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2023 Orlando Magic Daily Mock Draft 1.5: Magic fans take a stab

By Philip Rossman-Reich

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 03: Guard Gradey Dick #4 of the Kansas Jayhawks handles the ball against guard Pop Isaacs #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game at United Supermarkets Arena on January 03, 2023 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 03: Guard Gradey Dick #4 of the Kansas Jayhawks handles the ball against guard Pop Isaacs #2 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game at United Supermarkets Arena on January 03, 2023 in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 18: Gradey Dick #4 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 18, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
DES MOINES, IOWA – MARCH 18: Gradey Dick #4 of the Kansas Jayhawks reacts against the Arkansas Razorbacks during the second half in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena on March 18, 2023 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2023 Orlando Magic Daily Mock Draft 1.5

The Orlando Magic’s Pick

. G/F. Orlando Magic. Gradey Dick. 6. player. 38

Mock Draft 1.0 Pick: Gradey Dick

The Orlando Magic’s biggest need is shooting.

There is no getting around. There is no debating this. There is no denying this.

Everything Orlando adds to its roster either needs to add to the team’s overall toughness and physicality or add to its lack of offensive shooting and spacing.

The debate then when it comes to the Draft is where to get that shooting. While our poll has the Magic taking Gradey Dick from Kansas, perhaps the Draft’s best shooter, there were a lot of comments like these:

Admittedly, this is where I sat as well when I was doing my first mock draft. There were a few people who looked at this value proposition too.

Not just saying the Magic should rely exclusively on free agency to find their knockdown shooter, but acknowledging there are a host of shooting options available with the Orlando Magic’s second pick that they are likely to get from the Chicago Bulls.

This is a space where fans have pitched filling in that backup forward need with Taylor Hendricks or Jarace Walker.

I had a whole segment in my first mock draft taking Walker before I stopped myself and said, “Don’t overthink this.”

It feels like overthinking picks is the trap you always fall into. Getting too deep into what a player cannot do instead of highlighting and buying into what they can do.

The Magic probably should keep things that simple and take the best shooter on the board here. Especially if it is Dick, who has separated himself from the other shooters in this draft class.

I am usually a fan of drafting talent. Drafting on need alone can narrow your vision and keep you from getting that potential star that falls deep into the draft.

Seeing Cam Whitmore on the board should give some pause. Whitmore is a dynamic scorer who was asked to do too much for a poor Villanova team last year. Once he got going, he really lifted his team up.

And seeing Ausar Thompson here (I have taken Ausar Thompson at No. 6 in other mock drafts) should also give me pause. He too has star potential and is a dynamic athlete who can finish at the rim. But his shooting skill is a little more developed than his brother and he could grow into a solid outside threat. That dynamism probably tips the scales in his favor.

But Dick would be an incredible pick here too. He would come in and help this Magic team tremendously just based on the skill that he already has.