ORLANDO, Fla. – The college basketball season ended nearly three months ago, the NBA draft draw was over a month ago and the official draft took place this weekend.
It looks like this process will be finished.
Orlando Magic Chairman Jeff Weltman sees it differently.
“I tell you, it’s still early in the process,” Weltman said Monday.
The Magic still hasn’t decided what they will do on Thursday night when the draft is out and they have pick #1. The other teams have called to assess what the asking price will be if they want it. trade for that pick, and Magic evaluated all the top contenders.
But Weltman saw no reason to decide anything before it was absolutely necessary, especially given the opportunity Orlando had by holding this #1 pick.
“Dialogue is always going on,” Weltman said. “But most importantly, we get to do what we want. That’s the real benefit of having the No. 1 pick.”
The top candidates for the selection are all well known: By Auburn Jabari Smith Jr. worked for Orlando earlier this month, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren meets Magic for several days last week and Duke Paolo Banchero worked with the former Magical Guardian Mike Miller.
Holmgren said he came to believe that “great men” were leading the Magic.
“They had a vision of what they were trying to put together in Orlando,” Holmgren said.
Weltman wouldn’t say those are the only three contenders Orlando would consider for the No. 1 spot.
Weltman said: “It can be said that there are many talented players at the top of this draft, that is for sure.
This is Orlando’s fourth pick as the No. 1 pick. The Magic put Shaquille O’Neal on the top pick in 1992. Chris Webber was Orlando’s #1 pick in 1993, and he traded that very night for Penny Hardaway and a series of futures options that eventually turned into Vince Carter and then Miller. And in 2004, Magic Chosen Dwight Howard with the first select.
Thursday’s #1 pick will join a young Orlando core that already includes the top pick of 2017 Markelle Fultza pair of eight top picks from the 2021 draft in Franz Wagner and Jalen suggestedand Cole Anthony – choice number 15 in the 2020 draft.
Orlando also had 6 picks from the 2017 and 2018 drafts, Jonathan Isaac and Mo Bamba. It’s possible that when next season begins, Orlando could have as many as six lottery picks, nine top 16 picks and 12 first-round picks on his roster.
It’s part of the challenge for Magic – who also has No. 32 and No. 35 picks this year – entering Thursday: Finding more youth that aligns with current core, finding ways to get better in the season future and better sustainable for many years to come.
“We want to be better, but we don’t want to rush back to mediocrity,” Weltman said. “And we wanted to have something sustainable. But you have to raise the bar to do that. You know, you can’t just stop at the basement. that’s for us.”
