For the first time in more than a decade, the Orlando Magic do not have a first-round pick.
They will be sitting and watching the first night of this year's Draft. Or actively seeking trades to move into the draft or improve the roster. There is no sitting out any portion of the offseason. And the Magic must take advantage of every opportunity.
Draft preparations are well underway, whether the Magic have a pick or not -- their only pick in this year's Draft is at No. 46.
The team usually operates quietly with its workouts and who it brings into the AdventHealth Training Center. The team is in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine, too. They have surely met with some of the prospects and done their studies this week.
This is still only the beginning stages of the process. There is still a lot to break down and learn.
The Magic have a long history of drafting wingspan first. That is an organizational philosophy. They want players who can play and defend multiple positions. They want to close gaps and make it hard for teams to operate.
But the strategy of constantly doubling down on the team's defense and positional length has left the team with a major deficit.
Orlando still needs shooting. Desperately needs shooting if the playoff series was not a clue to that.
The Magic need to find shooting. They could also use some athleticism and players who can play above the rim. For as long as Orlando is, it is a surprisingly ground-bound team. The Magic are looking for length and players who know how to use that length.
The Draft Combine helps us look at raw athletic data. We already looked at which players in the Magic's potential ranges -- end of the first round and their 46th pick -- have the longest wingspans, since we know that is something the Magic are looking for.
Now, I want to look at those two other important skills: Who stood out at the Combine for their leaping ability so the Magic could get an above-the-rim presence? And who stood out in the shooting drills that would fit the Magic's eye?
The best leapers
Trevon Brazile, Arkansas
The question in this draft is which need do the Orlando Magic want to fill with the 46th pick? Could they just go with a reliable shooter (those are coming shortly), or will they look to fashion an athlete?
At this stage of the Draft with the 46th pick, it seems more likely the Magic will take a raw, athletic big than go for an undersized shooter. We will see what the draft plays out.
That is what the Magic were surely thinking when they took Noah Penda, a bundle of potential who is in for a big summer as the team crafts what they want him to be after several promising games in his rookie year.
At the middle of the second round, the Magic should probably be looking for players who have some immediately translateable and impactful skill and go from there.
That is why Anthony Black's former Arkansas teammate Trevon Brazile probably will get some recognition.
The 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward is likely nothing more than a hustle guy in the NBA. Every team needs those. He averaged a career-best 13.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last year (his fifth collegiate season and fourth at Arkansas). That is encouraging, considering John Calipari runs an NBA-style system.
He even shot 34.1 percent from three and is a career 35.1 percent 3-point shooter. He also averaged 1.4 blocks per game last year and had more than a block per game in all five of his collegiate seasons.
What will give him a boost is his athleticism. He measured with a 41.5-inch max vertical leap (that is a running start to a jump) and a 36-inch standing vertical leap, the third-best at the Combine.
It helps too that Brazile measured at 6-foot-9.5 with a 7-foot-3.75 wingspan. He is a big dude.
If Orlando is looking for a rim-running big off their bench, Brazile is a good bet and someone who could be available without moving around the Draft. He has that one skill already down.
Other Names to Know
Tobi Lawal, Virginia Tech: Lawal clocked in with the highest max vertical leap at 45.5 inches and the best standing vertical leap at 40.0 inches. He averaged 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game at Virginia Tech last year. But he shot only 25.0 percent from three, down from 37.1 percent in 2025 on the same attempts. His 76.3 percent free-throw shooting suggests that could be a blip, but his 67.0 percent career shooting from the line suggests it is not.
Cameron Carr, Baylor: We covered Carr yesterday. He is quickly becoming the guy I would trade into the first round to get. Although his incredible Combine likely will put him out of the Magic's range. He had a 42.5-inch max vertical leap and a 38.0-inch standing vertical leap.
Flory Bidunga, Kansas: Bidunga was another big winner at the Combine, measuring with a 40.5-inch max vertical leap and 34-inch standing vertical leap. He was stellar at Kansas with 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and a Big 12-leading 2.6 blocks per game. But he measured smaller than anticipated at 6-foot-7.75 without shoes and a 7-foot-3.25 wingspan. The wingspan at least checks out for this defensive-minded big.
The best shooters
Braden Smith, Purdue
The Orlando Magic might still be looking for a point guard to bolster their roster. That seems to be one of the bigger focuses for the starting lineup this offseason.
Whether the Magic would turn to the bench to bolster the point guard position is a fair question. The team still has Jase Richardson preparing for his second season. And as a first round pick, he is under contract for at least two more years.
Orlando likely would not chase after another point guard, especially another smaller guard.
Still, it is hard to ignore Braden Smith and his college pedigree.
Smith is the NCAA's all-time leader in assists and averaged 8.8 assists per game last year. He averaged more than seven assists per game in each of the last three seasons.
We are here for shooting, though. And Smith shot 36.2 percent on 4.5 attempts per game last year and 38.5 percent on 4.2 attempts per game in his career at Purdue. He is a decent shooter, not a great shooter.
But what the Magic need are more players who can set themselves up. So while Smith measured as the smallest player at the Combine -- 5-foot-10.25 with a 6-foot-3.25 wingspan -- he is also someone who has learned how to get his own shot and set others up.
If he can be a solid spot-up shooter, that could make him a valuable bench player in the league.
Other Names to Know
Ryan Conwell, Louisville: Conwell had one of the best days in Thursday's scrimmages, making five threes on his way to 21 points. He was a 34.5 percent 3-point shooter on 9.6 attempts per game last year at Louisville. He was a 37.6 percent shooter on 6.7 attempts per game in his vagabond career -- USF, Indiana State, Xavier and Louisville. Conwell measured at 6-foot-2 without shoes, but a 6-foot-7 wingspan and 214.8 pounds mean he has some strength and potential to grow.
Henri Veesaar, North Carolina: If the Orlando Magic are that determined to have a floor-spacing big man, they need to look at North Carolina's Henri Veesaar. Veesaar averaged 17.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 42.6 percent on 3.0 attempts per game. He measured at 6-foot-11.25 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan.
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State: There were few forwards who were as good from deep as Momcilovic this year. He averaged 16.9 points per game and shot a Big 12-leading 48.7 percent on 7.5 attempts per game. He is projected as a second-round pick still because he needs to round out his skills. But he is one of the best shooters in this draft. Momcilovic is looking for a first-round promise, otherwise he is the hottest free agent in the college transfer portal.
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