Orlando Magic: Unpredictability Of NBA Draft Excites

With the NBA Draft now so close to happening, we will soon know who the Orlando Magic will be picking when they select fifth overall. Since the lottery order came out, and really even before that, there has been a wild amount of speculation on who the team will actually draft when their turn is up. Now that we are so close to the day itself though, is it time to admit we really don’t know how this is all going to go and how Orlando’s roster will look a few days from now.

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I say this because, well, this is a pretty well-rounded team as it is. To me there is only one glaring need (which we will get back to) but drafting a player who fits that need at No. 5 may be too high, especially as there is likely to be some real quality still left up on the board at that point. Whereas 2014’s draft class was billed as potentially the best since that famous 2003 crop, this year’s college standouts have crept up on us somewhat.

In 10 years time, we may well look back and say that the class of 2014 had far more talent in their ranks, it just took some time for us to see the best they had to offer. The incoming rookies this summer however, look like the top end of the class may be able to contribute right away, even if their ceilings never reach that of their predecessors.

So it’s important that the Magic use this pick wisely. If all goes as it’s supposed to, they hopefully won’t be returning to the lottery for a few years now (Although in my heart of hearts, I know there’s a likely possibility they’ll be back again next season). Where you fall on the “talent over need” debate will also likely swing who you want the team to draft. But here is what we do know.

This team currently has a backcourt in Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo that have the chance to be the starting duo here for the next five to eight years. Both are still on rookie deals, and Oladipo has the makings of a star. Payton had a nice rookie year no question, but hopefully the best is yet to come from this guy. The center position appears locked down too, Nikola Vucevic was inked to a four-year deal last summer that kicks in next year.

Vucevic is an offensive delight, and if the way All-Stars team are constructed hadn’t been changed a couple of years ago (a traditional center is no longer a requirement in the starting five) I bet he would have been an All-Star in the next three to five years. Kyle O’Quinn is a nice backup too, possibly a tad undersized but an above average rim protector — something Vucevic is not.

Which brings up the forwards, where the team already has Channing Frye and Tobias Harris (whom are also cousins). Harris is a restricted free agent this summer, and ultimately the team may not match any incoming offers and let him walk. Is he worth big money? Hard to say, but what we do know is he’s coming off his best season as a pro. Some see him as an ideal sixth man for this team, and it would be great if that’s how it worked out for this team.

Which means to me, the forward spot is the biggest need here. Backup guards (Mo Williams is a potential get, while the forgotten Evan Fournier is still a member of this team) should be possible to get cheaply through trade/free agency. A backup center is also a possibility if needed in free agency. So a forward like Justise Winslow or Stanley Johnson (Although fifth may be a little high for him to go) are intriguing.

Mario Hezonja (Who can play the two or three) and Kristaps Porzingis (Long enough to play the four or five) are the two European standouts who many feel the Magic should look at if still available. Like all players though, there is risk attached. There would appear to be less risk involved if going after the likes of Willie Cauley-Stein (If still on the board). A big with great potential, he’s the kind of player many teams would love to have.

Throughout this draft process I hadn’t given the bigs much thought. Despite the fact three big guys (Cauley-Stein, Jahlil Okafor and Karl Anthony-Towns) will likely go in the top five, Vucevic has been so great for this team I felt the Magic would look elsewhere. So to see that Vucevic could potentially be moved in a three-team trade to send DeMarcus Cousins to the Los Angeles Lakers was puzzling.

If anything, it just goes to show how little we truly know heading into the big night. Everybody has an opinion (I’ve always wanted Winslow to join the Magic) and everybody wants their opinion to be right. But the truth is, only the people making the decision know what they’re going to do next (be realistic, did you see Anthony Bennett going first to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2013?). Which is what makes this whole process exciting.

So for what it’s worth, here is what I would like to see happen in New York on June 25th. At one time Winslow and the Magic seemed a perfect match, and I still feel that, especially if Harris is allowed to walk. Alternatively, if the team was crazy enough to move Vucevic, I’d love to see Cauley-Stein suit up for the Magic and become the inside presence this team has lacked almost overnight.

Over the last few months I never spoke at length about Hezonja or Porzingis because truthfully, I didn’t know enough about them except from videos I’d seen and what certain people had said (Many of the people who are desperate for their team to pick these guys fall into the same category, feeling they can turn into stars, when in truth they know next to nothing about them and don’t know how they’ll react to a different culture wherever they go).

I think one of the four teams ahead of Orlando will take a flyer on Porzingis, and good luck to them. If Hezonja is then taken by the Magic, I’ll be happy. We’ve heard a lot of good things, and he’s got the shooting touch a team with a backcourt with no dependable three-point shot between them desperately needs. So that will be a boost as well.

As of right now though, the talking needs to stop, just sit back and enjoy what happens next. It’s impossible to second guess a decision that has likely been made already. The Magic will have thought of every conceivable possibility, and will draft accordingly.

Whether that means bringing in an athletic and defensive wing (Winslow), a potentially franchise altering big man (Cauley-Stein) or a lanky European with an outside touch (Hezonja) just remember that all of those guys can bring something to this team that it needs.

All of this, and I didn’t even touch on D’Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay, two guards with big futures. So while 2014 was billed as the draft class of this generation, perhaps it will be the incoming players of 2015 who we will remember most when looking back at this generation of talent.

With the fifth pick though, on paper it least it appears hard for Orlando to truly fumble their selection. Even if they do, nothing any of use say can change that fact right now anyway. So just enjoy Thursday night.

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