| 30 Teams, 30 Days: Orlando Draft Preview Authored by Howard Mass - June 19, 2007 - 9:47 pm
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Draft Picks: #44 and #54
What they do well
During the regular season, the Orlando Magic were one of the best defensive teams in the league holding teams to amongst the lowest field goal percentages and points allowed in the league. Unfortunately, they were also one of the worst offensively. The Magic have a lot of nice young talent in Jameer Nelson, Trevor Ariza, J.J. Redick and Darko Milicic, who is expected to be re-signed but they are one of the few teams in the league that have a premier bigman in all-star Dwight Howard.
If the Magic can land a free agent this summer like Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis or possibily on a lesser extent Gerald Wallace it will only boost the future of this team and add to it’s depth.
This team is still very young and will be even younger if Grant Hill and Pat Garrity depart this summer which is a growing possibility and nearly a done deal for Garrity. The Orlando Magic are only going to grow together and in a weak Eastern Conference, if Dwight Howard continues his development and this team continues to gel under new head coach Stan Van Gundy, contention is not far away.
Where do they need improvement?
The Magic’s three biggest needs this offseason are 1) A Scorer 2) A Point guard 3) Another bigman behind Dwight Howard, Darko Milicic and Tony Battie.
Many believe a big part of the Magic’s offensive woes last season was due to then-head coach Brian Hill’s offense. With new head coach Stan Van Gundy in place, there will be a new offense that will be more suited to the Magic’s personal. This means the Magic will run a bit more than they did last season.
The improvements will not come for the Magic in this Draft at #44 or #54. Instead, the Magic will get help via free agency.
It appears the Magic will make a run at a scorer like Vince Carter or Rashard Lewis and hope that Jameer Nelson further develops at the point guard position. The Magic seem to believe that things would be better for Nelson with a new offense. Like I said though, it is unlikely anyone will fall to the Magic that will help the Magic this year at point guard.
I would also not rule out the Magic taking a big man to battle with James Augustine and Marcin Gorcat for a roster spot. It is expected though that the Magic will try to land a veteran for the minimum in free agency or via a trade this summer. A swingman could also be a possibility but there is a huge logjam already at that position.
Who they should target?
Without a first round pick, the Magic are likely going to be looking for someone to fill Travis Diener’s or possibily James Augustine’s seat on the inactive list. It is very rare to strike gold with a second-round pick or even get a rotation player. However, looking at past drafts, there are usually 2-4 decent players that get drafted in the second round each year.
The Orlando Magic have actually done very well in the second round since 2003. It is very possible that they will be able to land one of those players that makes it. With Travis Diener likely headed out of town, the Magic should take a look at drafting a point guard at #44 and perhaps dealing the pick at #54 or taking a foreign player to stash overseas for a couple of seasons.
For those of you hoping for a trade into the first round, it is unlikely due to the young talent already on this team, the price it would cost and the fact that a first-round pick will count on the cap this summer. This would cut into the capspace. The main reason though would probably be the high cost to get into the first-round. A more likely scenario might be trying to move up in the second round. The Magic have made at least one draft day deal going back till at least 2000 so I would bet a minor one is likely here.
Regardless, this will be the most boring draft night in Magic history and whoever gets drafted by this team will ride the bench like Travis Diener and James Augustine did last season.
Here are some options that could drop to the Magic.
- Zabian Dowdell, Virginia Tech
Dowdell could be one of the sleepers of this draft. He is a big point guard who can shoot the ball well and defend with his big wingspan. His stock is said to be rising though and might be out of reach at #44.
- Ramon Sessions, Nevada
Another big point guard option to look at. Sessions can run a team well but his jumpshot is suspect. While Sessions’ frame is not as big as Dowdell’s, his great decision is a bonus and might be worth developing for a year on the Magic’s bench.
- Chris Richard, Florida
I am well aware no mock drafts have him being drafted. Is he undersized, sure but I remember another “undersized” Florida Gator that went undrafted a few years back named Udonis Haslem. Richard is a banger who did an outstanding job against Greg Oden in the post during the Championship game between the Gators and Buckeyes.
Even if he is not drafted, the Magic should at least give him a shot in summer league. He was buried on the bench at Florida and could have started for almost any other team in the nation. With some more time, he could develop into a banger and a good NBA post defender. For the record, I also like Florida guard Taureen Green but he is likely out of reach.
The Magic should also explore trading up in the second round with #44 and #54 if they see a guy they really like. Don’t expect them to take more than one second rounder to camp.
Draft Picks Over the past 5 years
The blunders of the draft have haunted the Magic for years. None hurts more than the time the Magic allegedly broke a promise to Tony Parker at #22 and selected Jeryl Sasser. There were other first-round flops as well but other than the Fran Vazquez fiasco, the Draft has gotten better for the Magic since the second round of the 2003 Draft.
Here is a look at the history of the Magic’s draft since 2000.
2006
J.J. Redick #11
James Augustine #41
Lior Eliyahu #44 (Traded to Houston for cash)
2005
Fran Vazquez #11
Travis Diener #38
Martynas Andriuskevicius #44 (Traded to Cleveland for a future second round pick)
Marcin Gorcat #57 (Acquired from Phoenix for cash)
2004
Dwight Howard #1
Jameer Nelson #20 (Acquired from Denver for a future first-round pick)
Anderson Varejao #30 (Eventually traded to Cleveland)
2003
Reece Gaines #15
Zaur Pachulia #42
Keith Bogans #43 (Acquired from Milwaukee for cash)
2002
Curtis Borchardt #18 (Traded for rights to #19 Ryan Humphrey and #47 Jamal Sampson)
Mario Kasun #41 (Acquired from Los Angeles Clippers for cash)
Jamal Sampson #47(Traded to Milwaukee for Draft Rights to Rashard Griffith)
2001
Steven Hunter #15
Brendan Haywood #20 (Acquired from Cleveland for Michael Doleac)
Jeryl Sasser #22
Omar Cook #32 (Traded to Denver for future first-round pick)
2000
Mike Miller #5
Keyon Dooling #10 (Traded to Los Angeles Clippers for a future first round pick)
Courtney Alexander #13 (Traded to Dallas for a future first round pick) |
