Late in the afternoon on Monday, the Orlando Magic posted video from their official watch party ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft Lottery with the caption, "Sometimes you get the number one pick and it's Paolo Banchero."
Even though it was no guarantee they would take Banchero in that draft, the Magic knew they had a franchise-changing choice. Even in a supposedly down year, the No. 1 pick can change a franchise.
Three seasons later, the Magic have made two playoff appearances and have a true star in the making with their top overall pick.
That was truly one of the biggest nights in franchise history. And the Magic know what impact the No. 1 pick can have.
The Dallas Mavericks were the lucky team to climb to the top of the ping pong mountain and net the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Draft. After a season of criticism for their trade of Luka Doncic and the injury to Kyrie Irving, they get an immediate lifeline with the potential selection of Cooper Flagg as the top pick.
The San Antonio Spurs seem set to add another high-quality scorer in Ace Bailey or Dylan Harper to go alongside Rookie of the Year Stefon Castle and Victor Wembanyama. Or they could use that to enter the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes.
It is an exciting time around the league for a lot of teams.
The Magic have graduated from relying on ping pong balls. They are a playoff team with ambitions to make it out of the first round. They have their eyes set on something bigger.
While the Orlando Magic will wait for their turn to pick with the No. 16 and No. 25 picks (completing the Aaron Gordon trade with the Denver Nuggets), they should already be moving and shaking to prepare for Draft night.
It is already shaping up to be a critical draft night around the league.
The Magic have promised to be active this offseason. They have promised to seek out win-now moves to boost a roster seemingly ready for more serious winning.
The Magic's draft night is not going to be about who they pick with those two first round picks -- or the other two second round picks they hold. This year's draft night will be a test of the team's mettle and desire to make those moves.
With little free agency wiggle room, Draft night is the night for the Magic to remake their roster.
There is no more waiting. And the draft is the perfect time to attack and enact the plan Weltman envisions for the Magic ahead of the 2026 season.
No time to be conservative
This is not the time for the Orlando Magic's usually conservative draft approach. If this is a new phase for the Magic, it starts on Draft night.
With the full draft order now set, one thing is true: Draft night (June 25-26) will be the most important day of the Magic's offseason. And the Magic cannot afford to let those nights pass without making the aggressive moves Jeff Weltman promised.
To make the major moves Jeff Weltman has hinted at -- whether that is trying to trade up to get one more big prospect like Dylan Harper in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs or Philadelphia 76ers, moving up to take a player like sharpshooter Kasaparas Jakucionis, staying put in their spot to fill critical needs in a scorer like Walter Clayton or a playmaking center like Danny Wolf or go back to drafting do-everything wings like Egor Demin, Nique Clifford or Noa Essengue, or executing the kind of offense-defining trade that this team desperately needs -- the Draft is the critical day to make it all happen.
And Orlando has the leverage and position to make things happen on Draft night. It is indeed a new day for Orlando.
The Magic likely will not use both of these picks. They are more likely to use at least one, if not both, of these picks to grease the wheel for the kind of trades that boost the team's offensive depth and push them to their goal -- advancing out of the first round and entering true contention in the Eastern Conference.
Now those battle lines are drawn with the draft order firmly set.
The time to make those deals is draft night. That is when the Magic will have the most leverage with their draft picks to use them in deals -- draft picks are like cars, they lose value the moment they ar driven off the lot.
Teams are assessing and looking at their rosters, setting the rest of their offseason up to prepare for a free agency run or to get themselves under the tax or aprons. There is a lot of action on draft night.
The opportunities on Draft Night
The Orlando Magic also have a lot of opportunities to make moves with contracts that change dramatically on July 1.
Jonathan Isaac still counts as $25 million against the cap on June 25. That could be major salary to move around before it drops to $15 million on July 1. Even something as small as Goga Bitadze's salary going from $9.1 million to $8.3 million could have major repercussions for the kind of players they could acquire.
Orlando has a lot of motivation on that front to make their moves on draft night. This is the time that teams make trades. So the Magic's activity will likely come on draft night.
It still might come down to who is available when the Magic make their selections and which teams want those players.
Aggression on draft night has not been the Magic's forte. But they have no choice to be aggressive. If it is not to find a veteran, then they should be aggressive using their two picks to get the player they absolutely want in this draft.
That could be Illinois sharpshooter Kasparas Jakucionis. It could be Georgia forward Asa Newell or Michigan State guard Jase Richardson. The Magic need to make the most of all the options in front of them.
One thing is clear as the draft approaches and becomes more firmly in place, the Magic cannot afford to wait any longer. They cannot afford to let this day pass without doing the legwork they promised for this offseason.
Draft night will be a big one for the team. Most of the Magic's heavy lifting could very well get done during this time.
Orlando cannot afford to let this day pass it by. If the Magic are truly going to be aggressive, they will show their cards on draft night and set their team up for this critical offseason.