Orlando Magic Daily Big Board 3.0: Clarifying the Orlando Magic’s goals

OMD Big Board 3.0: Clarifying the Orlando Magic’s goals

The Top of the Board

Nothing is changing here. Victor Wembanyama remains the top prospect in this Draft. The San Antonio Spurs are taking him.

He is the kind of player you fit into your roster or you reshape your roster around. The kind of player that you abandon whatever preconceived rebuild plans you had and just go all in on.

There just are not 7-foot-5 players — or any players — doing this in their spare time:

Everyone will probably say the NBA Draft is really going to start with the Charlotte Hornets’ decision with the second pick. But for the Orlando Magic, the decision and the player the team would probably most likely to trade up for is Scoot Henderson.

There is a lot of overcomplicated thinking it seems when it comes to Henderson. And what everyone seems to be ignoring is his straight-up talent. He is a great shot-maker and creator off the dribble. And while his shot still needs some work, he has a fairly complete and well-rounded game that should do well in the NBA.

Brandon Miller should be the third pick in this draft. I am not sliding Amen Thompson up above him to suggest that he will not be the third pick. I am doing it to highlight that Brandon Miller, while very talented and more immediately skilled, does not have a clear fit with a team like the Orlando Magic and may not have the long-term talent that a player like Amen Thompson has.

Thompson is a dynamic scorer with extreme athleticism. He is getting some draft comparisons to Derrick Rose for reference to what people are expecting of him.

Those comparisons might be a bit too lofty for him. But the athleticism is undeniable. And the Magic, while desperate for shooting and guys who can spread the floor, could also just develop into a team that is simply an all-out assault on the rim with players driving and kicking and driving again.

Thompson fits the size profile the Magic like. And if the rumors that Thompson might slip to No. 6 are true, Orlando should jump at the opportunity to add this kind of talent.

Having said all of that, Brandon Miller still deserves your attention.

He is a skilled big who can step out on the perimeter and shoot and attack off the dribble. He has the positional and size versatility to guard both the perimeter and the interior. There are few players who can do that.

Undoubtedly the Orlando Magic have put their focus on trying to find players exactly like Miller. But with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner thriving and on the roster already, Brandon Miller does not have that clear path to playing. It is hard to imagine the Magic trying to trade up for a player like Miller, although the talent is abundantly clear from him.