Orlando Magic Daily Roundtable: Sixth is a Magic number

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CHICAGO, IL – MAY 15: President of Basketball Operations, Jeff Weltman represents the Orlando Magic during the NBA Draft Lottery on May 15, 2018 at The Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic did not get the Lottery luck they needed. But they still have something to look ahead to. Even if the future seems a bit uncertain.

The Orlando Magic went through an entire season of frustration and disappointment. They heaped it on top of a pile of six seasons’ worth of frustration and disappointment. Everything feels at a low. The fans are hungry for any kind of success and skeptical of any decision the team might make.

That has been warranted after getting promised a lot the last rebuild. And Jeff Weltman’s patient process means even more waiting. But that is all he can do.

That is unless they can hit in the Draft. And the Magic have a good history with the Draft… provided they land the top pick. That has always been the salvation.

Maybe that is where fans are disappointed that the team landed exactly where they were always supposed to — with the sixth pick in the Draft. Orlando fans likely had some frustration the team managed to win a few more games late in the season — despite some odd lineups Frank Vogel employed.

There is no taking that back.

The ongoing coaching search, too, has fans on edge. The team has blown past the Lottery and is nearly in June without giving much clue to where the team is in the process. Or who they might be targeting.

The future for the team is all up in the air. Everything from the coach, to the roster and to the draft pick. Even at No. 6, the Magic have to get this pick right and establish a key core player for the team’s future. This is indeed a foundational pick.

Orlando may not be able to reform the entire team in one summer. The Magic might not even improve their win total next year. But they will begin heading down a better path. That much is clear. Or that is at least what they have to accomplish this summer — creating that path forward.

This uncertain future though is still rife with discussion. There is still a lot of different ways the team could go. A lot of different possibilities.

The team is in a holding pattern. And so that seems like a good time to test the waters of the rebuild and what direction the Magic should go in our latest Orlando Magic Daily roundtable.