lakeland this season.

Host Danny Leroux (@DannyLeroux) and Arturo Galletti (@AmericanNumbers) break down the over/unders for the Eastern Conference.

They discuss the win total, division, conference and title odds as well as any pertinent individual award lines for the Pacers (9:22), Magic (18:14), Pistons (25:11), Wizards (33:38), Hornets (39:47), Knicks (46:35), Bulls (52:17), Hawks (56:38), Raptors (1:03:39), Cavs (1:08:12), Heat (1:14:15), Nets (1:19:37), 76ers (1:29:33), Bucks (1:37:20) and Celtics (1:45:37).

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The Orlando Magic waived Aleem Ford and Zavier Simpson. The Magic also signed Alex Morales and Jay Scrubb.

Ford appeared in three preseason games for Orlando this year. Simpson saw action in two games. Both players are expected to play for the Lakeland Magic of the G League this season.

Morales went undrafted out of Wagner at the 2022 NBA Draft. As a senior, Morales averaged 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.8 steals per game. He played in five Summer League games for the Golden State Warriors.

Scrubb appeared in 19 games over two seasons while on a Two-Way contract with the LA Clippers. He's averaged 3.8 points in 9.3 minutes per game over 22 NBA appearances.

Both Morales and Scrubb will also likely land with the Lakeland Magic after the preseason.