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Orlando Magic Daily 2023 Mock Draft 2.7: Imagining trade possibilities

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Dec 9, 2022; Atlanta, GA, USA; City Reapers guard Amen Thompson (1) shown during the game against the Cold Hearts at Overtime Elite. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 9, 2022; Atlanta, GA, USA; City Reapers guard Amen Thompson (1) shown during the game against the Cold Hearts at Overtime Elite. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NBA Draft process and coverage of the NBA Draft process go through a normal rhythm.

First, there is a look at all the prospects on a surface level. Then teams and scouts really dive in and seek out the hidden gems. Measurements are taken to get further clarification on the prospects. The draft order gets set and everyone has an understanding of what teams will like.

Then comes the doubting phase. Were those initial evaluations wrong? What role does team fit have in the draft order and calculations?

Then comes the trading phase. We are here.

We are at the trade phase of the pre-draft process. So we update our Orlando Magic Daily Mock Draft with a thought to the trade possibilities ahead.

The draft is a deadline and deadlines create movement for teams looking to make moves. Teams are playing a giant game of chicken trying to figure out what they value, what other teams value and how best to maximize their draft asset.

Teams will look to move around to get their player and entice other teams to move around to get theirs. All while swapping out veteran players.

Everyone has their own goals in each draft.

The Orlando Magic? They are one of the teams that are difficult to pin down.

On one hand, they are a young team that could use perhaps one more bite at the apple to grab a potential star player high in this draft. They have two Lottery picks to help them move around in the Draft and get that last piece to the puzzle.

On the other hand, the team is already pretty young. They were knocking on the doorstep of the postseason after an impressive final three-quarters of the season last year. They could be a team in line to push some chips into the middle and make a sizable leap — especially with the cap room they have at their disposal.

The Magic could just as easily use their picks to trade up in this draft as they could to move back in this draft or move out.

There are a lot of possibilities.

This post is meant to be the beginning of an exploration of what those trades look like and what the Magic could be willing to give up to move around in this draft.

The process of this mock draft is to select players based on who the Magic would want to pick if they move around. We will break down some popular rumors on the Internet as well and highlight where there might actually be some frameworks for a deal.