5 Orlando Magic NBA Draft options for late first or early second round

Orlando Magic Second Round Targets

Filip Petrusev, Serbia

A lot of the late first and early second rounds can devolve into finding talented players that teams can defer to future years and leave overseas. There get to be a lot of names that nobody has much familiarity with as teams try to defer contractual obligations for years down the road.

The Orlando Magic essentially did this with Chuma Okeke. They drafted him knowing he would need the full year to recover and deferred his rookie year for a season.

The Magic could look to do that by finding a prospect overseas who could use some time to further develop — they still hold the rights to Latvian star Janis Timma, for the record.

So keep an eye on Serbian big man Filip Petrusev.

The 21-year-old, 6-foot-11 center started his career at Gonzaga in 2019 and averaged 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Bulldogs in his sophomore year in 2020. He then jumped to the Adriatic League’s Mega Basket last year, averaging a league-best 23.6 points per game to go with 7.6 rebounds per game. He won the Adriatic League’s MVP last year.

The Adriatic League is not the best league in Europe, but it is a solid league and those numbers should get some respect.

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Especially considering he was a capable 3-point shooter, making 41.9-percent of his long-range attempts last year. That is probably his biggest attribute to bring to the NBA at this point. He could well be a stretch-5, something he has greatly improved upon since his days at Gonzaga.

Petrusev is not some extreme athlete, but he looks comfortable with the ball in his hands. And unlike other centers who might have a long windup to get to their shot, his form looks fluid and repeatable. He even made some shots off the dribble attacking closeouts.

If the Magic were interested in Alperen Sengun as a potential Nikola Vucevic replacement, Filip Petrusev might be a cheaper prospect to look at. He very well could be available to the team in the second round anyway.

Petrusev’s weakness is his lack of wingspan — he has a 6-foot-11 wingspan to match his height. He is not a great athlete and will struggle to protect the rim.

He can make up for some of this with a high basketball IQ — almost a requirement to play for Mark Few at Gonzaga — and an understanding of angles. But Petrusev is not about to be an above-the-rim difference-maker on either end.

Petrusev can step out a little bit on the perimeter. But his lack of lateral quickness would be tested heavily against NBA competition instead of the Adriatic League.