Orlando Magic: Has Joel Embiid Changed Everything?

With the news coming out that last week Joel Embiid would require surgery on his foot ahead of the NBA draft, the outlook of the whole board has changed. For the Orlando Magic and their fourth pick, there is every chance the player they had their heart set on will now be gone by the time they are up.

Embiid was projected by many to be the top pick, and with the Cleveland Cavaliers picking first and needing a big/center, it seemed a naturally good fit. So where do the Magic go from here with their plans scuppered and draft night approaching?

There has been some suggestion that the Magic may potentially trade up the draft in order to ensure they get the player they wanted initially. Australian sensation Dante Exum may have been on the board if Embiid wasn’t injured, but because he is, there is a higher possibility another team above them take a chance on his considerable talent.

If the Magic want him that desperately, they can always send their fourth pick and an asset of considerable value like Arron Afflalo or even Maurice Harkless and, less likely, Tobias Harris, in order to obtain a higher pick.

However, this is one of the deepest drafts in years, and at fourth there will still be many top quality prospects available. Surely it’s better to hold onto the assets they have and take the best player available with the fourth pick.

With the Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers picking above the Magic, each of these teams, except possibly Cleveland, would probably take talent over need. That is to say, the best player available to them, even if they already have a similar kind of player.

Even if this does happen, Orlando are actually in a pretty similar position anyway. A combination of Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker are pegged by many to go No. 1 and No. 2.

The 76ers and their third pick would more likely go on a big than Exum, given that they already have the talented Michael Carter-Williams. They could pair the two sure, but if they don’t then Orlando is pretty much as you were when their number is called to pick.

The Magic can go two ways with the pick, a guard to pair with budding star Victor Oladipo or a big man to add to the athletic bigs already a part of the team. Regardless, you can be certain that one of either point guard Marcus Smart or power forward Noah Vonleh will be available.

More than likely both will, and that is not a bad position to be in, picking from one of these two. So it makes sense to hold onto this pick, and then add whichever of these players help the Magic go in the direction they want to.

While both Parker and Randle are viewed as franchise changers in their ability, both Smart and Vonleh are both also ready to have an impact in the league right away too. They’re not organization savers, but Vonleh’s length and understanding of the game and Smart’s strength and defensive ability mean they can crack rotations right away.

What is also worth remembering is that it was widely reported and accepted that Orlando worked both of these guys out multiple times. That is to say, they would have taken one of Vonleh or Smart anyway.

So in that sense, the fact that Embiid is gone does little to change what Orlando was going to do, meaning they have less to worry about than other teams.

If by some minor miracle one of either Parker or Randle are available with the fourth pick, chuck the game plan out of the window and take them. If Exum is available, he is probably too irresistible to pass up, and so you have to take him.

But the reality here is that there will be many great players available when the Magic are up anyway.

Interestingly, Embiid himself will probably still be knocking around, and that would be an interesting one to pursue. Nikola Vucevic may be the starting center of now and the presumed future, but players like Joel Embiid are hard to come across.

Not to compare the two, but Greg Oden was the last player with as many similarities as Embiid. We all know how that ended, but still to this day teams are taking a punt on him working out.

Orlando doing the same would be risky, but could pay massive dividends in the future.

So if anything Embiid’s injury has made things more interesting for Orlando. The player they want may be gone when they come to draft, but you can see from the players they worked out weeks ago that they have various back up plans in place.

Heck, they could even get rid of the pick in order to obtain some more talent for the team, though it seems unlikely at this point.

Basically the loss of Embiid to injury hasn’t done anything major for Orlando’s ambitions. They’ll probably shock us all with the player they do eventually take, especially if it’s Embiid himself.