There are three goals for a second-year player at Summer League, Jason Beede writes for the Orlando Sentinel: look like a standout on the floor, show improvement on both ends, and offer glimpses of what the coming season could look like. By Beede’s accounting, Orlando Magic forward Noah Penda accomplished all three in Las Vegas.
The headline development is the jumper. Penda showed a much-improved outside shot along with better defense, per Beede, and the forward made clear the shooting was a deliberate offseason project. “Being able to space the floor was a big improvement that I had to make during the summer,” Penda said.
The defense was never the question. In Orlando’s comeback win over Miami on July 12, Penda filled the stat sheet with 12 points, seven rebounds, two steals and two blocks, the kind of everywhere-at-once line that made him a rotation piece as a rookie. The Magic finished their Vegas stay 4-1 and were comfortable enough with what they had seen to rest Penda for the consolation finale. “As a second-year player, you just want to make the right play and show that all the things that are categorized as rookie mistakes — you want to raise that and show growth and poise during the games,” he said.
The improvement matters because Orlando’s offseason has been deliberately quiet — the front office re-signed veterans Nikola Vucevic and Jevon Carter and otherwise kept the roster intact, betting that internal growth carries this team forward. A Penda who defends multiple positions and also has to be guarded beyond the arc widens what the wing rotation can do, and that combination is exactly what he spent July auditioning. Training camp will show whether the jumper holds up against NBA closeouts.
For fantasy purposes, Penda’s dynasty arrow points up: second-year forwards who add a credible three-point shot to existing defensive production are how late-round rookies become long-term holds. In redraft he remains a deep-league flier whose value depends on minutes in a crowded wing group, but the steals-and-blocks base gives him a higher floor than most end-of-bench options if the role grows.
