2024 Orlando Magic Daily Big Board Version 1.0: There's a Draft still?!

For much of the last decade, this time of year is the time for Orlando Magic fans to reawaken. Hope lay dormant since mid-April and came alive again for the NBA Draft Lottery.

For the first time since 2020, Magic fans are not focused at all on the NBA Draft Lottery (taking place Sunday afternoon). Instead, they are recovering from the end of their season after a first-round exit in Game 7 and thinking more clearly about what the team needs to improve that finish.

This is indeed a summer for the Magic to focus on their roster and supplement it with needs to prevent another playoff loss next year.

While everyone is focused on free agency and trades as the way to improve the Magic— and to be sure, with a little more than $30 million in anticipated cap room, those tools will be important to building this team—the draft is coming up.

Orlando holds the Nos. 18 and 47 pick in the draft this year. That is locked in place. While Orlando could shop that pick around or attach it to something bigger the team is planning in the offseason. It is an asset.

But no team worth its salt skips the draft. Even in a draft class that is considered generally to be weaker, the Magic still have to be thinking about how they can improve their team in any way they can. They have to be as invested in the Draft as ever, even if they are not picking at the top.

Picking later in the draft does mean that there is a larger player pool you are theoretically picking from. It means that team needs become a bit more important as you try to differentiate between players. The Magic are going to take the best player available, but how that player fits into the current team and perhaps help the current team matters more.

Orlando's winning window is open. The Magic have shown they can compete in the playoffs and have a young roster that seems ready to break through into the next round in 2025. On top of that, the Magic will be trying to create opportunity for 2024 rookies Anthony Black (who started 33 games but was out of the rotation for the Playoffs) and Jett Howard (who spent the majority of the year in the G-League).

It is also pretty likely the Orlando Magic draft a rookie with the plan of having him spend the majority of the year with the Osceola Magic. That leaves a lot more options open.

With the Lottery coming up, it is time for our periodic update on what the Magic are looking for in the Draft. This is our first Big Board for the 2024 NBA Draft.

This Big Board is a ranking of the NBA Draft prospects based on their skill and talent but also taking into consideration what the Magic are looking for. This is not a mock draft and no consideration is given to where players might fall based on the teams' draft order.

Obviously, the Magic have several needs that were revealed throughout the Playoffs. They could use some point guard and creation help in the backcourt, they desperately need shooting, and they could probably look to bolster their frontcourt. Otherwise, the Magic are going to continue valuing what they value -- bigger, longer players with positional and skill versatility.