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

Orlando Magic’s 2nd round pick history

Conclusion

Looking back at the Orlando Magic’s second-round selections and opportunities, the team has missed some opportunities for sure. And perhaps the players the Magic have selected have not lived up to the billing or lived up to what the magic needed at the moment.

Every team in every draft can point to opportunities missed or players they missed. That is part and parcel to the draft process. Everyone misses and players step up in unexpected ways.

But they cannot do that if they do not have the opportunity to do so. And that has been the element that is often missing from this roster. They are just too full all the time. And this is a team that often struggles to add multiple rookies.

It is one thing then to add multiple first-round picks to a team like the Magic did this past draft. It is another thing to add and support three or four rookies as the Magic might have to do.

Orlando has missed chances to add talented players. But that might not be the situation the team is in today. The team is not in a position to stay perpetually young and there are only so many developmental slots the team can fill.

So trying to spin those picks forward or kick them down the road became a better option than simply giving them away.

On top of this, the Magic currently have two two-way contract spots to fill. They could have found a second-round pick to try to fill this role. And that may end up being a player the Magic could need if injuries hit the wrong spot of the roster.

These are simply opportunities lost.

The Orlando Magic still have all of their own picks plus a 2025 first-round pick from the Denver Nuggets (top-five protected). They still have at least eight future second-round picks. There is still no way the team is going to use them all.

So by spinning three of the lower-value second-round picks they have in their cache for the potential to improve their first-round draft standing in 2026. It is, in the end, a creative way of using second-round picks the Magic do not seem so interested in spending on players.

Still, second-round drafting has definitely been a weak spot in the Magic’s overall drafting strategy and a definite missed opportunity. It may not be the biggest miss and the Magic are not in a position to spend all these picks they have accumulated.

Yet, the Magic still find themselves in a good spot overall as they continue to develop.