How the NBA Draft can address the Orlando Magic’s needs

How the NBA Draft can address the Orlando Magic’s needs

what are the Orlando Magic’s needs and how the draft can fill them some prospects to know and what are the magic looking for in the draft anyway on today’s episode of Locked on Magic you are locked on Magic your daily Orlando Magic podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday and you are indeed locked on Magic today is May 30th 2024 my name is Philip Rosman M I’m the senior writer over at Orlando magic.com you course find me on Twitter Philip rror on today’s episode of Locked on Magic how the orlandoo magic can address their needs in the draft what needs should they be addressing in the draft and what are the magic actually looking for in the draft if they’re going to keep this pick at all we assume they are at this point we’ll get to all that coming up here in Jus but first we want to thank you again for making lockdown magic part of your day every day no matter when you listen to us whether it’s first in the morning whether it’s right when we upload we truly appreciate you making lock on Magic part of your day every day remember there’s a great lock on podcast covering every single team in the NBA to search for lock on and the team you’re looking for the lockon podcast Network it’s your team every day today’s episode of lock on Magic is brought to you by FanDuel make every moment more right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning five bet that’s 150 bucks with any winning five bet visit fanduel.com lockon to get started today obviously the Orlando Magic have a lot of needs and I think we’re going to do this exercise a few times we’ll do it with um with free agents and trade possibilities but the first thing that we have on our table the first thing we have on our plate is the draft and obviously some of the Orlando M you know the magic are drafting 18th obviously the Orlando Magic’s big needs aren’t going to be solved with the 18th pick in the draft especially in a draft that is widely considered pretty weak um there are some interesting players I’ve had some people say the magic shouldn’t give up on the draft the magic should be all in on this draft and should be looking to get a high value Prospect here and and I’m I’m not going to disagree with that but I’ll say this those of you looking for a haime hakz there there isn’t a haime hakz there isn’t a Jana Santa Koo there probably isn’t a Rudy goar in this draft this draft class it’s not you know I’ve I’ve said there you know that the M that there are middle heavy drafts this is not that this is this is a this is not a strong draft group and look there will be solid players every draft class has a good player somewhere and it is on the magic to make sure that they get a good player if they’re going to use this pick they need to use it on someone that’s going to be valuable and so we are at a stage now where the Magic’s draft uh strategy and draft proposition it’s a little bit different undoubtedly um right now the magic should be thinking okay how do we get players that are going to contribute and make us better how do we get players who are going to help us achieve our goal of getting out of the first round of being a top four seed and so I think the magic are not necessarily looking for the highest upside player they’re looking for players that yes all players will get better it’s you know you’re 21 years old at most um you’re going to get better playing in this league you know you’re not getting a finished product but the magic do want someone who has played a little bit and so as we look at the needs and and and the kind of needs the magic are looking for we got to ask ourselves is that available in the draft um we’ll go kind of down the list here of what the Magic’s Biggest needs are and ask ourselves whether the magic can address this in the draft and we’ll start with the let’s start with the one that the magic can probably fill the most in this draft and to me that is kind of a three-point shooter a three-point Marksman um the magic obviously have jet Howard kind of waiting in the wings so maybe this isn’t the place to fill it um but the magic obviously should be putting a premium on Shooters they should be putting a premium on guys who can make shots and and wherever they can find it the better and so if the magic are looking to address an immediate need in this draft they should be looking for guys who can frankly put the ball in the basket and unfortunately this is just not a draft heavy on Shooters yes there’s Dalton connect he’s gonna be long gone by the time the magic pick there is Jared McCain who we’ll get to in a minute but there aren’t really any pure Shooters available in this draft not where the magic are Drafting and and again Shooters are so valuable those players will get bumped up um there you know there’s people that think bub Carrington can be a solid shooter he didn’t shoot the ball particularly well uh in Co in college uh just 32.2% from deep but a lot of that had to do with self-creation at pit um keep an eye on keep an eye on Carlton Carrington on bub Carrington the guy though that I want to highlight is Miami guard kwn Martin or Kon George excuse me um Kon George doesn’t have a crazy stat profile 7.6 points per game one of the youngest players in this draft class so he is going to be a bit of a project but he shot 40.8% from three on 4.2 attempts per game his threes accounted for 68.4% of his field goal attempts shot 77.8% from the foul line suggests that yes he is a player who can translate as a shooter into the league and translate pretty quickly I also like Kon George because he does have a high upside he’s got good size 6’7 without shoes 6’10 wingspan uh he has skills that the magic could use that could get him on the floor pretty quickly and then also make him a factor moving forward so to me Kon George is one of the higher upside swings that I think the manic could take in this draft he’s got good size for Wing you know obviously you know you still want to see what you’re going to get from jet Howard and and black so maybe that guard spot’s filled maybe that’s why the magic are probably so interested in Tristan D Silva and look Tristan da Silva not a classic three-point shooter but Tristan D Silva uh is still gonna get he’s gonna give you some forward depth he’s going to shoot the ball well he shot 39.5% from three last year 83.5% from the foul line not a classic kind of spot up three-point shooter but in a league that values playmaking look there’s a reason why every mock draft first mock draft that I did uh first group mock draft that I did I’ve not done a my own mock draft yet but the first group mock draft that I did Tristan D Silva just screams magic player I think tan George screams a little bit magic player but I’m not sure the magic want to wait on a freshman if they draft kwn George don’t be surprised if he takes the takes a jet Howard route and spends the year in the G league and spends the year kind of getting his legs under him don’t be surprised by that at all uh you know again and honestly don’t be surprised with any rookie that gets to spend a lot of time in the g- league I think that’s reality in the league now I think that’s just how the League’s going to operate for a little bit but Tristan D Silva say 16 points per game 5.1 rebounds per game 2.4 assists per game 493 395 835 splits that he’s a senior he’s someone that can contribute pretty quickly um and that’s a big reason why he continues to be high on Magic draft boards you know there’s a lot of teams that want the upside play and want someone that has been that want someone that’s going to contribute uh that they don’t need someone that’s going to contribute immediately they want the upside play they’re willing to wait de and development if the magic are drafting Tristan to Silva It’s because they believe he can play pretty quickly and can be a factor and contributor on the team if they’re drafting to Shawn George it means they’re going to be a little bit more patient they’re going to be uh uh they’re going to be willing to wait him out and see how he develops and give him time to develop and and again that gets to the kind of the big question here is we’re kind of gonna go through some of the needs the magic have we’re gonna to the guard we’re GNA get to the guards later on we’re gonna get to The Bigs next what are the magic looking for you know where where can they wait on a rookie and where do their needs need more immediate addressing and when it comes to shooting obviously shooting is shooting um you know they need shooting pretty badly if you’re gonna if they’re gonna draft a shooter that means they want them to contribute pretty quickly I think and again Anthony black looked like a pretty good shooter um a better shooter than we all anticipated eager to see how he’s grown uh in the last month since the season ended um certainly eager to see him play in Summer League jet Howard should get uh an opportunity to play I don’t know if I’m not saying give him minutes but he should have every opportunity to play this year um and show us what he learned in his kind of Gap year um in the g-league that’s that’s all part of this too but we got to ask ourselves especially as we get into some of the other big needs like how much are the magic willing to wait how much are the magic willing to say this rookie is going to take some time because I’ve had people say about our next group well what about Derek Lively well you’re right there are rookies that can contribute pretty quickly especially at the center spot why I think that is not necessarily the direction the magic want to go but one they might have to we’ll talk about the bigs and how the magic can find a rim protector in this draft and whether that rim protector is going to be ready to do what the magic need we’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment but first it’s time for quick word from our friends over at FanDuel it’s winter take all 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every day so I’ve had some people pitch this to me and and say look look at Dallas Derek Lively one of the most impactful rookies in the playf playoffs has stepped up the Dallas Mavericks are a different team with him uh especially defensively really if you look at it there are just so many examples of Rim protecting bigs who just immediately get it and who just immediately make an impact as a a defensive force and can play at a high level and look Derek I I I like Derrik Lively in the draft process I thought the magic needed other things I was not super keen on drafting a rookie Center um you know could the magic be better off with him I I don’t know but I will agree to this certainly I think Derrik Lively’s development is different in Orlando because Luca donic and Kyrie Irving are such downhill forces whereas Paulo isn’t quite the same as a playmaker and the magic don’t have a point guard so success as a rookie does depend on situation and how you fit with the team and how your role is defined like Derk Lively’s role is very very narrowly defined and narrowly T which is good for him and and and that’s you know I think that is a key to rookie success but undoubtedly we’re sitting here in the offseason looking at what the magic need and they need a rim protecting big there that is that is something that I know I have highlighted over the last several years that the magic need a rim protecting big they need someone that can play Above the Rim on lobs rolling to the basket as well as defend bending and blocking shots and the big question I think we’ve all had is whether Wendell Carter fits that bill and whether that’s fair or not to wend Carter um what the I think the big question that the magic should have and the big question the magic should be asking as they develop their team is whether they can win with a center like wend Carter and maybe the jury’s still out on that maybe some people have already decided maybe that’s not an issue that the magic need to deal with immediately but there is proof of concept that the magic can be a strong team with a more traditional Rim protecting Center and that obviously happened in November when Carter was out and Goa baz stepped in the starting lineup we are not expecting the magic to be able to resign Goa baz I think baz’s should be looking for a more consistent backup role he should be looking to get a Payday he should earn a Payday after the way he played for Orlando someone out there is going to give him an opportunity and he should pursue that the magic don’t have opportunity for so the magic should be in the market to add a third Center whether that’s through the draft whether that’s through free agency the magic should be looking to add a add a third at an emergency center essentially and if you’re looking at this draft there are two pretty solid options when it comes to rim protecting bigs the first one is Indiana’s um CLE wear we averaged 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for the hooers last year adding in 1.9 blocks per game game um he did shoot 42 and half% from on threes uh which is encouraging but don’t get your hopes up I don’t think he’s a floor spacer quite yet that part of his game is gonna need some time to develop but this is a big dude 6 foot1 with a 7even fo4 and a half wing span 32 and a half inch standing reach 36 inch back foral leap this is a big dude who can play Above the Rim that’s going to finish lobs it’s going to finish around the basket has decent Mobility can step out and hit jum step out and hit jump um at least is comfortable enough doing that there is stuff to like about kware the concern with him and the reason why he’s being drafted at 19th is there are motor concerns uh you know he kind of eats up stats but he will disappear for large stretches um it’s always a concern that you know you’re kind of chasing blocks and not defending solidly Indiana obviously didn’t have maybe the season that they wanted to last year um and he’s a little bit older he transferred from Oregon K if the magic draft kle wear if you’re looking for the center who is most likely to be this season’s Derek Lively it’s kle Weare um there’s the other option is evees Missy from Baylor much raar really athletic big athletic big but doesn’t have a lot of offensive game I would draft wear over Mei um Missi will foul a lot you know not be super discipline but I think that’s just a general concern with rookie with rookies um if you believe in his upside you believe in his upside we’s a little bit more established you know who he is you kind of know what he’s going to give you and and you hope you know you the big thing you have to figure out is okay are these motor issues that are coming up in the scouting reports is that something you could brush away is there a reason for that is is that a problem that we will have and will follow we to the NBA this is the thing though is this the need the magic need to fill in the draft and this is the point I kept making throughout all of last year people kind of bang you know bang me on it a little bit but wend Carter has never played more than 67 games in any season of his group you have to plan on Wendel Carter missing at least 15 games you should really plan on in missing 20 Mo Vagner is not a starting center the the Philo you know Jamal Mosley’s philosophy appears to be to always keep rotations intact he will go to the third string guy uh to fill starting lineup whether that’s Caleb Houston whether that’s uh chuma OK at times whether that was uh going to Gary you know Gary Harris that was going to goou bad if you’re drafting a center at 18 then you better have confidence that that player can start for a quarter of the season and that is ultimately why I don’t think the magic are gonna go with one of these two bigs because I don’t know if you know again background information not withstanding I don’t know if you can feel confident in kle wear as your starter for that extended period of time at least especially on this team if this were If This Were A rebuilding team If This Were last year I might be a little bit more confident in that um you know Derrik Lively might have been the right pick for this magic team but it would have derailed your playoff hopes uh with with the with the margins as small as they are I still think that the that the move is go for a veteran big here um I I still think that the move is a veteran big to fill that need more than to go with a rookie but if you believe in kle wear you know again people hate me for saying this I’m gonna defer to the magic I’m gonna defer to Jeff weltman Anthony Parker and their staff um they know they’ve watched these guys a lot more than I have I am behind on my draft prep I’m not going to deny that I am deny I am behind on my draft prep because I was watching the season I didn’t have the bandwidth to keep to watch a ton of college basketball I watch some Indiana because I watched Northwestern um Northwestern beat them I that usually raises my my skepticism um even though Northwestern was a tournament team this year um but this is this is this is the thing if the magic believe that kle we or Eve Missy can start draft them this is this is a good place to fill that need and to get someone that can really help this team and even if they have to spend some time in the G League that’s not the worst thing in the world obviously though I think a lot of us understand the biggest need for the magic is at guard why there are a lot of options at guard but why this may not be the place to fill it we’ll get to that coming up here in just a moment so all all I think anyone wants to talk about is the guard spot for the Orlando Magic and whether the magic have enough at guard you know obviously free agency we’re talking about going out and finding a starting point guard a starting guard um we’re looking for players who can step in and and give this team some guard depth um and be an impact player on the ball be a downhill attacker you know we’re looking for a table setting point guard and a downhill attacker someone that can kind of relieve some of that pressure off of Pao and fron give them the ball in easier spots for them to score that’s that’s the biggest need for the Orlando match it’s the biggest thing we learned from the playoffs that this team needs everything else could fall into place with the Right Guard and so we’ve talked extensively about Anthony Simons go back and listen to that we talked about Malik monk we’re gonna talk about tus Jones tomorrow there is a the magic are in the market for a guard and they have to find a guard um that is undoubtedly the truth and I don’t think the draft is the place to do it because a they got Anthony black they got Cole Anthony they got jet Howard um as Jeff wman likes to say we want to make sure that there is a pathway for our rookies to play and you could argue that well there wasn’t one for jet there was they could have played jet Howard but they I think they very clearly consciously decided we want him to spend the year in the G League we want him to play we don’t want him to you know be up and down with his minutes let’s just get this young kid as much playing time developing in the way that we want him to develop as much as possible playing is better than sitting that’s ultimately what the magic decided how they ultimately decided to develop him and hopefully that pays off for them this year Well we will find out in a couple months whether that worked out or not but you want to give those guys a pathway to play and so when you’re drafting a point guard um you don’t want that point guard to get in the way of Anthony black you know you got Cole Anthony now on a new extension you don’t want him to get in the way of Cole Anthony or not too much unless you’re done with Cole Anthony which I don’t think we’re there um but there are a lot of really good guard options as far as downhill attackers the best downhill attacker um that I think I think a lot of magic fans have noted is Jared McCain from D um Jared McCain is the dream pick I think for the magic he is an excellent three-point shooter uh he averaged 14.3 points per game five rebounds per game shot 46.2% from floor and 41.4% from three on 5.8 attempts per game he he is can play off the ball can play a little bit on the ball not the greatest distributor and passer but he’s kind of the style of point guard a lot of us Envision the magic trying to chase that he is someone that can get his own shot but is also very comfortable playing off the ball and playing as a a floor spacer um he is not super athletic uh but uh but he will uh be able to finish like he he is really crafty and creative with his finishes and we’ll see if that translate translates the NBA there’s concern about his first step but he is great at creating space and getting his shot off over over taller Defenders that’s that that that part of his game is really really impressive the other guy I want to put on your radar he’s starting to get a little bit of Buzz among the draft people um people have i’ I’ve heard people talk about him just a fantastic score Jaylen Tyson from uh cal um six foot seven guard not a point guard but I want to put him on your radar 19.6 points per game 6.8 rebounds per game three and a half assists per game shot 30 shot uh uh 36% from three this year shot 40.2% from three last year 79.6% free throw shooter Jaylen Tyson is someone to keep an eye on as well as a guard who can kind of create his own shot and and be that guy he’s not a point guard but again some playmaking ability there the other point guard I want you to have an eye on as far as just kind of a distributor there there are a few there’s obviously bub Carrington we talked a little bit about him he’s considered more of a shooter more of an athlete kind of a Marcus SM type point guard um the other guy to keep an eye on is um is Devin Carter from Providence again another Ace Defender big guy big athletic guy not much of a shooter not a great distributor but rebounds really well for his position you know we talk about that a lot but the guy I want you to keep an eye on today is Tyler KCK from Marquette Tyler klech averaged 15.3 points per game 7.7 assists per game his second straight year averaging more than seven assists per game shot 38.8% from three he is a senior um so experienced player someone who should be able to step in a little bit on the small side that is the only issue 6′ one without shoes 6’2 wingspan so he does not fit that part of the Magic’s profile but a great distributor great playmaker for any team that drafts him and again a senior should be able to come in and help out pretty quickly again I would say this if I were the magic I would probably be looking at Wings to add some Wing depth you know you’re trying to replace maybe chumo KK trying to replace Joe Engle right now I would say like looking at the bench lineup you’re hoping Anthony black fills in for whatever minutes you’re losing from Marquel Foltz and you’re I think you’re hoping that jet Howard helps fill in Gary Harris minutes and helps fill in Joe Engles minutes um if you’re kind of looking for that straight one to one so you know the magic then are looking to replace chuma OK um you know Caleb Houston’s gonna help with some of this but you know maybe you’re looking for someone to push chumo uh push Caleb Houston a little bit but I think the magic when you’re looking at this draft are either looking to fill in goab baz’s minutes with a third Center or looking for some Wing depth and and again Tristan D Silva just feels like a pure magic player super high IQ Wing playmaker oversized playmaker decent shooter um has a lot of the things the magic like um and I think that’s ultimately the direction the magic gonna go now you got to take what the draft gives you um you know and we’ll see if the magic end up keeping the pick for now we’re going to assume they are um you got to take what the draft gives you you know you got to look at look at the at all the players available in the draft and what it’s giving you and decide okay this works for us um I generally still believe that you pick best player available um whatever your board says and you sort your board by need as well but I still think you generally take best player available Talent ultimately wins out so I’m a big Kon kwn George fan I I like Jaylen Tyson I think he’d be a really interesting pick as well um if you want a more development project Tyler Smith from the Gite Bobby Clinton um there are a lot of options and again this draft is very wide open uh so it’s going to be interesting to see where the magic ultimately go and what the magic ultimately do and of course the g-league is always an option you can draft someone and park them in the g- league for year that is not a bad option for this team especially considering the magic like veterans with their 2-a contracts you can play a treveling queen a little bit you know Trev Trev is still hanging around would not surprise me if the magic upgrade him and give him a more regular contract and fill their two-way spots with with players and including their second round pick you can always use your use their second round pick on a two-way contract as well now um there are a lot of options like that and the magic are GNA have to figure out what they need and again because of where they’re at yes draft well you have to draft well um that supplements your roster that helps you out but you don’t need a rook you know you’re also looking for rookies that are can contribute um you’re ready to win so you need to help you need guys that are going to help you win if there’s an overwhelming talent that you have to have I I’m not against it um they obviously like jet Howard more than they like cam Whitmore but um if there’s an overwhelming talent that you have to have go for it if not you know find someone that fits a need uh you know find someone that that’s going to help you help you pretty quickly and and I think there are some of those options here in this draft but that’s going to do it for me today I want to thank you all again for for listening to today’s episode of Locked on Manch course find me on Twitter at Philip romd subscribe to the podcast and apple podcast your tuned in himay Google spoy Odyssey and all FAL podcast to your podcast enable listen device for latest on the Orlando Magic be sure to check out Orlando Magic daily.com you can find us there on Twitter om Magic daily and also be sure to check out my patreon page the Orlando Magic Hub we are doing I am doing player evaluations right now on the Orlando Magic Hub going through each player posted Jonathan Isaac on Wednesday you can check that out at at Orlando magichub patreon.com orlandomagic Hub and as always thank you for your support like I said on tomorrow’s episode of lock on Magic we are going to do the case for or against signing tus Jones really popular player for ma for magic fans when it comes to free agency we’re going to go over why the magic would sign him how he does fit and also some of the concerns that the magic have as they examine whether to give him a big contract and bring him in but I want to thank you for making to for listening to today’s episode of lock on manic be sure to make lockon sports today your next listen the 247 streaming Channel on YouTube is now available on Amazon Fire TV in the free Fire TV channels app as well lockdown Sports is here for you 247 covering the top sports stories of the day with the local Experts of locked on plus our national shows covering every League find lockon sports today now available on the free Fire TV channels app that’s good dude for me today though I want to thank you all again for listening to today’s episode of lock on magic for Orlando Magic daily lockon magic this has been Philip Rossman Reich we’ll see you again next time for another episode of lockon magic

The Orlando Magic should be looking to fill a lot of needs this offseason. But what need should get the focus of the NBA Draft? And who can the Magic rely on to help them immediately in a draft that is not considered particularly strong?

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