Explaining why the Orlando Magic traded their picks and what they got
The Orlando Magic were busy on Draft night, but not the way everyone expected. So what did they get for the 25th pick and why did they make that move?
On Draft night, everyone expected the Orlando Magic to be active.
With four picks in the Draft, there was plenty of ability to make some moves and make a bit of an impact. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said the team did not intend to head into training camp with four rookies. It just was not a feasible or optimal situation.
The Magic were always going to make a deal to move a draft pick or two. To what end was the mystery.
Most expected the Magic to move up and try to get a better first round pick. There were thoughts the team could get to the Lottery to acquire a targeted player. At the very least, the Magic would walk out of this draft with two first-round talents and some added depth in the form of some young players.
Instead, Orlando stayed put. Maybe worse than staying put, the Magic punted out of this supposedly strong NBA Draft.
The Magic made their pick at No. 6 for Jonathan Isaac, as expected to grab the team’s core player. But then they traded out of the 25th pick and the 35th pick, adding only Wesley Iwundu with the 33rd pick in the Draft.
The explanation the Magic gave was fairly simple. They did not see much worth grabbing with the selections they had and worked to “preserve their assets” for the future. In so many words, they kicked the can down the road.
"“The rationale was simple: We felt that at a certain point, the draft flattened out,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman told Orlando Magic Daily after the Draft last week. “Once we got past that point, we had three more picks and we didn’t want to bring four rookies in. So what we did is we tried to identify kids that we thought could possibly be there later that we liked as much higher and could we defer those assets and move them along to turn them into future pieces and something we liked.”"
There is no information to determine whether the Magic were trying to trade up. They reportedly had an interest in Detroit Pistons draftee Luke Kennard and perhaps Utah Jazz selection Donovan Mitchell. No deal materialized — in reality or on the rumor mill.
So when the Magic came to No. 25, they clearly did not like the options in front of them — especially with two more picks coming.
Then again, maybe there were good options left unexplored. Semi Ojeleye, the 37th overall pick in the Draft, is similar to Wesley Iwundu in his playing style, albeit a bit bigger. Perhaps the Magic passed on him because of his shorter 6-foot-9.75 wingspan compared to Iwundu’s 7-foot-1 wingspan.
The Magic seemingly put an emphasis on length and athleticism in their draft selections. Ojeleye did not fit that physical profile in quite the same way. Maybe his versatility between the forward spots would make it tough for him to find minutes behind Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac.
Similarly, maybe the Magic did not believe point guard options like Derrick White, drafted 29th overall, or Frank Jackson, drafted 31st, would be able to adjust to the point guard position despite their prodigious athleticism and length. Or, just as likely, the Magic may have decided they were not worth using a first round pick and misplayed their hand.
Only Jeff Weltman, general manager John Hammond and any of the other members of the Magic front office know exactly what happened inside that room on Draft night. Only they know what was really on the table. Media and fans can only speculate.
The only conclusion anyone outside that room can make is the Magic did not like their options at No. 25 to give that guaranteed two-year deal and sought a way to trade out of or down in the Draft. And similarly, they did not like their option at 35 and felt spinning it forward was their best option.
Orlando Magic
So how did the Magic do? That too has been the center of much debate for the Magic.
The easy deal is the deal for the 35th pick (which became Ivan Rabb). Orlando traded the 35th pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the Brooklyn Nets’ 2019 second round pick. While it is difficult to predict how the Nets will develop, it is safe to say that pick will land somewhere in the top 40. So the Magic preserved that asset fairly well.
The 25th pick? That deal was slightly more complicated.
The easy part is the Magic traded the draft rights to Anzejs Pasecniks to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future first round pick from the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The protections on that pick from the Thunder are a little difficult to follow.
The Thunder owe a pick to the 76ers (now the Magic) two years following their conveyance of a pick to the Jazz. That is because of the Stepien Rule, where teams cannot trade unused first round picks in consecutive years. The Thunder still owe a lottery protected first-round pick to the Jazz as part of the Enes Kanter trade. This has to convey first before the Thunder can convey their first-round pick to the Magic (via their trade with the 76ers for Jerami Grant).
If the Thunder make the Playoffs next year, they will convey that pick to the Jazz and then convey a top-20 protected first round pick to the Magic in 2020. If that pick does not convey, the Magic would receive 2022 and 2023 second round picks from the Thunder.
Pretty much, the Magic should be big Thunder fans for the next three years. To receive that pick, Orlando needs Oklahoma City to make the Playoffs next year and then to have their pick fall outside the top 20 in 2020.
The Thunder had the 21st pick in this year’s Draft.
The Magic also received the least favorable of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets’ 2020 second round picks from Philadelphia.
To say the least, the Magic took a bit of a gamble that they would retain a first-round pick to trade away the 25th overall pick in this previous draft.
Both the decision to trade the 25th pick and what they got for it appears to be a gamble. It is unclear if Orlando will successfully spin that asset forward the way the team intends.
Orlando made its bed with this decision. It leaves a clue to how Weltman thinks. And he certainly thinks if there is not a good option in front of him, he will work to preserve the asset rather than waste it. Maybe it was a product of the hurried preparation for new management. Maybe he did not feel comfortable with the prospects in front of him.
Next: How did the Orlando Magic's rivals fare in the NBA Draft?
That part no one outside the draft room may ever know. The Magic are moving on and looking ahead. They can only hope they successfully retained a future first round pick they can use. For whatever reason, they felt that option was better.