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2018 Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: Who is De’Anthony Melton?

By Ricky Scricca

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: USC guard DeAnthony Melton (22) looks on during the first round game of the Pac-12 Tournament between the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans on March 8, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 08: USC guard DeAnthony Melton (22) looks on during the first round game of the Pac-12 Tournament between the Washington Huskies and the USC Trojans on March 8, 2017, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. (Photo by Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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De'Anthony Melton, USC Trojans, Washington Huskies
LAS VEGAS, NV – MARCH 08: De’Anthony Melton #22 of the USC Trojans tries to steal the ball from David Crisp #1 of the Washington Huskies during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 8, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Final Word

The Orlando Magic need shooting and consistent shot creation. Drafting De’Anthony Melton would not be drafting to fill those needs, though he certainly can improve in those areas.

For some, that might be the bottom line, and reason enough to pass on him for a more offense-oriented prospect.

But pairing De’Anthony Melton with Jonathan Isaac and the sixth pick — whoever that might be — is a tantalizing proposition. Having multiple guys on the floor who are disruptive, nonstop competitors and incredibly smart defenders with range and versatility are exactly what modern NBA teams should be seeking in terms of roster construction.

And that competitiveness is something the Magic should be seeking as well.

It is no secret in recent years, a losing culture has taken root and buried itself deep within Orlando’s locker room. Fans will likely acknowledge that aside from some recent additions, most of this Magic team has a habit of playing selfishly and with poor effort.

Adding players who can flip that culture around should be a priority both in free agency and in the draft. Melton can be a part of that.

Every team can use someone with his makeup. Evaluating him for the Magic depends on your opinion of his offensive game and whether or not his scalability and opportunity cost precludes you from taking a better offensive player either in the future or in the 2018 Draft.

But wherever he ends up, you can count on him to find a way to contribute. Whether it is skying for rebounds, scrapping with bigger players, disrupting passing lanes, making the right plays on offense or opportunistically finding easy buckets. And if you do buy the shot improvements it is hard to imagine him not fitting in somewhere.

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In some ways, although we have seen him for a full season, Melton is enigmatic. Because we have not seen a large sample of him recently, some elements of his game are a gamble. But he is the exact kind of high-character guy you would want to gamble on.