The Orlando Magic have settled their front office and can now turn their attention fully to next month’s NBA Draft. We look ahead too in this roundtable.
New Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman had little to say about the current state of the team’s roster as he addressed the media for the first time. He said he would wait to learn more from the retained staff — especially coach Frank Vogel — about that as he begins to piece together the way forward for this team.
The one thing he knew and the one thing he knew he could count on, and even offer an opinion about (albeit a brief and guarded one) was the Draft. The Magic will have plenty of opportunities to begin reshaping their roster with this Draft. Undoubtedly the team’s four picks — Nos. 6, 25, 33 and 35 — will lay the basis for the next phase of the team’s rebuild.
Weltman has some thoughts on the players available. But at this early stage, he said he is looking forward to discussing the observations and analysis and information from the current staff preparing for the Draft. For now, Matt Lloyd remains on the staff leading the Magic’s draft preparations. And Weltman is jumping on the train mid-stream.
To be sure, whatever plans Weltman comes up with will rely heavily on the picks he makes in this year’s Draft. The Magic are not preparing to do a whole rebuild and so they will need a mix of finding a core piece and adding to the team’s depth with the other picks. Maybe taking a risk.
Everyone wants to try and figure out what Weltman and John Hammond’s type is to try to predict this draft. The reality is nobody knows exactly what they will favor for this team. They still have a lot of learning to do to get a better sense of what they have to start with. For now, everyone can only assume they will take the best player available.
With the Lottery clearly in the rearview mirror now. The Draft landscape is a bit clearer to decipher. Whom the Magic can pick has come into clearer focus.
There is still a month to go before the Draft. That will be plenty of time for Weltman and his staff to get caught up to speed and formulate their draft preferences and plans — along with free agency.
We have our own thoughts too. And at this early stage of our draft preparation, we share our thoughts on which direction the Magic should head. . . for now.
As Weltman said, the Draft board changes on a daily basis. And the Draft would go completely differently if it happened yesterday than it would today than it would tomorrow.