Orlando Magic Daily 2022 NBA Draft Big Board 1.5: After the Madness

Orlando Magic 2022 NBA Draft Big Board 1.5

Changes at the top

NCAA Tournament (5 games): 18.8 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 50.0% FG%, 52.6% 3FG%

When people think of the No. 1 overall pick, they likely think of a player who is a surefire star. Someone who gets the ball late in games and hits the game-winning shot. Someone who can isolate and create for himself and get a basket when the team needs it.

Paolo Banchero is the player most set up to be that kind of player. And throughout the NCAA Tournament he proved to be the guy Duke turned to (or should have turned to) throughout the tournament.

He did not score fewer than 16 points in any game in the tournament and was efficient and effective scoring from all three levels. There is probably not a better offensive player or scorer in this draft. And Banchero has the physical tools to be that guy.

Not to mention now the tape that shows he can play that role too.

The biggest question remains whether he can stay engaged defensively and if his 3-point shooting can translate to the NBA. But Banchero is the one guy in this draft who has the makings and the look of that lead player everyone covets.

NCAA Tournament (3 games): 13.0 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 4.3 BPG, 58.6% FG%

Everyone better be prepared for two months of debate about Chet Holmgren. It is already a debate that is dividing Orlando Magic fans who are perhaps still a bit gun shy and scarred from the inconsistency of the Mo Bamba experience. It is hard not to draw that comparison between the two shot-blocking, shooting, rail-thin big men. Even if there is a clear difference.

Holmgren did little to convince anyone of anything they did not already believe during the tournament. He is still a great rim protector and a completely unique offensive player. But he is also still easily outmatched physically and proved to be very foul-prone throughout the tournament.

It was sort of an “as you were” tournament for him. And nobody still has any idea how he will ultimately react to playing in the NBA — although certainly better teammates and more spacing will help him.

For now, there are a lot of questions to answer and Paolo Banchero seems to have less of them after a stellar tournament run.

NCAA Tournament (1 game): 21 points, 9 rebounds, 53.3% FG%

Keegan Murray’s stay in the NCAA Tournament was incredibly brief as Richmond shocked Iowa in the first round. Some thought there might have been some physical and emotional fatigue after Iowa ran through the Big Ten Tournament for the title, of which Keegan Murray was a big part.

Still, Murray put on a strong showing even in defeat in the first round scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Showing that he can make an impact on the game even without hitting shots from the outside.

Keegan Murray does not have the explosive scoring ability of Jaden Ivey, but he has a lot better downside as a shooter and defender, not to mention all the measurables and defense the Orlando Magic like.

NCAA Tournament (3 games): 16.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 43.8% FG%, 37.5% 3FG%

No one will deny that Jaden Ivey has some explosive scoring ability. He can get to the basket and finish with authority at the rim and hit tough shots off the dribble. No one will deny that he might be the best off-the-dribble player in this draft class.

The question has become what else can he do? And the questions are growing louder as he got progressively worse with each NCAA Tournament game, finishing with just nine points in the Sweet 16 loss to St. Peter’s. That game was begging for Ivey to take over and it just never happened.

The question with Ivey then is a debate of whether you believe he can be a star. If he is not the ball-dominant star he was at Purdue, then he becomes a poor passing and questionable shooting guard. That downside might be enough to scare teams away and make the same move on the big board that I have made.

Or he could hit and be the next coming of Ja Morant.