Jeff Weltman begins forming his view of current Orlando Magic

Orlando Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman is settling in and getting acquainted with his new team. Just as he has to change it.

It must have been a whirlwind for Jeff Weltman when he officially accepted the president of basketball operations job and began moving his life to Florida to run the Orlando Magic.

Then came the whirlwind of preparing for the NBA Draft. An important one at that with the Magic holding four picks in the top 35. Weltman and his new staff are playing catch up and listening to Matt Lloyd and the Magic’s scouts as they prepare to make this important decision Thursday.

Looking to the future, though, cannot happen unless the management group understands the past. To make the most of the picks they are about to make and the rebuild ahead, the management group has to understand what it has to work with on the current roster.

Certainly, in his interview, Weltman probably had some idea of what he had to work with and what direction he wanted to take the team. But his approach as he took over the lead chair was he was going to listen and learn.

At his initial press conference after his hire, he said he would spend a lot of his early days listening to the staff that remained. He would speak with coach Frank Vogel and assistant general manager Matt Lloyd. He probably got the chance to speak with whatever players were still in town working out at the Amway Center.

Weltman was waiting to get a sense of his team.

But to make the decision with the draft, he needed to compile all that “insider” information about the team and have a sense of what he has. What he has is a young roster still trying to form itself.

"“I think we have a lot of good young players who are finding their way through,” Weltman told Orlando Magic Daily. “One of the most challenging things when you are dealing with a young team is they don’t know yet who they’re going to be. Everybody in the NBA you hope has the ego strength to envision themselves with greatness. You have a bunch of young guys who envision themselves with greatness. That’s a good thing. That’s a good problem to have.“But there are some growing pains associated with that. I think coach is very high on our young guys. It’s not just a coach finding the fit and how best to use that guy, but having the player grow into that role and how he is going to be the most successful. I think we’re in a good place.”"

The Magic are still a fairly young team. Elfrid Payton, Aaron Gordon and Mario Hezonja are all still on their rookie contracts. Evan Fournier, Nikola Vucevic and Terrence Ross have all just had their extension contracts kick in.

To some extent Weltman is right. His team is still very young and players are still trying to figure themselves out. Aside from Terrence Ross, no player has played meaningful minutes for a Playoff team. The Magic are short on experience.

Orlando Magic

On the other hand, players have to find their identity at some point. Former general manager Rob Hennigan said at one point teams know what a player is by the time they reach the end of their rookie contract — four years. Many of the key Magic players on last year’s 29-win season have already reached that point. And Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton are in contract seasons, a year away from reaching that marker.

It is clear to anyone the Magic need to shake things up beyond a solid pick in Thursday’s draft.

To help make and inform those selections, Weltman has had to listen to Lloyd and Vogel to better understand not just what qualities the players on the roster but how they work together and their behind-the-scenes dynamics. It is all part of the equation of the larger puzzle.

The one thing that is clear, is the team has a lot of areas to improve.

"“I think there are a lot of areas where we can improve,” Weltman said. “Most teams would probably say that. Any time you try to pinpoint the most glaring need, then you are probably putting one finger in one dike and the water is spraying at you from every other direction.I think it is more about bringing in multiskilled guys, character guys, people who will play for each other. ”"

Weltman, like Hammond, has seemingly emphasized a type. Players with versatility who can guard multiple positions. They have talked about length on multiple occasions.

What is not clear is how the Magic will go about reshaping the current roster. It is not clear what moves Weltman will make. It is not even particularly clear which players Weltman likes on the team or who he views as part of the team’s immediate and long-term future.

At this point, no one knows much of anything about the Magic’s plans for the future.

But in order to make those decisions and figure out how to guide the Magic forward, Weltman has to know what he has to work with. He has to have an evaluation and an idea of what cards he has to play. And then weigh the options as he looks to improve the team.

All of this too will play into the decisions he will make on Draft night. The Magic are not exactly working with a clean slate. There are at least a few young players Weltman has to like.

Next: 2017 Orlando Magic Draft Preview: Who is Jonathan Isaac?

As Weltman pulls together his view of the current team, he can begin building his vision for the Magic.