Orlando Magic: 3 reasons Melvin Frazier was a good pick
By Luke Duffy
1. Versatility and defensive switching
The real reason that Frazier was drafted by the team was to put him with the other long-limbed disrupters already on this team. A lineup featuring Bamba, Isaac and Gordon has the potential to be devastating defensively. But what happens when they go to the bench?
Having players like Frazier and Khem Birch to come in would keep that pressure up on the defensive end for 48 minutes a night.
Frazier is listed as a small forward, but joins the growing number of players on the team who can switch onto another player defensively on any given possession.
What the Magic are doing at the moment is building a roster that has similarities to the Milwaukee Bucks, drafting interchangeable players with similar skill-sets.
Of course, Orlando’s general manager John Hammond came across from Milwaukee, and while the Magic haven’t yet found a top talent like Giannis Antetokounmpo, the roster is being rounded out the same way.
Frazier is the next piece to this puzzle, but unlike others who have joined their ranks in the past, he has some semblance of a jump shot as well.
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The hope is that he can contribute on both ends, but to see him do so defensively next season would be great return on taking the player.