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Orlando Magic have punted 2nd round picks, some with good reason

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Orlando Magic, Caleb Houstan. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Orlando Magic, Caleb Houstan. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jason Preston, LA Clippers
Jan 6, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Clippers guard Jason Preston (0) passes the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports /

Orlando Magic’s 2nd round pick history

2021 Draft

With the Orlando Magic well-stocked with young players, they started to rebuild during the 2021 Draft. They had their two rookies they brought in with Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner. They alone made it a successful draft.

But the team surprisingly again punted on a high-value second-round pick.

They selected Boone High School alum Jason Preston and promptly traded him to the LA Clippers.

Preston has not done much in the NBA to this point, playing just 14 games last season. But he looked solid in the Clippers’ Summer League run. So there is at least some promise.

But the Magic missed out on adding another defensive-minded forward in Herbert Jones who went 35th in the draft. Again, this just seemed to be missing out on an upperclassmen specialist. that could have been useful even though Orlando is still well-stocked with forwards. And would continue to do so.

2022 Draft

The Orlando Magic finally made a second-round selection, taking Caleb Houstan with the 32nd pick.Houstan played sporadically in his rookie year, averaging 3.8 points per game in 51 appearances. Houstan had a nice showing in Summer League and was the youngest player in his draft class. Orlando still seems invested in him.

A lot of the reasons Jeff Weltman has given for trading these picks have been that there is not a clear path for many of these players to get playing time and get the experience they need to succeed. With a full roster and a lot of young players to grow, the team did not have the time to give to more players.

So they again traded their second-round pick in 2022, trading their second-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers. They used it on Max Christie who played in 41 games last season as a rookie.

There were not any notable players taken after Christie in that draft.

2023 Draft

The Orlando Magic with two first-round picks added earlier in the draft, traded the 36th pick in Andre Jackson to the Milwaukee Bucks for another future second-round pick. It was yet another example of the team punting their draft picks and trying to spin them forward, even if they may end up being lower-value picks in the future.

Clearly, Orlando found at least some way to try to net a positive asset out of it.