Orlando Magic: Complete grades for the 2019 NBA offseason
By Luke Duffy
Drafted Chuma Okeke
The Orlando Magic were picking outside of the lottery for the first time in a long time at the NBA Draft, their selection not carrying the weight of previous years.
A young core of Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba and Markelle Fultz (themselves all past top-six picks) already in place and growing together.
The organization’s selection reflected this, as they took Chuma Okeke from the Auburn Tigers with the 16th pick. This pick seemed puzzling on the surface for a couple of reasons, with Okeke tearing his ACL during the NCAA tournament and having surgery to repair it in late March.
He won’t be able to contribute right away and as a forward he may never help at all.
The frontcourt of the Magic is crowded as it is and it seems unlikely that a prospect like Okeke will be able to force his way into the conversation. Of the young players already mentioned, three of them play in the frontcourt themselves.
With Wesley Iwundu also requiring minutes as a wing and a number of centers on the roster too, it will be hard for Okeke to break through.
When he was picked, #Magic fans needed to get sold on Chuma Okeke. @mdugger33 has three ways for Okeke to win them over: https://t.co/Hxy7B0FYL2
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) July 25, 2019
It was interesting that the team went in this direction at all, when they could have taken a young point guard as insurance in case Fultz doesn’t work out.
D.J. Augustin and Michael Carter-Williams will hold it down until Fultz comes back, but should he not pan out, selecting a young player with some upside on a cheap deal would have made sense.
The only positive to Okeke joining the Magic may come from the fact he is currently out of action. He won’t crowd the rotation for a while and will likely spend some time in the G-League once he is healthy. Anything they can get from him after that would be a bonus.
The organization have been clear in their desire to built a roster out of long and athletic players who can guard multiple positions. It made sense with their lottery picks, but here was a chance to do something different now that it looks like they have enough of these guys.
The Magic missed a trick here, with the worst-case scenario being a wasted first-round draft pick.