How the Orlando Magic could use each of the top three NBA draft prospects next season

How the 2022 top Draft prospects fit the Orlando Magic

Jabari Smith, Jr., Auburn

For a while now the Orlando Magic have lacked reliable shooters but Auburn’s Jabari Smith Jr. would certainly address that. He has shot 42-percent from three this year and has also proven effective from mid-range too.

The big appeal with Smith is his jump shot. At 6-foot-10, it is pretty much unblockable and he has demonstrated a wide arsenal of shots. He can hit pull-up threes, fadeaways in the mid-range and shots off the dribble. There is so much to like about him.

He can also defend too. At his size, that is a massive weapon to have, and fits with exactly what the Magic are trying to do.

But Auburn’s recent defeat to Miami will cause a lot of concern. Smith shot just 18.8-percent from the field and 12.5-percent from three while scoring 10 points in the Tigers’ shocking loss. It might just have been one off night, but it will certainly give teams more doubt over whether to select him.

One of the few criticisms of Smith’s game at Auburn was how he deferred to older teammates and did not always take over games when Auburn needed the lift from its star player.

On the whole though, it is tough to see Smith not having a really positive impact in the NBA. His clear shooting ability from all over the court is going to mean he can score, and while he still has to improve his handle and work on getting into the paint, he looks like one of the safer bets to be at least a good player, possibly more.

He is the type of player a team could plugin quite easily. The Magic could put him in at the 4-spot next season alongside Wendell Carter at center and with Franz Wagner at the three, the team would have plenty of size and defensive ability on the perimeter.

The Magic could use him in a more limited starting role at first to allow him to get up to speed, whereby he primarily focuses on using his 3-point shooting ability off the catch with plays that focus on getting him open looks. Over time, he could then get more opportunities to handle the ball and create his own shot as he has shown he can do this season.

There is also the option of bringing him off the bench if the Magic feel he will benefit more from that at first. But with his ability, he certainly could provide an obvious fix to some of the team’s glaring weaknesses so starting him makes sense.

Further down the line once Jonathan Isaac is ready to start again, the decision over which of Isaac, Franz Wagner or Jabari Smith drops to the bench would be a difficult one but should Smith develop into a go-to scorer, his game would make it easier to play any combination of the three than perhaps Holmgren would.

To be sure, these are good problems to have at this stage of the rebuild.