Orlando Magic must find a project they believe in with this Draft

As the evening of the NBA Draft Lottery wound to a close and the back door machinations of the lottery machine spat out its results, the Orlando Magic were met with a bittersweet reality.

While the Orlando Magic were able to successfully receive the Chicago Bulls’ first-round pick they obtained from the Nikola Vucevic trade, they were also left on the outside looking in with regards to a top-4 selection.

In a draft widely considered to have four top-tier prospects, this reality was certainly gut-wrenching for sects of the Magic faithful. Now in possession of the fifth and eighth picks of the draft, the Magic front office must be strategic with the kinds of prospects they lock on during this process.

There will inevitably be a project. This whole roster itself is a major project. And so now the Magic and their front office must find a project they believe in to succeed and move forward.

The Orlando Magic are at the beginning stages of their rebuild. They will have to find a project they believe in to give them the best long-term chance to succeed.

Generally speaking, there are two kinds of prospects that end up being selected in the NBA draft. These two archetypes of prospects are the high potential project prospects and the immediate impact prospects.

Prospects that are viewed as “project” players are those with an incredibly high ceiling yet come into the NBA needing extensive training in several aspects of their game before reaching their apex.

These prospects are often the riskiest players to invest in — as their value will ultimately be dependent on the player’s ability to develop effectively within the organization. If all of the pieces click, you could end up with the next all-star player. If development falters, these players could find themselves flaming out of the league.

On the other end of the spectrum exists the immediate impact players. Those with a generally capped ceiling yet with the capability of being solid contributors and role players for a franchise.

These players are those who have immediately transferable skills to the NBA level yet have pronounced weaknesses in their games that limit their overall upside as NBA players.

After the four top-tier prospects are selected in the NBA Draft, the Magic will have a bevy of prospects to select among that fit firmly in one of two of these archetypes. Prospects such as Jonathan Kuminga and Keon Johnson are athletic marvels who tantalize with their potential two-way dominance yet have significant question marks regarding their fundamentals, especially on the offensive end.

Simultaneously, prospects like Scottie Barnes and Franz Wagner provide immediate value as high-level defenders with an ability to operate as secondary ball handlers and distributors. With that being said, Barnes and Wagner have been noted as having significant limitations with perimeter shooting which could cap their development as high-level role players.

The Magic are at a crossroads and this draft will be the catalyst for the next decade of basketball fortune or mediocrity. With that in mind, the question that will permeate the entirety of the Magic brain trust will be whether the Magic should prioritize high ceiling, low floor players or immediate (yet capped) contributors?

Orlando Magic

Perhaps the best way to approach this question is by looking at the key personnel who will be responsible for selecting and developing the incoming crop of Magic rookies in president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman, general manager John Hammond and incoming coach Jahmal Mosley.

These men are no strangers to the importance of a superstar player on the makeup of an organization. Mosley was an assistant coach for the Cleveland Cavalier teams that featured a young Kyrie Irving then became a key figure in the development of Dallas Mavericks wunderkind Luka Doncic.

Most intriguing for our discussion however is John Hammond.

As a general manager of the Milwaukee Bucks, Hammond made a ubiquitously panned decision at the 2013 Draft by selecting a little-known, lanky forward prospect from Greece who flashed incredible potential yet was noted as being a project player. While Hammond was unable to savor the fruits of his selection, Giannis Antetokoumpo would eventually become one of the greatest players the Milwaukee Bucks ever rostered.

Hammond and Mosely both understand the importance of a franchise player and the impact these players can have on the elevation of a team from mediocrity to relevance.

Weltman’s draft record is a bit thinner. But he has always been willing to take the best player on his board, even if they have some rough edges.

Jonathan Isaac entered the league as a potentially strong defender who was sometimes a bit passive offensively. He swung on Mohamed Bamba’s upside going with the conventional wisdom that came with drafting the long-armed center. He bucked the trend in drafting Chuma Okeke despite his knee injury.

Weltman’s draft record is still being written. But he said in a media availability earlier this week that he does not believe the team is in a position to focus on a specific need or skill set. They need to bring in the most talented players they can.

Look for the Magic to go into the draft with this mentality – opting to choose prospects that may need some development time but give the Magic the greatest potential of cultivating a superstar player.

Orlando needs to swing for the fences and find someone who will give this team the best chance long-term to succeed. When it comes to finding a fit or taking on a project. The Magic need a project they can believe in with this draft.