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Orlando Magic 2024 NBA Draft Preview: How the current rookies affect the team's development

The NBA Draft comes front and center even in the middle of a Playoff race with the NCAA Tournament tipping off. The Orlando Magic have their own rookies to develop in the present and how they turn out could affect what comes next in the Draft.

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Anthony Black has had his ups and downs but has been a surprising hit in his rookie year for the Orlando Magic.
Anthony Black has had his ups and downs but has been a surprising hit in his rookie year for the Orlando Magic. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
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Intro to the 2024 NBA Draft

Other Draft Targets

Philip Rossman-Reich, Orlando Magic Daily: Before we move on, any other players worth monitoring that we haven't mentioned? Dalton Knecht is the big one. I've seen Kevin McCullar from Kansas linked to the Magic before. We talked about Johnny Furphy who has risen a lot. You mentioned Stephon Castle a little bit.

We mentioned a few of these players in the first part of this conversation. But they are worth reviewing before we get Richard's take.

Dalton Knecht has likely played himself out of the Orlando Magic's range. The Tennessee guard is averaging 21.1 points per game and shooting 39.7 percent from three on a robust 6.2 3-point attempts per game. He has had some big games in big spots for the Volunteers.

Johnny Furphy has gotten a lot of attention for Kansas since he joined the starting lineup after the Jayhawks' loss to UCF. He averaged 11.4 points per game and 6.1 rebounds per game in conference play.

His teammate, Kevin McCullar, was always considered the better NBA prospect. The 6-foot-6 fifth-year senior averaged 18.3 points per game and 6.0 rebounds per game this year but is not a great shooter at 33.3 percent this year.

Anyone else Magic fans should specifically be keeping an eye on that we haven't mentioned yet?

Richard Stayman, Locked on NBA Big Board: I'd say there are two players we havne't talked about.

One is a really simple one: Kyle Filipowski. I don't think people really know what his draft stock will be. I'd guess at this point is it might be too high for Orlando. I personally wouldn't take him where he is mocked, which is right around the top 10. I think he is better suited going to the late teens to a team that can play him like Orlando needs him.

The other guy would be Jaylon Tyson out of California. They aren't going to make the NCAA Tournament, don't hold the losing over his head. It's just very inaccurate.

I think the hard work shows in the free throw percentage alone. The jump shooting went from 67 percent with no sample size at Texas, went to then 72 percent with little sample size and now he's at 79.5 at the time of this recording. Hard worker, modern wing, long and athletic. He does a lot.

Philip: Kyle Filipowski is probably the most-known name here coming from Duke. The 7-foot center followed up a solid freshman year with 17.1 points per game, 8.0 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game this year. The Duke name probably has him in front of more eyes than anything else. But Filipowski will be successful if he can find the right fit.

Jaylon Tyson is an interesting story. As Richard recounts (in the podcast), Tyson originally committed to Texas but did not get playing time. He transferred to Texas Tech and faced an untenable situation with the coach before settling at California.

This year for the Golden Bears, he averaged 19.6 points per game and shot 36.0 percent from three.

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