What Sean Sweeney hopes to establish in first training camp with Magic

The Orlando Magic are ushering in a new era.

Not from a roster-building perspective, like they were one year ago with Desmond Bane, but with a new face on the sidelines in head coach Sean Sweeney.

During media day, he spoke about what he's trying to instill in his first training camp coaching his new team.

"We want to do a great job of teaching, first and foremost, and establishing the standards we have," he said. "Not just the standards -- we want to have the behaviors and the actions that accompany what high standards look like. So we want to see who we are and what we do: How we talk to each other, the way we go about things.

"And then as we go through and teach, we want to make sure that if we miss something, we get it in; if there's something we need to add, we get it added, and ultimately keep growing as we approach October 7th, 21st, all the way down the line."

Why it's important for Sean Sweeney to establish a strong foundation:

During his time as an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, Sweeney not only guided and turned around multiple defenses, but focused and built a notable reputation for player development.

Sweeney was instrumental in the development of Giannis Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama. He also helped transform Blake Griffin in his later years with the Detroit Pistons, as well as several others.

"I think one of the things that the Spurs and [head coach Mitch Johnson] did is we established a strong foundation early, and that foundation was based on fundamentals and good habits," he said.

"And I think every team that I've been with, not just San Antonio, which we obviously had great success, went back to Dallas into the Finals and other teams that we've been with, and we maximized and achieved at a high level, and really got close to reaching our full potential. It started with our foundation; it started with our fundamentals, being strong in those, and then having great habits."

The Magic already have a strong foundation with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane, among others. Though this team underachieved, and this organization hasn't made it past the first round in nearly two decades.

Additionally, the Magic have a slew of young players -- led by Anthony Black -- whose potential must be unlocked to improve the team's depth. That is what they are banking on: Internal development from the likes of Jase Richardson and Noah Penda, as well as from a few of their stars like Banchero and Wagner.

While Sweeney hasn't won an NBA Finals, he knows what it takes to get to a championship; he's been apart of two of the last three NBA Finals. Should Orlando stay healthy and develop those championship habits, none of us would be surprised if they shocked some in the East.

We'll see if that evidently becomes the case, though.

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