The Orlando Magic are entering a new phase of their rebuild now.
After two straight first-round playoff exits, the team is looking to make moves with a "win-now" lens, according to president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. It feels like there is a lot of change going on throughout the organization.
Only this offseason will tell us how much that has changed.
The Magic publicly proclaimed they are looking for win-now players. That is usually coded language for veterans. And first-round picks and other future assets are the way to grease the wheels to get the trade machine moving.
Orlando's draft approach almost certainly will change. The team is not going to be looking for the same high-upside players who need time to develop their skills. They need players who can contribute immediately and quickly.
The Magic's needs at this point are abundantly clear -- 3-point shooting, playmaking and point guard organization. Finding all of that in one rookie is certainly going to be difficult. Indeed, many of the prospects in this draft may have two skills but lack the last. The Magic have to weigh how to fill those skills and which players can develop.
But their biggest need is likely finding players who can play multiple roles on offense. They need a shooter who is also a playmaker, a defender who is also a shooter and a point guard who can play off the ball.
Finding all of that in a rookie will be difficult. But as the Magic narrow down the players they want to target, they have to ask themselves what they want from players in this draft.
The Magic are looking for players who can own their role, but step up and attack off the dribble when the ball swings to them. They need more diverse offensive skill sets.
The trade-up candidates
Among the trade-up targets, a player like Kon Kneuppel or Kasparas Jakucionis fit the bill best.
Kneuppel, who the Orlando Magic spoke to at the NBA Draft Combine but is a likely top-10 pick, averaged 14.4 points per game on that loaded Duke roster. He added 2.7 assists per game and shot 40.6 percent from three on 5.6 attempts per game. That he could hit long-range shots playing off several big-name players like likely top overall pick Cooper Flagg is a reason the Magic should chase him.
Kneuppel stood out most especially in a 28-point showing against Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament, when Flagg was out with an ankle injury. He had seven games of 20 points or more, including against Arizona and Alabama.
That should have convinced a lot of scouts that he was comfortable playing off of Flagg but has another gear to his game he can add.
That is the same space Jakucionis fits in.
Jakucionis averaged 15.0 points per game and 4.7 assists per game as Illinois' 6-foot-6 point guard. He shot only 31.8 percent from three, but is widely considered one of the best shooters in this draft because he took so many shots off the dribble. It is easy to see how someone with his versatility could easily fit into a role.
But those players are likely beyond the Magic's reach unless they trade up.
Imperfect in range
Where the Orlando Magic are picking at 16 and 25 features a lot of players who check off some of those boxes, but do not check others. The Magic could easily lean back on the kind of players they like and pick long, versatile players with clear flaws.
That could be someone like French point guard Nolan Traore, who has put up some impressive numbers and has closed the season well in France, but is not much of a shooter.
It could mean looking at someone like Noa Essengue, a big forward who has two-way potential but is still developing his offensive skills, especially his outside shooting.
BYU guard Egor Demin fits the bill as a jumbo-sized playmaker that the Magic typically go for. Demin averaged 10.6 points per game and 5.5 assists per game but shot just 27.3 percent from three and 69.5 percent from the line, not boding well for his shooting prospects.
A guard like Ben Saraf has played well in Spain for a young guard. He has a good feel for he game and can hit mid-range jumpers effectively. But he is a poor 3-point shooter at this point and has questionable athleticism to improve defensively.
Guard creators like Jase Richardson or Walter Clayton Jr. seem to fit the bill perfectly for the Magic.
They are both creative guards off the dribble who can stop and create space for shots in the mid-range. They are both effective pull-up and spot-up 3-point shooters.
Richardson averaged 12.1 points per game and shot 41.2 percent from three while working mostly in the mid-range (49.3 percent shooting overall) at Michigan State. Clayton averaged 18.3 points per game and shot 38.6 percent on 7.8 3-point attempts per game last season in Florida's national championship season.
But both are severely undersized -- Richardson measured poorly at the NBA Draft Combine. While their offensive fits seem perfect from both, the lack of size raises major questions. Look at how much Cole Anthony struggled to make an impact in two playoff series now.
Repeating a skill?
The Orlando Magic could look to find another two-way, versatile forward. They have made it a habit to draft these versatile wings -- beyond Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Jeff Weltman has drafted Jonathan Isaac, Chuma Okeke and Tristan da Silva. He definitely has a type.
Nique Clifford was a fast riser out of Colorado State after he led the Rams on an 11-game winning streak into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He finished his senior season averaging 18.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game while shooting 37.7 percent from three. That kind of versatility and eye-popping numbers would benefit him fitting on a team like the Magic that needs someone who can scale back and defend.
That could be the appeal of a player like UAB's Yaxel Lendeborg, who averaged 17.7 points per game, 11.4 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. Lendeborg is not much of a shooter. But that versatility to fill a stat sheet at 6-foot-9 is something the Magic typically focus on.
St. Joseph's Rasheer Fleming also displayed this versatility. He averaged 14.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He shot 39.0 percent from three in his junior year last year on 4.5 attempts per game. His shooting has dramatically improved over his three years, a positive sign for him.
Of course, the Magic have plenty of players like that trio already. That has become their type. Not that it is not predictable -- and Jonathan Isaac is potentially on the trade block with Tristan da Silva hungry for playing time too.
That player is out there. And this is not an exhaustive list. The team can find players who match the skills it covets. But finding that perfect fit is obviously going to be tough.
The Magic though must find ways to expand their offense. And there are plenty of options to do so.