Welcome everyone to another edition of Orlando Magic Pod Squad.
This one brought to you by the Forida Department of Transportation, reminds you that fans don't let fans drive drugs.
You've been drinking, don't get behind the wheel. Instead, find a sober driver or catch a ride service. Remember, drive sober or get pulled over. Have a great night and drive see. On the latest episode of Magic Pod Squad, we catch up with the head coach of the.
Orlando Magic Jamal Mosley, and what a terrific conversation it was. He recaps his summer, his busy summer, part of which included working with Eric Spolstrauf and all the terrific coaches that are part of Team USA.
What he was hoping these.
Guys would work on the entire summer, some of the changes in additions that they brought to their games. How big is this year for guys like Powo ban Caro Fronz Wagner, Jalen Suggs.
The core the heart of his team.
As we move forward, the addition of Contavious Caldwell Pope. What has he brought to the Orlando Magic organization? Spirited practices topic, hitians at every position. Coaches dream for this Orlando Magic team as we go into season thirty six of Orlando Magic Basketball. Enjoy our conversation with Magic head coach Jamal Moseley on our latest installment of Magic Pod Squad.
So those fawns long enough, they're Orlando Magic.
This is Cole Anthony, this is Jennings Suggs, this is Paulo man Carroll the Orlando Magic and you're.
Listening to the Pod Squad And welcome.
Everyone to another episode of Orlando Magic Pod Squad. We got Dante Marcatelli, David Steele, we have Jake Chapman, we have George Golanze. That's all we can fit in here, Coach, It's all we can. We have six more hosts lined up, but this is all we can get in here.
Podcast with five people is usually pretty successful, right there.
That's a big market for that is here.
Right.
What do you think of the new digs? We got a new studio.
I mean incredible, right, you know, I love the green screen so you can't tell.
What's what's not behind it? We're looking at it behind them, not right? You see the stuff back here? This is stuff that is interesting.
Hey, I want to start with this before we get into it. You have there's a different energy during the off season, right, You're walking around this building and everybody's kind of relaxed. Then you have training camp and it ramps up a little bit. Then there's there's an energy that George has during the preseason that kind of kicks.
Up a notch. Yeah, I've noticed that around the building. You've noticed that it, right, Yeah.
And then there's Mets playoff baseball energy that George has, Right do you notice that? Like it's his pre season energy and then playoff meta.
To be fair, he hasn't seen it before because it's been a while.
It has been a while, but I hadn't seen that energy before. It's been a little different. It was good, it was terrible a couple days ago. It was really good yesterday.
What was it rough? A couple of days ago? And then we're gonna find out what it's going to be like pretty soon.
Here we're recording this before Game three, right, and I just want to now, I was fine. I was keeping to myself. I thought for the most part.
No, he wasn't talking about the energy, about the serious sweep andre were going. And we're in the middle of a practice and he's sitting there and got his phone, but he's paying attention to what's going on.
It was actually that it was actually the game was actually before the game, before the atonio.
So that makes it worse, but that's okay.
I had my I had my AirPod in and I had the phone.
The game was on.
It's a five o'clock start, so.
If you needed something that wasn't gonna happen, it was. He was not Joe.
Luckily, Joel was in Florida and Sano and Coach Mosley says to me, wow, you are really not locked in at all? And I pulled out my phone.
I said, no, I'm locked in.
But then but then all of a sudden, you know, we the Mets advanced to the NLCS and the Dodgers advanced to the NLCS, and we're in the office here, and unprovoked by me, Coach Mosley emerges from his office and he says, hey, uh, you know you're we're playing that you're playing the Dodgers. You want a little friendly wager, which I did not expect because I didn't know there was any ties with Coach Moseley and the Dodgers and I said, yeah, sure, we're up. I'm up for whatever.
I'm feeling like we could beat the world right now, what do you know? What do you? And then coach Ergy But then Coach Bosley mentioned what the what the wager was? And first he looked at me and he goes, what was that? Was that a little too rich for you? And I had remind and we were in different tax brankets, and then uh, but what we have a we have a wager going. I got the good thing is I got the I got the socks going.
To wow, wow, these are all there?
Yeah, I'm all in doing socks. By the way, major good luck are there.
Metsa are one of our training staff members.
He gave me these right before, right out of his clause game.
What I like is you're matching pajamas.
Yeah, that would be good. That would be very good. Do you have any team socks? Teams inquiring over the years.
So I'm not a face painter, I'm pretty sure George is.
David's a chess.
He likes the chest paint you.
Right on his chest.
Well, I think there was that. There will be an excitement for you if you can get to the World Series. I think we can certainly say that there was an energy in the building today. Coach, Right, so this is on Wednesday. Why don't you let everybody kind of behind the scenes of what happened in practice. You've had a great training camp, you've had a great preseason, and the guys are really the guys really had a lot of fun today too.
No, the guys had a great day today.
The one thing we've been working on with them is, you know, their level of communication, how they communicate to one another real time on the floor. So they had an in depth film session. I have to, you know, preface it with that. Because of what happened, you might think we're not practicing. So we had a good film Now, we had a great film session. They do a great job. Our coaches do a great job of breaking down the
film for them. They discuss it amongst themselves exactly the things that they see and how they can communicate better with one another the things that they're seeing in the real time scrimmage from yesterday. And then I, you know, I offered the deal on the table. I said, hey, Franz, if you make this half court shot, you guys can go home.
Now I've been in the League for.
Eighteen years and going on nineteen. I think I don't know that I've ever seen one shot being made to where hey, the practice is done, Like there's been a couple of times. Hey, everybody gets a shot to try it and maybe that'll happen. Franz stepped up half court, lined it up, took the jumper. As soon as and I'm like it's going in, it dropped and it was like everybody sprinted out. We probably had six guys bring it in and say hey, everybody else was out of the building, but it was.
There was a lot of energy. But that tells me a lot.
These guys have been working their tails off, so it says a lot that they enjoy each other. They had a great time and you know, everybody's high five and Franz once he got back to the locker room kind of as a thank you.
Easy to say that that's the loudest that this particular building has ever been, I'd.
Say, yes, yeah, there was a level of excitement. Shook the third floor shook.
Yeah, they were, they were, they were excited. It was I mean, again, they've they've worked their tails off. You know, it's not having the New Orleans game and being able to get more practice time and trying to find and what to do in the middle of that. So we've had a few scrimmages which have been fantastic, and so these guys have been working and so that's who they are, that's what you know, that's what our coaches have pushed them to do, and it's been fantastic with that.
What are the extra challenges been with the New Orleans game getting canceled and you haven't played a game and what nine or ten days, you've got Philadelphia coming up on Friday.
Yeah, we really looked at it as an unbelievable opportunity, you know, because a lot of these teams are there, are playing the games, but they're not playing.
The guys major, major minutes.
So I think for us, it's been able to go real, live scrimmages. Everybody get in the line of conditioning that they need. You talk about our defense and what we're trying to do, and it's it's putting a challenge to our offense and making our offense that much better because you know the sets, you know what guys are running, you know what you're trying to execute. And for us to be able to still execute it the way we have been says a lot about both the offense and the defense together.
And I keep going back to.
The communication that these guys are having with one another when they're able to do it again each other every single day. Now, there's some chippiness that's going to keep coming because of that, But that's good, That's exactly what we want.
Are you starting to see kind of new roles emerge from some of your veterans, maybe guys who you brought in or some of the guys who you've developed.
As far as that communication.
Goes, absolutely, I think KCP has been wonderful, just you know, speaking of after yesterday's practice, he brought the huddle in UH to talk to these guys about the scrimmage, some things that happened during it, the way we have to communicate with one another, and I think those are the big pieces that, you know, what he brings to the table, not just from his experience of playing and you know the body of work, but his voice being able to
express that. Polo and Franz have been tremendous in what they're asking guys to do and how they want to lead, you know, this group and knowing the responsibility that they're taking on, you know, as the stars of this team.
How how have you noticed you you kind of touched on it. Polo and Franz they now, you know, Franz going into his fourth year and third year, I've noticed from Afar that they have definitely been more vocal. They both seem not that they weren't comfortable before, but they seem to have a new level of comfort. Yeah, and have you seen that?
Absolutely?
I think it's when you talk about guys stepping into who they are. I think a lot of times when you step into the league, you're trying to figure out your own space, your own place, how do you fit, how do you fit on a team? And with this group being so close, it's easy to just allow other people to communicate and talk, which we do. But I think now that they've emerged throughout our team as well as the league, as these guys are are capable of putting things on their shoulders to get you to a
next level, they feel and understand that responsibility. So they're a lot more comfortable and the guys on the team want them to do that, they need them to do that, and they're okay and comfortable with them speaking up because they've seen the body of work. They know how much these guys care, and they understand how much they want to win and help these guys get to a next level.
I mean, you'd rather have it that way though, too right. I mean that it's coming from them as opposed to you.
Absolutely, I really truly believe this.
And in any great team that goes far, that does, you know, special things, is a player led team. And then the other side of that is great players make those around them great.
I don't know that.
There's one team that you can say that has done major things that the star of the team was the one that was leading the pack, and I think we have that with this group of group of young men. Now we're all pulling in the same direction, wanting the same thing and working together towards it. That's why we keep emphasizing the communication, how you talk to your teammate, what you're expressing, how you're trying to get it done.
And those two are doing a tremendous job along with Jalen in that regard of what they're trying to communicate to the team about what we're trying to accomplish.
Kentavious was great. He pulled me aside. He said, my friends call me Kenny. You can call me kavious.
Can you clear up what you call him? What do you guys call Is there a nickname? Is a KCP?
Well, for over the years I've always called him k CPU from when he's been in the league because that was just what he was known as. And then now all of a sudden we said, you can call him Canny. I think it was you at one of the matter you but like he wants to be called Kenny. That's a shock to me, so I started, I'm calling them Kenny. Now it'll mix between k CP and Kenny at times during practices. It's Kenny more than anything, and he responds to all of them.
So should we ask him for on air purposes which he prefers, or do you have any idea.
I'd probably ask him on air for on air purposes.
That's probably good ideas he might he might like to call him.
Yeah, yeah, his friends call him Kenny, but you want to if he turns it over, you can call him his whole name.
But.
Full name J.
You can call him Marj. Let me ask you about the competition between players, because I'm watching the team scrimmage in the preseason, j I and Pallo are matched up. What does that do for Palo Banco that every day he's pounding in there against Jonathan Isaac and vice versa For Ji.
I think it is such a beautiful thing to watch. It is making them both so much better. And you know, you use the phrase, you know, iron sharpens iron, but you talk about Ji, who you know ultimately can be a defensive Player of the Year candidate going against you know, an All Star, and every day it's making him better.
You know, the shots that he has to get, the efficiency he has to have, the body and the size that both of those guys have going against each other, it's only making both of them just that much better.
Because I don't know that there's too many other defenders out there like Jonathan Isaac, and the way in which Polo is able to play and how he moves offensively, I don't know that there's many guys like him, and so I think it's just it's the best of both worlds, you know, for this team and for each other.
Coach, you've talked a lot in your time here about consistency in your messaging to the guys now, and as the father of an eighteen month old can attest to the importance of consistency and messaging now with expectations and with the playoff trip last year and trying to kind of level up once again.
Does it change as.
Far as what you're messaging to them or is there danger to that?
No? I think we talk about embracing the expectations. That's one big thing, but more than anything with this group, as you're trying to develop something that's lasting a long time versus just you know, a flash in the pan. You want to talk about the process. Are you hitting all the marks of the process of what we're trying to do, the shot quality that we take, how we want to defend. And this started when we first got here. What was sustainable for no matter who we had on the floor.
And now you know, you.
Talk about what Jeff and his group, Jeff Weltman and his group have brought in with the size, the length, the defensive minded, the IQ all those things now placed together with you know, the things that we said, we're sustainable both offensively and defensively. Now you're building something that lasts a long time, and that's what we is more important than just a quick hit and say, hey, we
did this for this moment. We want something that these guys can hang their hat on for the next five to ten years.
With the group being almost the same throughout your tenure, do you have to go back, like say, in the offseason, kind of recap what you've said and make sure that like you're not or either either staying consistent with what you said, which you'd have to do with certain things, or not doubling down on something that maybe you're like, all right, well, I can't pull that card again, I gotta try a new one.
It's interesting, Yeah, with that with this group, you know, they get tired of that same voice or the same statement, and so that's why you focus on the process of things more than you focus on just a word that you said in that moment. And with us, you know, I'll just take the defense for example. You know, we want to protect the rim, we want to defend without filing, we want to apply pressure, we want to contest all shots. That's going to be who we are no matter what.
So you find different ways to say it, You find different examples to say to say it in now offensively, you know we want to attack the paint. You know we've led the league, you know top five and free throw attempts per game. You know you want to be able to knock down feat set threes. Those are the things we're going to constantly say because it's part of who we are. It's just different ways to say. It is very important, but it's still part of the process of what we're trying to accomplish.
It's interesting and you know this, when we've talked about this, you know better than anyone forty seven games last year. You don't start this year at forty seven right now that you're not going to sneak up on anybody. Everybody knows who you are, playoff team and all that. So for it to be a successful season, to get back to the playoffs, to maybe potentially host the first round, what in your mind needs to happen? What are you stressing to this group right now?
It's a mindset shift.
I think it goes from thinking you can to believing you are. And I think that's a big portion for this group is that you know, you think you can get there to playoffs. Like you talk about the year we won thirty four games, it was close to the play in we think we can get there. Then you make the playoffs and you're like, Okay, we belong here, and now it's like we belong here, but just know the fact that we know we belong in this situation.
Others know that too, and so your mindset shift has to go from trying to prove that you're belonging there till we are here in this moment, and now teams are coming and recognizing that. So we have to know
you can't take any game lightly. And now we saw that in the details of the difference between home court and you know, not having home court, and those are the games in the middle of the season that you may be tired, you may be exhausted, and may be a back to back, but that's an important game for you to get and that's the mindset shift that you have to have that changes with this group.
You know, George mentioned just a minute ago a continuity with regard to players, the coaching staff as well. Watching you coach the team. It's been interesting for us observing the first year with a young group. I felt like you were really building relationships with people, and now you coach them a little differently. Talk about how you've adjusted the way you coach the guys from YR one to now you're four.
Well, just coming in, you don't really know all the guys, so you have to build the relationships. And I ultimate we're in the relationship business, and so they have to understand how much we care about them as people first and foremost, and I don't think that will ever change no.
Matter what year it is.
But now that they and we've had the same group for so long, they already know how much we care. And so now it's about how do you understand what we're trying to accomplish because everything I say now it's not a personal thing. It's because we have a process in place of what we're trying to accomplish. And once they can see that, knowing that there's care factor in the background, now it's like, Okay, I know that this is not.
A personal thing.
This is what we need to do to accomplish the goals that we set forth for ourselves. So now it is more of I wouldn't say hands off, but there's a level of empowerment that we've given to our coaches to be able to communicate to these guys what it is they need to do. And then the other level of empowerment to the players when they've said what they want to do and how they want to establish doing it.
Now it's about them taking ownership in all of it and then kind of stepping out of the way because this is their journey and.
Moving into something great and.
They have to be able to experience that. If you have someone that's constantly talking over them, not allowing them to have a voice, it doesn't allow them to feel what it is to be a great team because now it's me saying it versus them feeling and experiencing it like they did the playoffs.
What did you learn about your team in the postseason last year?
A lot? I think there was. There were a ton of lessons.
You talk about the resiliency that we talked about that they had all year. You know, you're never out of a game, and that was shown throughout the year of how how much we fought to that final buzzer went off.
You know.
Then you go into the playoffs going to Cleveland down two games, and you know most teams were you know, most people are counting you out. And then it goes back to that resiliency that this is not a group that's going to quit. They're competitive, they're pulled together. There was never a moment of pointing fingers or we're not there. There's a level of belief to this group of how good they can be. I think that showed up a lot.
And then I think now with you know, with the words of you know, Fronz and Paolo and Jalen and these guys, there's a want there's a want factor that you can feel they want more. And I think that's what was shown in that series, like they want more and now they just had to go through the experience of seven games and a playoff series to realize how do you get the things that you want and the work that you have to put in.
How about your summer, jamal At, you had another summer with USA basketball. Tell everybody that doesn't get to experience that, which is nine percent of us, how is that experience?
What is it like for you? What is it?
I mean, what does it do you to be around not only those players, but those other your peers too.
I mean, I always talk about how grateful I am for it, and like you said, it's it's not a lot of people get to do that. So it's it's a blessing to be able to do that and to be around those coaches. First, it's the players that you really get to see live real time and their work ethic and how focused they were in the camp, just what they were trying to have their focus and attention towards. Is just watching Steph, watching Lebron, watching KD watching book.
These guys were all focused on something bigger than them, which was great to see. But then you see the work ethic behind it. And then for the coaches, it's just it's interesting to see the level of one expertise and confidence but in the same time a level of humility and vulnerability. And it's sharing information, not caring where it comes from, but we're trying to solve something for all of us.
How much information, though, is everybody willing to share? Right, because, like you know, Eric Spolstro or Steve Kerr, like those guys maybe don't want to Tylou.
How open do.
You guys truly get or is it just like, listen, we're friends, I'm gonna help you, You're gonna help me. I think we hold stuff back from Dante all the time.
Yeah, And I could.
See why, and I could see why you would. I mean, hey, he might use it on the air, it might take it from it. I completely understood. It's interesting for me and with that group of coaches, I think there's just such a level of confidence in what they've done that we're all.
Willing to share information.
And at the end of the day, you are as good a coach as your best players tend to be. And I think they all understand and know that, and that the situations you're putting them in to be successful, we get that. And so creating these friendships with these guys, you do share a ton of information. And when it's all said and done, did you prepare your team the best way that you possibly could? And I think that's what we all hang our hats on when it comes
to that there are no secrets in this game. I mean, with everything going on, you realize there aren't many secrets. Is just have you prepared your team to the best of your ability to be in a situation to be successful? And I think that's what we all realize, Like there's nothing new under the sun when it comes.
To this, isn't it your favorite When there's a scout sitting somewhere by and they're trying to lean in and hear Jamal or the other coaches call, and then they don't hear it, and they're kind of like peaking up, Jamal, look right word the other coach look arount me like that's flop three things whatever, Like whatever the call is, this guy's gonna swing this way, he's gonna It's.
Hilarious because they all know.
They all know, like if you do your research, you do your scout, and you have somebody at every game you're writing down the call, you're writing down yell out of play and sometimes I'll tell you, hey, this is what's coming. And now, if you've done your job and which we are in the game of relationships and development and helping guys be successful, well, if we've developed our players the right way, then they should be able to
make the read with however guy someone's defending them. That means we've done our job, and the guys are doing their job because they understand exactly how they're being played, and that's the level that this group is moving to.
And calling a play for Steph Curry doesn't exactly apply to twenty nine other teams.
Correct, That's true without a shadow of a doun.
Yes, you probably we don't know this, but all NBA players think they should be out there forty eight minutes.
Yes, every player. Every player thinks they should play the whole game. Right, that's happens, It's doubt. It is the beginning of time.
Yes, But you've got an incredibly deep team and you've got unbelievable position battles, which I think is a great thing for a coach to have. You know, Anthony Black is going to want to play Jet Howard, you have Goga, you have Tristan, right, I mean this is going to get it right. Corey Joseph is a proven veteran. Right, You've got all these guys. Caleb Caleb right, Maybe this feels like this is his turn. How are you viewing? That will reveal itself to you as you go. Do
you have a plan going in? Obviously you do, But what is your what is your approach?
Well, we have a plan going in, and plans always change, sure, because obviously certain things happened throughout the year. Injury happens, then certain guys get to step in, some guys performing at a high level when someone's not in those moments, and so we evaluate it that way, but you do have a plan to say, Okay, who has earned these minutes and that's how we'll start, you know, the what we're doing this year, and the guys that have earned it will play and then as the year goes on,
things happen throughout it. But what has happened and you guys mentioned it early with Paolo and Franz, they've emerged as here's what's happening and here's how we have to rely on you two. And so with that being said, the people that are best fit around those two as well as Jalen and wehn Dell and now Kenny is how.
Does that look as the year goes on?
And it's going to change over time because teams are going to start to pick things up and we got to find different adjustments to make. But I remember hearing Spoe say in a press conference, you know, middle through the year, middle of the year, he was talking about, you know, how is your somebody asked them about his rotation and it changes all the time because of the scenarios within the year.
It's and that's going to be ongoing for us.
You know, you'd like to have the certain stability of going on, but The reality is it changes throughout the year, and these guys have been accepting of that because of because of the roles that they've been given, the responsibilities that they have to this team.
The team has been flying under the radar, I would say, the last couple of years, you're on a radar. Now, how does that change things with a young team too, that now has expectations? How do you and the ballplayers handle that?
I think we talk about it openly. You realize that you don't want to ride the wave of hey, you were good tonight, you struggled last night, you got to go. You just stay the same. And it goes back to what we were saying earlier about the process of things. Are we following the process that makes us a good team?
And no matter what that looks like and how teams come out to prepare for us, we have to keep focusing on the way we're going about our business and challenging ourselves because we're going to see some I mean, the East is tough this year, and then we go out west, you know, early on, So we've got to make sure that we're preparing ourselves in that right way. So it's more of that goes back to the mindset piece that you're not trying.
To show up.
You have to say, Okay, we are here and we belong to this in the space, but you still have to prove it every night.
This will be the last thing for me. I just wanted to ask you about Jeded Howard and the approach you've seen just going even going back to his rookie season, the attitude he brought sort of knowing that he was going to get his opportunity eventually, and then his offseason in.
The preseason so far, I mean, he's been fantastic.
He's been in He was in the gym all summer, and I think we saw that throughout the summer league.
His ability to.
Play in Asceola with that group and get real games at a faster pace usually than the NBA is because those guys are fighting and scrapping and playing a different style of basketball. But it was great for that game to speed up for him there. And what we've seen for him during training camp is just there's a maturity.
Take Carter, who works with him the most, is has I mean, he's in the gym early, he stays late, he comes in on days off, he's working both sides of the ball, which I think is so important for him to step into that realm. Like he's working on his defensive closeouts, he's working on how to guard the pick and roll, how to guard pin downs.
He's watching Kenny, He's watching.
Gary, how they guard what they do. So growth has been fantastic, And I just told them. We actually had a conversation yesterday about like the future, you know, and understanding that. I want that hunger, you want that desire, you want that fight to be in it and never lose that. I want you to be mad when you're not in games because that's the desire and the fight that you want to keep your guys to have, because that keeps that competitive nature going every single day in camp.
Well, last thing, coach, you've got a couple of roster spots open. You've got some two way spots. You don't know, there might be guys on this roster now that could make it. You might look elsewhere if you do have the opportunity to bring one of these guys on the roster. You've done it before. What is that like when you get to tell a guy that they made an NBA roster?
You know you always go back to guy's journeys and for a guy to say he was with Oziola, he was a two way, and then he's a roster spot. There's no better feeling for that, because guys are that's what they want. They want to say they made it, they got an NBA contract. And for us to be able to tell these guys that, it's rewarding again because I said, we are in the relationship business and to help someone start their journey that way is always a great thing.
That's fantastic. And and I guess you know, we have another preseason game on Friday. We've got a couple of Mets games in.
Between now, and it's good, hopefully just three. I think what we've learned.
The Dodgers are in that series too, right.
Yeah, you could. Just what we've learned is Joel is a call away.
I think Joel is a phone call.
Listen, I'm going to tell you right now at five o'clock on Friday. I know we played Philly one time. We played Philly seven, So you might not get anything out of it. For the first half of the game.
He's going to be quiet because it's going to be a probably a blow.
You better call your buddy Dave Roberts today today.
No, No, I'm not going to come to bother him.
Friends with Dave though, right, you do know him? Yes, that's right. I do to hear from you. That's that's where that's where it all comes from.
But where I always know it. I didn't know it until until the matchup, and then I was.
Well, they had you said it had been a while, because then I like the Brewers, it would have been like, Okay, Milwaukee, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, where were you with Milwaukee?
Yeah, just pitch away quiet.
I know you spent time in Cleveland.
No love for the Guardians. There's love there, all right. I mean I know you're from Cleveland. Yeah, I know you call them the Guardians speaking about not being there for but hopefully that I wasn't saying anything. You guys, you all root for whoever plays the Yankees. We all root for them. Coach, this is great. We are excited.
I know you feel the buzz in town absolutely. Nationally, people are excited about what's happening here. Uh that that stems from the job that you've done and what you're building here, and it's awesome. We can't wait to get started.
I appreciate it this year. Thank you, I appreciate you all. Thank you. That'll do it for another episode of Magic Pod Squad