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Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: Few options at the top for Magic’s needs

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards is presumed to be the top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Georgia Bulldogs guard Anthony Edwards is presumed to be the top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Chuma Okeke, Orlando Magic
Chuma Okeke, middle, is introduced as the Orlando Magic’s top 2019 draft pick during a news conference at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla., on Friday, June 21, 2019. At left is Orlando Magic general manager Jeff Weltman, and at right is head coach Steve Clifford. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS via Getty Images) /

Seeking Needs

For whatever it is worth, this NBA Draft is not considered a particularly strong draft.

As there is with every other class, there will be gems and players who make it. There will be players who become All-Stars. It is rare to find a draft that is completely bereft of talent. There are only drafts that do not seem to have top-end talent right off the bat.

There is no clear-cut top overall pick. Every player has flaws. But there are plenty of solid players with Lottery-level talent who can come in and fill a role.

For a team like the Orlando Magic likely picking in the middle of the first round, they should be able to get a player of some value still. They should be able to find a player who can contribute down the road at the very least.

That does not mean they are guaranteed anything.

It is easy to figure out what the Magic need. They have a lot of core pieces they are trying to grow and build around between Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac at the forward spots, Mohamed Bamba at center and Markelle Fultz at point guard.

That really leaves only the shooting guard spot in the starting lineup to bolster and boost.

That is overly simplistic, of course. The Magic are always looking to get better. But they already have a bevy of young forwards to grow.

Orlando Magic
Orlando Magic /

Orlando Magic

And with essentially two playoff berths in a row, the Magic have to start building off their playoff team.

From a skills standpoint, the Magic need to find shooting. That is undoubtedly the team’s biggest weakness. Finding players who can spread the floor and force defenses to think about their shooting is vital.

Orlando has its preference in the draft, of course. Jeff Weltman’s joke after the 2018 Draft of “long night, long players” still stands. The Magic have spent their entire draft process with Weltman at the helm drafting players with prodigious wingspans.

So the team has a type. There is no doubt about that.

And the draft philosophy always seems to have been to find players that fit that type more than find a player who can make an immediate contribution.

It feels like this year that might need to stop. It feels like the Magic are in danger of becoming too young. And that creates the very real possibility the Magic trade this pick.

But that is still a long way down the road. For now, the Magic have to do their homework on everybody.