NBA Draft: Orlando Magic should focus on Kristaps Porzingis to fill needs

This NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic must focus on team needs first, and therefore Kristaps Porzingis becomes the primary focus.

Orlando Magic general manager Rob Hennigan has yet to strike out on a lottery pick. Victor Oladipo was in the chase for the Rookie of the Year Award. Elfrid Payton’s play demonstrated he should have been. And even Aaron Gordon has demonstrated he has great potential, though the least developed (and most inconsistent) of the three.

Fans should trust Hennigan’s scouting abilities.

He even pulled a productive big man out of the second round in Kyle O’Quinn, notwithstanding that the Norfolk State product eventually fell out of favor last season. Andrew Nicholson has fallen far short of the mark, but in terms of lottery picks, Hennigan is a great scout.

However, this is the draft Hennigan simply does not grab the best talent with the No. 5 overall pick. The time for picking the best player available to lay a foundation for the rebuild appears over.

It now has to be about needs, and finding the one player who can best fill multiple needs in one swoop.

Accordingly, one such player has to be paramount with that statement: Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis.

The fanbase has been favoring Justise Winslow, but it is Porzingis who fills the most Magic needs in one pick. Porzingis can protect the rim and block shots, he can step out and hit the triple, and he has the speed and finishing abilities to fill passing lanes when the Magic get out in transition.

Porzingis is the power forward to complete the starting five — with the pick also leading to the retention of Tobias Harris as the small forward of the Magic’s well-developed starting five.

Taking Justise Winslow results in a log jam at the wings, particularly so if Gordon is going to see a lot of minutes at the 3 (he should). Oladipo would occupy Winslow’s natural position, and Oladipo’s promise thus far has been too brilliant to demote on the promise of one rookie

Mario Hezonja would displace Tobias Harris — or shift Harris to full-time power forward duties. He is not filling a direct need, even if his talents have impressed international scouts immensely. It requires juggling to make Hezonja work with the current roster.

That leaves two players who are capable of filling the void at power forward, the aforementioned Porzingis and Kentucky’s Willie Cauley-Stein.

If Cauley-Stein really has the developed jumper he was observed to have, he could be the high-post power forward necessary to keep spacing with Nikola Vucevic. Cauley-Stein could develop a high post game just like Serge Ibaka did.  That wouldn’t be so bad.

But Porzingis is unquestionably the guy with range stepping out past the arc. His release is high and he is 7-foot-1. There is just something hard to pass on when watching his shooting stroke.

Porzingis is not the All-NBA defensive team-type defender Cauley-Stein is, but he is a very good defender and the Magic are filling the 4-spot with a talent whose style fits this era of the NBA perfectly.

Porzingis answers two needs and plugs a position that featured an undrafted rookie in Dewayne Dedmon seeing the starting gig. Channing Frye is what he is, and he is not going to magically start blocking shots, grabbing rebounds or filling those gaps particularly on the defensive end. Gordon is still caught between positions, and he has a lot of learning to do before he can be called anything like a starter.

But if Porzingis is truly NBA-ready, he makes the Magic playoff contenders.

Hardwood Houdini

Fans may decry the pick on draft night, but Winslow still is a wind-up type of choice. He played just one NCAA season and has a ways to go — Porzingis has already played pro-level ball in Europe. It seems fair to say he is more NBA-ready, even if his 220-pound frame needs some bulk badly.

Orlando has grabbed athletes in Payton, Oladipo and Gordon — Porzingis continues that tradition. Unless Cauley-Stein drops jaws in workouts, the Magic are going to covet the offensive talent Porzingis has.

If the Magic were not No. 27 in offensive rating in the NBA, this might be different. But defensive talents are not going to rapidly improve the Magic, not in the same way.  The Magic need someone capable of putting up numbers and filling the gaps help-side along the baselines.  Porzingis can do that.

If his ultimate upside is really that of Kevin Garnett as NBA coaches deem it, the Magic are contenders.  The idea of having a premier defender who can step out on pick and roll switches becomes a reality.  The Magic can trap on pick and rolls and wreak havoc in entirely new ways yet unseen.

Scott Skiles will still find ways to carve the most out of Dedmon and Gordon, while simultaneously developing Porzingis into the power forward Orlando truly needs. The coaching will go a long way towards producing a team defense, something Orlando has lacked with players rotating through an erratic rotation.

Skiles will import stability to the Magic, and the team can start focusing on developing its defensive reputation. Porzingis fits with that model, while providing a much needed three-point shot for floor spacing.

An anchor to the defense that can stretch the court, get out in transition? He just makes sense.

Next: Porzingis May be Orlando's Man