Orlando Magic: What If They Had Drafted Anthony Bennett?

For former No. 1 draft pick Anthony Bennett, his poor professional career to date has now hit a new low. This is because the Minnesota Timberwolves have formally cut ties with the player, buying him out of his contract in order to move forward without him.

This is a sad state of affairs for a guy who will be entering only his third season if he can find a new team to play for. Statistically it would make him one of, if not the, biggest first overall pick draft busts of all time. So while his talent levels have to be questioned, so too does the unique situation he’s found himself in since being drafted.

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If the Orlando Magic had picked him, however, things would be a lot different for both the player and the organization right now.

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Before looking at where the Magic would be, I’m almost positive that Bennett would be about to enter his third season and be doing so in a Magic jersey.

Instead he was picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers and struggled for a year on a rebuilding team, before being shipped to the Wolves in a move that saw Kevin Love join LeBron James and Kyrie Irving in Cleveland. Minnesota was another rebuilding team as it had just lost its best player.

Now, Bennett’s playing time while a member of both teams has been pretty shocking at times. From watching him, it’s clear that he’s lazy on both ends of the court, and heaves far too many long two-point efforts. That shot is the least favorite in basketball right now as people gravitate towards the more statistically pleasing three-point and painted area shots — the high percentage looks, basically.

Jul 21, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Canada forward Anthony Bennett (10) reacts after a dunk against the Dominican Republic in the men’s basketball preliminary round during the 2015 Pan Am Games at Ryerson Athletic Centre. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /

To this point, Bennett has been a victim of circumstance, but he has not helped his cause with the way he’s approached the game. That looked like it might change this summer however, as he put in unquestionably his best stint as a professional basketball player in a Canadian jersey at the FIBA Americas tournament this summer.

All right, so the standard of opponent wasn’t high every night (playing Panama for example) but Bennett led his country in rebounds (nine) on two occasions during the tournament.

That showed a guy with renewed commitment to do some of the dirtier work of the court, even if it was a small sample size. His enthusiasm and smile were new additions as well, and it boded well as he looked to reignite his NBA career. Only with a stacked frontcourt rotation, the Timberwolves saw Bennett as a surplus before he could even show them the new and improved player he looked like he’d become.

It’s a little bit strange given Kevin Garnett and Tayshaun Prince would have been great mentors for him, but it is what it is. Gorgui Dieng, Karl Anthony-Towns, Nemanja Bjelica and Adreian Payne also need minutes as well. Which brings us to the intriguing what-if scenario. Many were surprised when Bennett went first. If the Cavaliers had taken Victor Oladipo for example, they could then have switched their attentions and gone for a forward player to nurture from the draft.

Say what you want about Anthony Bennett's career, but you can't take away this performance*** https://t.co/E7zux4ck4C

***exhibition
— Anthony Lima (@SportsBoyTony) September 21, 2015

People forget because of Bennett’s struggles, but that draft class was not exactly deep. So it’s possible the Magic take Bennett and work out possibly signing a more established backcourt player at this time. One name that immediately comes to mind is Rajon Rondo, a guy whose reputation was stuttering at the time because of injury. It’s only gotten worse since. Would he have stuck around if the Boston Celtics had traded him to the Magic?

Probably not, but can you imagine a starting five featuring Rondo and Bennett? Offensive sets would have been horrific. An effect of that is that maybe Tobias Harris gets frustrated that his path to the team is blocked by an incoming rookie, and he forces his way out of the club either through trade or leaving this summer, even though he was a restricted free agent. It’s also possible that Rondo’s reputation could have led to the likes of Bennett and other younger players being led astray.

Beyond that, there would have been no need to draft Aaron Gordon, because the team would have likely stuck with Bennett through the growing pains. They likely would have been worse than they were that first season Oladipo was on the team, and perhaps would have picked higher in the 2014 NBA Draft (maybe because of a Rondo trade or a different move they wouldn’t have had that pick at all? Although given how prudent general manager Rob Hennigan is with draft picks, that seems unlikely).

So maybe they get to pick in the top two and they don’t go with Gordon and instead take a flyer on a center they can pair with Bennett. Joel Embiid, for example. That picked used to take Elfrid Payton may still have come true, but with Rondo possibly on the roster, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to take a point guard with essentially the same skill set as him. The flip side of that however, is the team could have lucked its way into picking either Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker.

Regardless, it’s a scary, albeit fun, game to play. It’s not totally beyond the realm of possibility to think this team could have taken Bennett if things had gone a little differently. He’d have been bad, but with the consistency of minutes and the support of the organization, he surely would have been a bit better than he is right now. But the team as a whole would absolutely be worse off without Gordon, Payton and Oladipo. That’s their long-term core right there.

One move could have turned this medium term rebuild into a near Philadelphia 76ers-like one if that one player had been drafted. That is not a knock on Bennett, and in reality I have a lot of sympathy for him. He’s like a more extreme and well known version of Jimmer Fredette. That is, a guy who was drafted by the wrong team and ended up in a bad situation. That’s how it’s been for Bennett, except as a first overall pick, he takes a lot more heat for not panning out with two teams over two years.

If it were possible, I wouldn’t be totally against the Magic picking him up off the scrapheap now at a reduced cost. There’s a player in there somewhere and the modest expectations in Orlando would have suited him. He likely would have come off the bench as well, perhaps his true calling in this league. That can’t happen though, as the team is already just over the salary cap and with a player or two to waive before the season begins.

It could have been so different for player and team, and in the end I’m glad the Magic avoided getting tangled up with Anthony Bennett. Their path back to relevance has been clear for years now, and luckily they appear to have drafted the right players so far to help them get back to there.

Bennett only would have jammed that process up by a couple of years, simply by being there. Come next season, he’ll be somebody else’s problem.

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