The calendar has turned to June. The NBA Finals are on the horizon. The offseason is getting closer and closer.
The Orlando Magic are still assessing what happened in their successful 2024 season and what they can learn from their trip to the playoffs.
It is already an offseason for the Magic running wild with trade rumors and free agency possibilities. Nobody really has a sense of what the Magic will do even if there are clear needs they need to fill.
The whole offseason runs concurrently. Free agency begins on the evening of June 30. The Magic will know what they are doing long before then. And they will know what they need to do when the Draft begins on June 26 (the second round will take place on June 27).
Orlando is in an unfamiliar place. They are picking outside the lottery for the third time since Dwight Howard left in 2012. The Magic's pick at No. 18 is the latest the team has picked in the first round since trading Anzejs Pasecniks with the No. 25 pick in 2017. Even in that draft, the Magic picked Jonathan Isaac at No. 6.
The Magic are not relying on their draft pick the same way they have for much of the last decade. That only adds to the intrigue of how the Magic approach this pick.
Orlando is a playoff team now. It has specific needs it must fill to take the next steps. That will surely affect how they view this draft. Still, everyone should be chasing the best player they can find. Orlando still needs to upgrade talent too.
That is what will make this draft tricky. It is not considered a particularly strong draft—especially for those teams at the top of the draft. But there are still players to find. There are always players to find in the draft. This is not an opportunity to skip.
And so as the calendar turns to June and the countdown to the draft begins, it is time to look more closely at how the draft might shake out.
This is our first mock draft of this draft season:
Orlando Magic Daily 2024 NBA Mock Draft 1.0: What's there to pick?
The top of the draft
This NBA Draft lacks a true top overall pick and the Atlanta Hawks have a dilemma on their hand. What they do with the top pick likely depends on what they plan on doing with their star players Trae Young or Dejounte Murray.
For now, the answer though is to go with the best player. I still believe it is Alex Sarr. There have been some early comparisons of him to Jonathan Isaac. That is not a typical first overall pick but it will set the Hawks up well.
The Washington Wizards might as well be a blank slate at this point. There is no one on the roster right now (besides last year's pick in Bilal Coulibaly) worth investing heavily in. The Wizards should go with the best player on the board. That is the sweet-shooting Zaccharie Risacher.
Unlike the previous two teams, the Houston Rockets should be thinking about adding a player who can contribute and help them win immediately. The Houston Rockets had the season the Orlando Magic had in 2023 as the last team eliminated from postseason contention. So they have to think about what fits in.
Adding a skilled shotmaker and size from Matas Buzelis checks out most for me. They could look for a point guard like Nikola Topic or Rob Dillingham, but Matas Buzelis is a good mix of size and shot-making that every team is hunting for. Slotting him at small forward next to Jabari Smith gives them a lot of versatility.
The San Antonio Spurs are going to decide pretty quickly how fast they want to build their team around Victor Wembanyama. They seemingly have a long way to go to get there. But they will likely be aggressive with their cap room.
The biggest need for them all season was finding a solid lead guard. It is why the Spurs are still rumored to be chasing a point guard. That is why they are likely to chase a point guard like 6-foot-7 guard Nikola Topic.
His big concern is that he is coming off a knee injury that ended his season. But Topic would add some size that they were testing with Jeremy Sochan running point. Size wins out in this league it seems.
The Detroit Pistons have new leadership now in Trajan Langdon. It is unclear what direction the team will go. But the expectation is they will be aggressive with their cap space to accelerate their rebuild with Cade Cunningham.
They are a mismatch of talent at the moment. And so going for one of the best shooters in the draft in Reed Sheppard checks out for me. Getting some shooting around Cunningham will make them a better team.
The rest of the top 10
The Charlotte Hornets have been looking for a quality big man for a long time. They may still be invested in Mark Williams. But at this point, the chance to draft a player like Donovan Clingan might be too much.
The 7-foot-3 center stood out in the NCAA Tournament and figures to be a solid rim protector and defender. Pairing him with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller should help boost the Hornets.
Stephon Castle is quickly becoming one of the hotter names at the top of this draft. He defends well and has good size. And he seemingly wants to play point guard, giving him more of an advantage with his size. Coming from a championship pedigree with UConn helps plenty, too.
The Portland Trail Blazers seem set to remake their guard rotation. They are not giving up on Scoot Henderson. But they have Anfernee Simons and Malcolm Brogdon to deal with. Adding another talented wing who can create will help them no matter what they end up doing this offseason.
The San Antonio Spurs are probably looking for as much shooting as they can get to surround Victor Wembanyama. Once they get their point guard that is.
Dalton Knecht is probably the best shooter in the draft. The senior from Tennessee successfully grew from a small college star into a big-time shooter in the SEC. That bodes well for how quickly he could impact a team and graduate to the NBA.
While Matas Buzelis seems the most NBA-ready of the final class of the G-League Ignite experiment, Ron Holland might be the player with the most NBA upside. Holland has really good size and a natural scoring ability even if he has to improve as a shooter.
The shot for the Memphis Grizzlies to grab another highly talented wing player after their injury-filled year is one they should not pass up. This is the chance to grab a lot of talent to add to their collection with Ja Morant likely back and healthy next season.
The Utah Jazz are still collecting talent and looking to bring in the best players. To have Rob Dillingham fall to them at No. 10 would be a coup, especially with the growing rumors that they are open to trading Collin Sexton.
At this point, though, the Jazz need to find some direction. Lauri Markkanen is an All-Star-level player and they are a tough team to face, but the Jazz do not seem to have a clear direction for growth.
Outside chance for the Magic
The Chicago Bulls are still trying to win and be competitive. Or so they say. But they are fighting to stay relevant and even in Play-In contention with their core trio of Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Nikola Vucevic. All three seem set to come back.
How do the Bulls work with that? How do they find their missing piece? Are they even going to extent Patrick Williams? Are they going to move Alex Caruso? Is Lonzo Ball actually going to play?
For now, the best pick is Cholet's Tidjane Salaun. The 6-foot-10 forward scored 9.0 points per game last year and still has work to do as a shooter. But he has been a fast riser in this draft process. He had a strong finish to the season and can hit a bit from the outside while also showing good physicality.
Orlando Magic fans have had their eyes on Jared McCain for some time as seemingly a solid point guard option for them to pick up. McCain is an excellent shooter—14.3 points per game, 41.4 percent shooting from three, and 88.5 percent from the foul line. He is not super athletic, but he can get to the basket and he can finish over taller defenders. He can create space for his jumper.
McCain is not a natural passer or distributor. But the Magic are not looking for that with Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner capable of handling the ball the majority of the time.
It is why McCain should be gone well before the Magic pick at No. 18. I have him going here to the Thunder. They would love more ball-handlers and are likely to address their center needs through other means.
The Sacramento Kings are going to be looking to regain their form next season after taking a step back. Adding a talented wing, especially if they end up losing Malik Monk, will be critical to that effort.
Cody Williams is a potential top-10 pick who could be a primary scorer. He would be a great addition for the Kings. He averaged 11.9 points per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor and 41.5 percent from three.
Williams is not a classic shooter though (he shot in the low 70s in free throws). He will have to gain consistency as an offensive player. And his poor finish to the season has stunted any draft momentum.
The Orlando Magic's real targets, part 1
No player has been connected more to the Orlando Magic than Colorado forward Tristan Da Silva.
In so many words, he looks like an Orlando Magic-type player. He has good size and has tons of basketball IQ. He always seems to be in the right spot and to make the right play. There is nothing flashy about Da Silva's game. It is all solid.
He averaged 16.0 points per game to go with 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. In Pac-12 play, he averaged 16.5 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game. He finished his season hitting on 39.5 percent of his three-pointers (his second straight year at 39 percent or better).
Tristan Da Silva is not as athletic as Franz Wagner, but they play similarly. Da Silva is not going to go too far outside of his box. But his skill set is so varied that the box is pretty big.
It is going to be hard to believe he will sneak all the way down to No. 18 where the Magic are picking. The league values seniors and veteran players more than the draft experts let on. And he will make any team—even a rebuilding team like the Portland Trail Blazers—better.
The other target many Orlando Magic fans have started eyeing is Providence point guard Devin Carter. He too is a veteran who seems to be a player who will find his way pretty quickly in the NBA and contribute fairly soon.
Carter averaged 19.7 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game with 3.6 assists per game. Carter is a tough defender at 6-foot-3, 188 pounds (and a Miami native and son of former Miami Heat guard Anthony Carter). He is a tough player who checks most of the boxes experienced teams want from rookies.
Carter has improved tremendously as a three-point shooter, too, hitting 37.7 percent of his threes after being a sub-30 percent shooter in his first two years in college. Carter made 74.9 percent of his free throws. Shooting may still be a concern with him.
But Carter is a tough, hard-nosed player who can manage a team and get himself to the basket and score. He is unafraid to mix things up in the paint. That will be a start.
The Orlando Magic's real targets, part 2
Ja'Kobe Walter is another player who fits the bill for the Orlando Magic.
The 6-foot-5 guard averaged 14.5 points per game and shot 34.1 percent from three and 79.2 percent from the foul line in his freshman year at Baylor. He staked a reputation as a solid defender in his lone year in Waco, Texas. Then, he measured with a 6-foot-10 wingspan.
Walter still has some work to do offensively. He is not going to create a ton of separation for himself. But he will hit his share of three-pointers. He has a quick trigger and can get balanced quickly.
Walter is still an athlete with skills that need to be refined. But he has started to put them all together. It might take some time for him to put all those skills together. But that is the case for most of the young players in the draft.
The Philadelphia 76ers are still looking to remake their roster. They are expected to be major players in free agency before they re-sign Tyrese Maxey. So they will need supporting players and defenders. The Sixers are going to need to hit on this draft pick.
Kyle Filipowski proved to be a solid center at Duke in two years. He was able to build his scoring and finish around the rim with ease. Filipowski has solid skills around the basket and a good traditional post-game. He can make plays from every part of the floor.
The 7-footer moves well on pick and rolls and can make some decisions with the ball. He may not be able to spread the floor and shoot from beyond the arc, but he has all the other versatile offensive skills that the NBA looks for from centers.
Filipowski averaged 16.4 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game last year at Duke. He was one of the best centers in college.
Where Filipowski falls short is he does not have much of a game beyond the paint. He is not hitting three-pointers. And he does not feature a ton of defensive versatility. He is a traditional center in a league moving away from traditional centers.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been looking for centers to help ease the defensive pressure on Anthony Davis. Davis does not like playing at center full time. Kyle Filipowski takes the spot over Zach Edey because he is a bit more mobile, even if he is not as effective on defense.
The Orlando Magic's pick
What are the Orlando Magic looking for in this draft? That is the ultimate question.
They have to figure out what needs they can address through free agency and which are best left to the draft. And they still have to balance giving their rookies from last year in Anthony Black and Jett Howard a path to play.
Orlando's willingness to use a rookie year in the G-League still leaves open plenty of possibilities.
We know the Magic's biggest need is for some shooting. Howard may help fill that. But Orlando should be looking to add some wing depth and some shooting nonetheless.
That has me liking the idea of adding Miami freshman Kyshawn George. He was an excellent shooter in his first year and that is something that feels like it will carry over.
George averaged only 7.6 points per game but he shot 40.8 percent from three on 4.2 attempts per game. He hit on 77.8 percent of his free throws.
The Swiss-born guard is relatively new to basketball. It shows in how he struggles to handle tougher, more physical defenses.
Still the simple things had some good results. He scored 21 points and hit five three-pointers in a win over Wake Forest. The potential is pretty clear.
George measured well too. He measured at 6-foot-7 without shoes with a 6-foot-10.25 wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine. That will be enough to check that box for the Magic.
George will need time to put all the pieces together. He is a solid shooter. And he has some interesting potential as a creator and driver at his size.
George is just young. This would be an investment for the long-term. He would spend next year in the G-Leauge more likely than not. But the upside with a player like George is also pretty clear. And that is the bet the Magic would be making.
More options for the Orlando Magic
Looking at Isaiah Collier's numbers, he seems like he should be among the top guards available in this draft. Listed at 6-foot-5, he averaged 16.3 points per game and 4.3 assists per game at USC. That has the makings of the kind of big guards the league has looked for seemingly forever.
Collier though has seemingly been unimpressive everywhere else. It seems like he just puts up numbers. But there is something missing there.
Collier measured at 6-foot-2.5 without shoes (far shorter than his listed height above) and a 6-foot-4.75 wingspan. That should take him off the Magic's list in all likelihood.
So too would his 33.8 percent 3-point shooting and 67.3 percent shooting from the foul line. Collier has a long way to go with his shooting.
Collier though can still put up points. And maybe that is all that matters. He has good size for a point guard and can get downhill to the basket. He has star potential if he can overcome the size concerns and find some shooting.
The Toronto Raptors are a team that can take this risk. They need a point guard to play behind Immanuel Quickley. And they like supersized players too.
Johnny Furphy was the latest selection for the Orlando Magic in the ESPN Mock Draft. And he checks a lot of the boxes for the Magic.
The 6-foot-9 forward had an up-and-down freshman year at Kansas. On one hand, he showed a ton of athleticism and smarts with his ability to cut and get to the basket. On the other, he struggled to shoot at times.
He had some really good moments, and then struggled at the end of the season as he dealt with an injury.
Furphy is all potential right now. It is hard to know what to make of him.
He averaged 9.0 points per game and shot 35.2 percent from three. He made 76.5 percent from the foul line. Getting his shooting going will be the key to his success.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are still looking for some perimeter size and Furphy would be a good grab.
More options for the Orlando Magic, part 2
Zach Edey is one of the most divisive prospects in this year's NBA Draft.
Everyone can see his clear size and his defensive impact from college. It is still hard to teach size. And a 7-foot-4 center with decent mobility and shot-blocking instincts is hard to pass up.
Edey is a two-time Wooden Award Winner who averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game as a senior last year. It was his second straight year averaging at least two blocks per game.
There is a lot to believe in when it comes to Edey. But there are still doubts.
Edey does not have much of a game outside the paint. He is not going to be able to step out and hold his own on the perimeter defensively. You have to kind of gear your game to Edey having a lot of gravity in the paint.
Edey gained a lot from returning to school, dominating the nation again and leading Purdue to the national championship game. He still is one of the biggest players to come to the NBA in some time.
But the team that buys him knows exactly what they are buying. And how they need to build around him.
Carlton Carrington is another name that has gotten some connection to the Orlando Magic. He is seemingly close to the kind of guard the Magic are looking for, too.
He is big at 6-foot-3.75 without shoes and a 6-foot-8 wingspan. He averaged 13.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game and 4.2 assists per game. He uses his size well to get into the paint and create for others. That is a place to start.
"Bub" Carrington shot only 32.2 percent from three in his lone season at Pitt. But he shot well at the Combine and is considered a good spot-up shooter. Carrington shot 78.5 percent from the foul line. There are not some concerns that he can improve as a shooter then.
The question with Carrington is whether he can play off the ball. That is a general question for a lot of players in the draft process.
Taking Carrington is a question of believing in his intensity and his shooting. The Phoenix Suns are desperate for a point guard to stabilize the roster and play off their stars. They probably need to find him in the draft.
One of the quietly best scorers in this draft is California guard Jaylon Tyson. But draft experts are all over the board on how to evaluate him and to decide where to pick him. Most have him late in the first round or early in the second round. But there is no denying he can get the ball in the basket.
Tyson averaged 19.6 points per game in his breakout junior season last year. He shot 46.5 percent on 15.4 field goal attempts per game and made 36.0 percent of his 4.5 three-point attempts per game. He shot 79.6 percent from the foul line.
He added 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. Tyson has a pretty well-rounded game. But California struggled with him as the main player. That reflects poorly on him as a main creator. Thus, he drops to the end of the first round.
The question with Tyson will be whether he can play off the ball more and be a more solid spot-up shooter. That is a similar question for a lot of prospects.
The rest of the first round
Baylor Scheierman spent fives year in college at South Dakota State and then Creighton. That is probably why he will not be on a lot of radars. But all of these playoff-level teams need shooting. And Scheierman is an excellent shooter, hitting 38.1 percent last year and 39.0 percent during his five-year college career.
Tyler Smith is a promising bundle of potential. He should have the versatility and athleticism that teams like from the forward spot. But he is still very raw. His shooting will probably be his most valuable trait immediately. But he may also need to head back to the G-League for further development.
There is a lot to like about Kel'el Ware. He is an excellent shot blocker and rebounder in the paint. He is a genuinely big presence in the paint. And he showed hints of a three-point shot (although his free throw percentages suggest otherwise). The questions chasing Ware are about his motor and desire. Something that was a problem in his first stop at Oregon before he arrived at Indiana.
In terms of pure point guards, there may not be a better option than Tyler Kolek. He averaged 7.7 assists per game and shot 38.8 percent from three. He has the tools to be a solid backup point guard. Size is his biggest concern—he measured at 6-foot-1.25 without shoes with a 6-foot-2.75 wingspan. Kolek will always be trying to overcome his size in the NBA.
The Denver Nuggets struck gold when they drafted a defending champion in Christian Braun before the 2023 season. He looked ready to contribute and made some big plays in their title run. There is no reason to think that formula could not work again. Winners are winners.
Alex Karaban won two national championships, averaging 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game for UConn last year while providing solid defense. He knows how to fit into a championship environment and would give the Nuggets some needed size on the wings.
Bobi Klintman is pure potential at this point. The young Swiss forward left Wake Forest after one year to play in Australia and had an up-and-down run in his lone pro season. Klintman is 6-foot-9 and capable of playing anywhere. He hit 35.7 percent of his threes last year to average 9.7 points per game. You either believe in him or you do not.
The Boston Celtics are going to be looking for players who can slide in and fit immediately. That is Kevin McCullar, the senior stabilizer for a good Kansas team and whose injury through their season into flux. McCullar is not spectacular at anything. But he is solid defensively and knows how to fit in.