Orlando Magic Daily 2021 NBA Draft Big Board 3.5: Thinking about needs with talent

Orlando Magic Daily Big Board: The top guys

The same four as always

There is no change at the very top of this board. Cade Cunningham is still by far the class of this draft and a player who can do it all. He is the kind of player that a team makes fit to their roster. He has great control of the game and a scorer’s mentality with the willingness to pass and get others involved. Cunningham may not be a generational talent, but he is clearly at the top of this class.

For Orlando Magic fans, no prospect has garnered more attention or more eyes than Jalen Green. And for good reason. Green is a fantastic scorer and an efficient one at that. At least at the G-League level. Still super impressive for an 18-year-old.

More than anything else, though, the Magic need a bucket-getter. This will be a theme throughout this big board. Orlando has to put a focus on finding someone who can score. Preferably off the dribble, but if not that way then as a shooter. They need to create space for all the players on their roster somehow.

Green though fits the Magic’s current lineup best of any player in this draft. He is a shooting guard for a team that has a clear gap at that position. Gary Harris right now is slotted as the starting 2-guard. But it does not feel likely he will be on the team past his contract’s expiration.

Green fits a positional need as much as a skill need. And this is the star the Magic should covet. If they can move up, this is their target.

Evan Mobley’s talent and fit in the modern NBA are going to be hard to ignore for any team. Even in a world that is more focused on perimeter-oriented players than traditional post players, centers still have their place in the world.

Two centers, after all, finished first and second in MVP voting this year. And Deandre Ayton has made the Phoenix Suns look good for taking him No. 1 overall in that celebrated 2018 draft.

Mobley has all the mobility and versatility that modern centers have to have. That makes him an attractive player. Adding a third young center to the Orlando Magic would be difficult. But is the team really married to Wendell Carter or Mohamed Bamba long-term? That would be the question the Magic would ask if they were targeting Mobley.

It is hard not to answer that Mobley is the right choice if that is how the draft plays out. Whether that means Orlando would be willing to trade up for him is another matter. It feels like there are more important needs to fill on the roster.

Jalen Suggs still slots in here as his talent and skill are just too developed to pass up. The Orlando Magic have shown a clear liking toward having multiple ball handlers available to play at the same time.

There should be no qualms about pairing Jalen Suggs with Markelle Fultz or Cole Anthony. Suggs though has great leadership qualities and seems to know exactly what his team needs at all times.