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Orlando Magic NBA Draft Preview: The dark horse prospects to watch

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Tyrese Maxey of the Kentucky Wildcats is a promising point guard with lots of work to do. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
Tyrese Maxey of the Kentucky Wildcats is a promising point guard with lots of work to do. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Nico Mannion, Arizona Widlcats
Nico Mannion is an explosive athlete from the Arizona Cardinals with plenty of point guard potential. (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic have some clear skill needs to address. But there are a few off-the-radar players and needs they could look at for the draft.

The Orlando Magic are in a tricky spot when it comes to the NBA Draft.

They already have a very young team and a desire to advance further than their first-round cameos in the playoffs. That probably means they would prefer to add more proven veterans to support and boost the young players they see developing. Adding too many young players trying to make their way could be a difficult way to use their resources.

And resources should become very important right now with the salary cap expected to take a pretty sizable drop following the league’s troubles with China in October and now the hiatus from the coronavirus taking a sizable bight into league revenues.

Teams might value the draft even more for its cost-controlled players and so getting this asset right — either in a trade or by using the pick — is vital for a team trying to continue growing.

This year’s draft process will be a strange one too.

Right now, nobody knows whether players will be available for individual or group workouts, there probably will not be a Combine and interviews are probably going to have to be done via teleconference or phone. It will be a very strange process.

But everyone is still preparing.

And the Magic know whatever they do they have to get it right. They have several needs to fill and not a lot of ways to fill them while keeping the team competitive and advancing forward.

This year’s draft is not considered to be a particularly strong class. There are interesting players at the top of the draft, but it does not seem like there are many players near the top of the draft the Magic would be willing to push assets in to acquire.

There are plenty of shooters and long 3-and-D players the Magic could pursue where they are slated to pick at No. 15.

But this Magic team has never been afraid to go off the wall a bit with their picks. Last year’s draft pick, Chuma Okeke, seemed to come out of nowhere for this team considering its needs and roster construction. But it was still a player a lot of draft reporters liked. The Magic are certainly eager to see him play next year when he returns from his ACL injury.

The Magic will be going deep into this draft. They also hold a second-round pick in this year’s draft (No. 45 as the standings sit right now). There are plenty of prospects they can go find to help the team.

To complete our first look at the NBA Draft, here are five players that are a bit off-board the Magic could pursue.