The NBA Playoffs are eating up most of the attention of the NBA world right now — as they should. And every basketball fan, even ones of teams not participating in the playoffs, should be watching and learning what they can from these first set of games. This is where the Orlando Magic hope to be next year.
This week though also marked a monumental moment for the NBA Draft. All the top prospects made it official that they would enter the NBA Draft.
Auburn forward (and likely top overall pick) Jabari Smith declared a few weeks ago. Duke forward Paolo Banchero joined him Wednesday with an announcement video. Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren announced he will enter his name into the NBA Draft. Kentucky guard Shaedon Sharpe also announced he was entering the draft Thursday.
All this is academic. Those players are considered the best prospects in the draft class and seem likely to go in the top six. The Orlando Magic should be very comfortable with the options they will have in this year’s draft.
They will have to wait until May 17 to see where they ultimately land in the NBA Draft Lottery. But they do know they will have at least that top-six pick. Orlando has a 52.1-percent chance of winning a top-four pick and a 14.0-percent chance of landing the top pick.
There will be a lot more clarity for who the Magic will be targeting and who they will take after that date. But the draft class has started to take shape.
So it is time to take a closer look at how the draft actually will shake out.
We have previously released our big board — which is a Magic-centered ranking of the prospects. That does not take into account the draft order and the quirks of team needs.
This mock draft is not going to run a full Lottery (that may come in our second version of this mock draft). We are going to assume the Lottery plays out to chalk for this mock draft. What this run through the draft will look at is both the team needs and how the draft might play out. It will also look at who the Magic would take in these situations too.
There is going to be a lot of debate about the number one pick in the draft. It is not set like it is most years. There are clearly three guys in the top group of players.
I have had Auburn forward Jabari Smith at the top of my board for a
The Houston Rockets are at the beginning stage of their rebuild and need several more pieces to get where they want. But they have the one thing every rebuilding team needs (more on that in a bit). Jalen Green’s stellar run to end the season shows the Rockets might have a bona fide star.
That may affect their draft board and who they go after. Would they want another ball-dominant forward to share the limelight with Green? Would they go after the 7-foot unicorn to pair with their young center in Alperen Sengun?
This is definitely not anything set in stone. But the simplest answer is probably the best answer.
Jabari Smith is a great defender (something the Rockets definitely need) and can hit from the outside. He is the perfect complement to someone like Smith, even if he does not hit his upper bounds.
The top overall pick is perhaps not the place to play anything safe. But this is not a safe pick, by any means. Smith is a really good player.
Who the Orlando Magic pick: Paolo Banchero
I have been weighing this for a while. Jabari Smith is still the top guy on my board. I think he has solid upside and will provide something no matter how he develops.
But that is not what the Orlando Magic need.
They need a big swing. They need a guy who is going to be a primary scorer and drive the offense. The Magic lacked someone who could break down teams and make teams pay for switching on them. That was the main way teams attacked and neutralized Cole Anthony.
The Magic need a go-to scorer. That is what Banchero is. And while I am not ready to change my board quite yet, I think Banchero has the skills this Magic team is missing that could possibly put the team over the top.