The Orlando Magic knew their 2023 NBA Draft was a last chance to add talent to this team.
The Magic were coming off a 35-win season that saw them flirt with the playoffs. Paolo Banchero put in a rookie season that put him in the class of superstars like LeBron James and Luka Doncic. Franz Wagner was continuing to develop into a surprise core player.
Orlando knew it was on the cusp of a long playoff run as they made the sixth and 11th selections, the last piece coming from the Chicago Bulls as part of the transformative trade in 2021.
The Magic were not quite rebuilding anymore, but they were not quite a playoff team. They were still looking to add young players they could develop, but they also needed to consider what would fit the team.
But both Anthony Black and Jett Howard have struggled to live up to their full expectations. And now that the Magic have hit the ceiling of the luxury tax and plan to dive into the aprons next year, the 2023 Draft is looking more like a missed opportunity.
The Magic announced they will pick up the fourth-year option on Black, making him extension eligible this summer and potentially headed for restricted free agency in the summer of 2027. According to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel, the Magic will not pick up that fourth-year option on Howard, turning him into an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The sixth overall pick, Black, has established himself in the rotation but is now taking on a larger on-ball role for the team. Howard, the 11th overall pick, was hoping to put more together to crack the rotation after struggling to find playing time in his first two seasons.
Both have hit some early road bumps this season. And, especially for Howard now, the pressure is on to prove their place with the team.
Black as the backup point guard
The idea behind the Orlando Magic taking Anthony Black with the sixth overall pick followed their general philosophy during the early stages of their rebuild.
The Magic love oversized players who can defend multiple positions. They saw Black as a jumbo 6-foot-7 point guard who could defend with tenacity and have the athleticism to attack off the dribble. His three-point shooting would need some time to develop.
Black has indeed turned into a stellar defender. The Magic leaned on him throughout his rookie season after the team dealt with injuries to Markelle Fultz. Black played more in his second season and showed flashes of a confident offensive player.
This year, the Magic hoped for a major leap from Black.
Black is averaging 12.0 points per game and shooting 53.1 percent on 8.0 field goal attempts per game. He is shooting 3 for 8 from three to start the season.
Black has looked far more confident attacking off the dribble and has been stellar in transition where he can use his speed and size to get around defenders and finish through contact.
Orlando has put Black on the ball a lot more this year and given him more playmaking responsibility. This is where he is struggling. He has scored just seven points and turned it over four times on 10 pick-and-roll possessions, according to data from Synergy Sports. He is averaging 3.0 turnovers per game, as one of the main culprits of the team's rash of turnovers.
These are growing pains the Magic probably wanted to see more in the first two years rather than this season, when the team is hoping to sharpen up into a championship-contending team. Black's growth has been one of the storylines early in the season, especially because his turnovers have been so troublesome.
Through three seasons, it is still unclear whether Black can play the role the Magic will need coming off the bench for a championship-level team. That is a big piece of what he has to prove this year.
He still could be a trade target in February if the Magic need someone more solid.
Howard's missed opportunity
When the Orlando Magic made Jett Howard the 11th pick in the 2023 Draft, it caught everyone by surprise.
Few people had him as a Lottery pick.
The Magic were desperate for shooting and picked Jett Howard over other shooters like Gradey Dick and Jordan Hawkins because of his size and potential for playmaking. The Magic always lean toward size. It probably helped that Howard was willing to sign a contract and take a gap year in the G-League during his rookie season.
But Howard has struggled to put his shooting on display in his two seasons with the Magic. His defense never truly improved, and Howard never got playing time.
Howard appeared in only 60 games for 11.7 minutes per game last season. He shot only 29.6 percent from three. That three-point shooting that got him drafted has not quite appeared.
Howard has played in only 13 minutes in two gams so far this season, shooting 1 for 3 from three. Hardly enough to make any conclusion in the regular season. He should still get some time while Jalen Suggs recovers from his injury of last season.
But clearly the Magic saw enough and felt comfortable turning him loose to free agency this summer in not picking up his option.
Losing Howard and his $7.3 million salary next season could help the team duck the second apron. As Keith Smith of Spotrac suggests that trading him before the deadline and shedding his $5.5 million salary for this year could get them beneath the luxury tax line and delay the repeater tax clock.
It feels like a missed opportunity.
Neither Dick nor Hawkins have turned into solid defenders, but both have contributed more for their teams and were more conventionally accepted picks. The Dallas Mavericks selected Derrick Lively a pick after Jett Howard. Jaime Jaquez came even further down the draft order.
And there was always the option to trade out of the draft for a veteran who could have helped the Magic grow quicker into a Playoff team rather than relying on developing a young and raw prospect.
This 2023 Draft was caught in that transition period. Orlando got a last bite at the apple for some high-end talent but also needed to prepare for competing for the postseason more seriously.
As the Magic begin this 2026 season, there are certainly still questions about whether the Magic maximized this draft opportunity. Or whether the team missed entirely.