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Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: The shooters the Magic should target

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Josh Green is a growing player and potential shooter coming from Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)
Josh Green is a growing player and potential shooter coming from Arizona. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /
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Josh Green, Arizona

The Arizona Wildcats have a host of young players who could enter this year’s draft and find themselves within the Orlando Magic’s target range. Despite any off-court controversy, Sean Miller does an incredible job recruiting and building young rosters that compete at the highest levels.

This year’s Arizona team was an intriguing one with some great young players, including Josh Green.

The 6-foot-6 guard from Australia has come a long way very quickly. He has played basketball for only five years after starting in Australian-rules football. But the gains are pretty clear.

Green averaged 12.0 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. He hit 36.1 percent of his 3-pointers on 2.8 3-point attempts per game.

Like many of these players, Green has good size for a guard. You can tell he played football by the way he carries himself and the bulk of his shoulders. He is a strong dude. And his high relatively high rebound rate for a guard also clues you into his physicality.

Green’s game is still pretty basic. He is an improving shooter. Arizona used him a lot running corner to corner in zones to space the floor. But he is not a sure shooter yet. He definitely hesitates some to set up his shot or, if he is not comfortable, take a step in and hits the long two.

Either way, he can be deadly from the corners. But there is still a comfort level he is gaining on that end. He is not going to be taking a lot of shots in traffic and is not a skilled driver yet.

Defensively is where he thrives though. He knows how to throw his weight around and is an excellent athlete. If he can make an impact anywhere immediately, it will be on the defensive end.

That is certainly a type for the Magic. They like players who already have a good defensive fundamentals and the physical profile to match. Green definitely fits that mold. And he is showing enough signs as a shooter that he could be an intriguing player, even if there is not a clear sign he is elite at anything quite yet.