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Orlando Magic Player Comparisons: Who are the Rookies?

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Jalen Suggs impressed in his year at Gonzaga and is getting some All-Star comparisons. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Jalen Suggs impressed in his year at Gonzaga and is getting some All-Star comparisons. (Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images) /
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Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic
Franz Wagner figures to be a key role player for the Orlando Magic. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

The Orlando Magic are in the beginning stages of a rebuild.

Everyone understands this. There are going to be growing pains in the process especially this year. There is going to be a lot of learning and figuring out what comes next for the franchise and with the team’s development.

There are a lot of young players to sort through and see grow and develop. The biggest need remains: Finding a star to center the whole franchise around.

The Magic got a gift with the fifth overall pick. Or at least, it feels like it since no one expected Jalen Suggs to fall to them.

His play at Summer League only added to the excitement. Plenty of scouts were buzzing about Suggs’ play too. We will get to those.

Franz Wagner too was a player several scouts were excited about. He seemed like the kind of player who catches the eye of NBA scouts especially. The Magic had two top-10 picks and most people believe the team came out of it strong.

Whether the Magic came out of the draft with the foundation they need is another question entirely. That is something that will develop and progress throughout the course of the season. And then well beyond.

Orlando is just getting started, of course.

The Orlando Magic’s two draft picks enter the league with a ton of high expectations that befit their top-10 pick status. Both are expected to be long-term starters.

As we continue to imagine what this team will look like this year and beyond, it starts with the talent level on the roster already and where they progress.

As is often the case around the draft, player comparisons help give people some sense of what to expect. And so we are breaking down the Magic’s young roster based on some of these player comparisons — you can see part one looking at Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz here.

Those young veterans though have some statistical record to make some base comparisons. The rookies are all conjecture and promise.

People who watch the draft typically do not like comparisons. But it is hard not to give in to that temptation and see who players remind them of. If there is some objective way to make a comparison, it is at least a guide.

To continue our series then, we will try to figure out who these young players might resemble and get a sense of the base the Magic are building.