The Orlando Magic’s decision to trade away Nikola Vucevic at the deadline sent shockwaves around the NBA.
The instant reaction among the team’s fanbase was mixed, to say the least. But with Wendell Carter shining and two first-round picks to come this year, there is plenty of optimism for the future.
Having spent six years outside of the playoffs before 2018, nobody wants this rebuild to be a long one. Patience will be required, but acquiring Chicago’s 2021 first-round pick could accelerate the process considerably if the team makes the right selection.
The Orlando Magic are not only preparing for the top of the draft with their own pick. They are likely to get a second top-10 pick from the Chicago Bulls and have a second crack at getting an impact player.
It is no surprise to see Vucevic already having a decisive impact with the Bulls. In seven games in Chicago, he is averaging 22.7 points per game in 31.6 minutes per game, helping his new team win the last three games as they push for a place in the playoffs.
Acquiring the experienced center boosted their chances of making the postseason considerably. He and Zach LaVine have already shown glimpses of an effective partnership offensively as the team heads into a run of very winnable games.
Billy Donovan’s team currently sits 10th in the Eastern Conference with a 22-28 record, three games back from the eighth seed and four games back from the sixth.
A lot has would have to go in favor of the Bulls for them to avoid the play-in tournament, but it is not impossible. Barring a monster run though, 7-10 looks to be the most likely destination for the Magic’s Eastern Conference rivals this season.
This gives Orlando a fantastic opportunity to strengthen the team with, potentially, another lottery pick or someone just outside of the lottery. That is around the same place the Magic have taken Chuma Okeke and Cole Anthony in the last two years.
It is important to remember that while the Bulls being bad does benefit the Magic, they cannot be too bad given the top-four protection on the pick.
With the trajectory for Donovan’s team looking upwards rather than downwards, however, the danger of that happening does not seem too high (he says, bravely).
Here are four very early potential options for Orlando when it comes to that pick.
Davion Mitchell, Baylor
Getting Davion Mitchell would most likely require the Chicago Bulls to finish in a lottery spot, given he has just led Baylor to the national championship with a stunning victory over the highly-fancied Gonzaga.
But with a lot of good players in this year’s draft, there’s a chance he might fall into the late lottery or out altogether.
Having just finished his third season in college, Mitchell is slightly older than a lot of prospects at 22. His path so far has been slightly unusual too, transferring to Baylor from Auburn and sitting out a year in between due to NCAA regulations.
What he does possess, though, is an instinctive desire for scoring the basketball. Mitchell is an excellent shot creator with a superb handle. He consistently generates space for himself and has demonstrated that he can knock down jumpers at a good rate, shooting 51.1 percent from the field this year while also making a staggering 44.7 percent of his threes.
Given that he shares the same surname and wears the same number, it is easy to draw comparisons to the Utah Jazz’s Donovan Mitchell. But there are a lot of similarities in the way they play offensively.
The Baylor guard has also shown great composure with the ball and very often makes the right play, averaging 5.5 assists per game too. Perhaps his biggest strength comes on the defensive end of the court, however.
Baylor Bears Basketball
Mitchell was named Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for 2021 and is one of the best, if not the best, on-ball defenders in the entire draft. His quickness and athleticism allow him to constantly stay in front of whoever he is guarding.
Whichever team selects Mitchell will be getting a hugely talented two-way player.
The concerns arise over whether he can consistently put up good shooting numbers, as he has done this season. His free throw numbers simply do not equate to his shooting, making only 64.1-percent of his attempts from the line. That will set alarm bells ringing in a few front offices when they weigh up whether to take Mitchell.
But whoever takes him would be adding some high-level defense to the backcourt with the chance that his offensive game could also hold up and continue to grow.
With Markelle Fultz, Cole Anthony, Gary Harris, Terrence Ross and R.J. Hampton already on the roster next season, the Orlando Magic’s backcourt is stacked. Mitchell would have plenty of competition, but the ability is there.
Having him and Jonathan Isaac on the court at the same time would pose huge problems for opposing offenses too.
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga
One of the best players in college basketball this season, Corey Kispert helped Gonzaga to a 31-1 record before they lost out to Baylor in the national championship final.
A four year-player, he has gone from strength to strength during his time at college and shot an incredible 44 percent from three-point range this past year while averaging 18.6 points per game.
Three-point shooting continues to grow in importance in the NBA. The Utah Jazz are lethal from beyond the arc and sit with the best record in the league. Making or missing three-point shots is very often the difference between winning and losing a game.
That is what makes players like Kispert so important. Guys who do little else but shoot are becoming key focal points of teams and are being rewarded with big contracts, like Joe Harris and Davis Bertans. The 22-year-old is a similar type of player.
There are limits on how high he can go. His lack of raw athleticism places a cap on his upside and at 22, we are probably seeing him far closer to what he will be at his peak than a lot of other players in the draft.
Under-par performances in the final three March Madness games also raised some concerns. Kispert’s three-point shooting took a huge dip and athletically he struggled to compete as well as he had done previously.
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But for the Magic, a team who have long struggled to shoot well from deep and have just traded away the team’s best three-point shooter in Evan Fournier, Corey Kispert makes a lot of sense.
His impact would be felt right away. The team in its current format does not have enough perimeter threats which is hindering the offense. Kispert would change that.
He would be an excellent replacement for Fournier. Like Fournier, Kispert has also shown a comfortability with putting the ball on the floor and taking it to the rim despite lacking a quick first step.
There are a lot of talented wings and guards in this draft but Kispert is certainly one of the safer bets. His presence on the Magic would address one of the team’s long-standing weaknesses and accelerate the rebuild because of the experience he already has.
The danger, however, is that there are other higher risk but potentially higher reward players around him that might ultimately pay off more in the long run.
James Bouknight, UConn
Offensive weaknesses have continued to hold back the Orlando Magic. The team has the third-worst offensive rating this season, scoring just 105.4 points per 100 possessions.
Even when healthier and with the previous core still in place, Steve Clifford’s team ranked just 23rd for the same stat last season despite making the playoffs. A large amount of the responsibility to create offense was placed on Nikola Vucevic’s shoulders.
But with the rebuild underway and an extremely young team in place, adding someone like James Bouknight could help ensure that similar offensive woes do not continue with this new-look Magic.
The UConn guard is a go-to bucket, averaging 18.7 points per game this season thanks to his well-polished offensive game. Bouknight’s ability to get past his man using his quick first step and solid handle, partnered with a smooth jumper and ability to score off the dribble makes him really difficult to guard. He even has that much sought after step-back in his locker.
He has demonstrated an ability to score in a variety of ways during his time at college, and that could be of enormous benefit to the Magic.
Orlando Magic
Currently, Terrence Ross is really the only guy on the roster that can consistently create something from nothing and score difficult buckets. Adding Bouknight gives the team another option to lean on offensively.
The concerns are mainly around his ability to stay healthy. The 20-year-old played just 15 regular-season games this year and often missed time with various issues. After a nightmare spell with injuries this year, Orlando might not want to take the risk on someone who hasn’t been able to stay consistently healthy.
His shooting must also become more consistent. Bouknight made just 29.3-percent of his 3-point attempts last season, though his free-throw rate of 77.8-percent does provide some encouragement moving forward.
Overall, there is a lot to like about the young guard. He can do things a lot of other guys his age cannot and could become a solid scorer in the NBA, even if that might well come at the cost of inconsistency during his early professional career.
Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky
This draft is packed with good guards and wings. But given the current lack of depth at the power forward spot, it is possible the Orlando Magic might look to address that using the draft.
Capable of playing at the power forward or center spot, Isaiah Jackson is a big man who is far more agile than he should be at 6-foo-10 with a 7-foot-5 wingspan. He is a menace on the defensive end of the court, averaging 2.6 blocks per game in just 20.7 minutes per game at Kentucky (go and watch some of his highlight blocks on YouTube, you will not regret it).
The Magic have prioritized length and defense when it comes to drafting players previously, Jonathan Isaac and Mohamed Bamba both being taken sixth in 2017 and 2018 respectively, and Isaiah Jackson adds to that philosophy. His combination of size and speed could allow him to be a very impactful defender at the next level.
Offensively he has shown promise too. His physical advantages over many at his position allow him to get out on the fastbreak for easy buckets at the other end and he is often seen blowing by opposition players to get to the rim with a frighteningly quick first step.
But his offensive game still needs plenty of development. Most of his baskets came from simple layups and dunks or putback opportunities. He showed potential as a mid-range scorer with some nice shots this season but overall, his range is very limited. A 70 percent free-throw rate offers a cause for optimism, though.
There’s also room for his post-game to grow. At 19 and with lots left to improve on, Jackson should almost certainly be viewed as a long-term project rather than someone that can be depended upon straight away.
The question is whether the Magic really want to take on another experimental big man. Bamba’s up and down spell with the franchise has been well documented, and Jackson is another player that needs time and patience to grow and learn to be disciplined so he does not hurt the team.
But if he can add some of the above to his game, he could well become a very valuable player that closely matches the identity Orlando is trying to build.