Matt Lloyd: Orlando Magic accomplished a lot at NBA Draft Combine

The Orlando Magic accomplished a lot at the NBA Draft Combine as their (interim) management group gets set for the sprint to the Draft.

Orlando Magic interim general manager Matt Lloyd told Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel the team accomplished a lot at the NBA Draft Combine this past week in Chicago.

The weeklong event did not feature many of the top prospects — only Markelle Fultz and De’Aaron Fox attended among the top 10 prospects in the upcoming draft — but still provided the team with tons of information on prospective prospects.

While much of the fans’ (and team’s) attention is placed on the top five pick the Magic are likely to land in Tuesday’s Draft Lottery, the Magic could afford to spend much of its attention at the Draft Combine focused on its other picks — the 25th and 35th pick in the Draft, and possibly the 33rd pick too.

The interview process throughout the Draft Combine provides a good introduction to several of the prospects. It is the first time team officials get to interact with players — and their representatives. As Lloyd tells Robbins, it is the beginning of a marathon to the Draft. Just a first step in the process.

Lloyd said the team got off to a good start.

"“Our staff has been unbelievable,” Lloyd told the Orlando Sentinel. “They have this thing on lockdown in terms of all the evaluations and the interview prep that we did, and that’s really helped with having the coaches here, too. So they get an opportunity to lay eyes on guys that maybe we had had interest in. Now they can put a name to a face and a game to a face, too. I think overall we’ve accomplished quite a bit.”"

The Magic got 18 sit-down interviews with prospects during the Combine. That included talking with Kentucky Wildcats point guard De’Aaron Fox, Oklahoma State Cowboys point guard Jawun Evans, North Carolina Tar Heels forward Josh Jackson, Kentucky guard Hamidou Diallo, Utah Utes power forward Kyle Kuzma, UCLA Bruins T.J. Leaf and Baylor Bears Jonathan Motley.

The Magic also appeared to interview Kentucky big man Bam Adebayo. They will also hold their first individual workout with NC State Wolfpack point guard Dennis Smith, Jr., on Monday at the Amway Center.

Smith is the biggest name here. Many mock drafts have the Magic focusing on a point guard with that top pick. He averaged 18.1 points and 6.2 assists per game. He shot 45.5 percent from the floor as the Wolfpack’s leading scorer.

Edrice “Bam” Adebayo (in the video above) is more of a project at center. He averaged 13.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for Kentucky last year. He is an athletic big man who can finish around the basket. But the rest of his game is limited but growing.

The Magic certainly got plenty of homework done last week at the Draft Combine.

That focus will increase this week as individual workouts begin and the NBA Draft Lottery takes place Tuesday. From there, the team will know exactly where it will pick and what picks it will have in the Draft.

Then the sprint to the end of the NBA Draft will be on from there.

Even though Lloyd is the interim general manager and his future is uncertain with the team, it does appear he has brought a renewed energy and focus to the process. Lloyd is naturally upbeat and detailed about the draft process. He has largely been in charge of the Magic’s college scouting for the last five years.

That has shown in the team’s brief interactions with prospects so far.

Add in coach Frank Vogel’s upbeat attitude and added involvement in the Draft process too and the Magic have seemingly an attractive group representing them in front of these prospects.

For now, Lloyd and Vogel remain the face for the Magic as they begin the serious workouts for draft prospects.

So while the Draft Combine did not have the headlines many would want — it never does — the Magic still got a lot done. It is all part of the information-gathering process.

Next: Frank Vogel has better grasp of his team now

That will continue as the team waits for the Lottery results and begins bringing in players for individual and group workouts.