Among the teams with the best odds heading into Tuesday’s draft lottery, the Magic were the only one to fall out of the top three. Orlando slipped into the fifth spot and will have a second lottery pick after receiving the No. 8 selection from the Bulls. While president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman was disappointed with the results, he said that he’s glad to finally have some clarity on next month’s draft, as Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel writes.
“I’ll look at it now as we have a lot of work to do, and we get to put a finer point on the work,” Weltman said. “So we kind of are looking just to put this day behind us and really drill down on the two picks that we have now. Knowing that we have two top-10 picks, that part of it’s very exciting.
“And then the other part is the draft, and it very seldom works out in the way that you prognosticate it. You look back on pretty much any draft, and it doesn’t go that way so it’s our job to find the players in the draft and we will. Now that we know where we’re picking and how many picks we’ll have, we’ll be able to kind of get to the next layer of that.”
There’s more from Orlando:
- In the same story, Parry suggests the team may try to package one of the selections and possibly a veteran such as Gary Harris or Terrence Ross in an effort to move up. “We always explore all options and it’ll be interesting to kind of start to engage with teams (with the Magic) having two top-10 picks,” Weltman said. “Sometimes it ends up in deals that get done and sometimes it’s a lot of close but no calls. So we’ll see how that goes but we will be busy and the busyness starts with evaluating these two draft picks.”
- Injured forward Jonathan Isaac shared some encouraging news in a recent appearance on The Sixth Man Show podcast (hat tip to Philip Rossman-Reich of Orlando Magic Daily). Isaac missed the entire 2020/21 season with a torn ACL and there’s still not a definite timetable for him to return, but he believes he’s making progress. “I’m turning the corner,” he said. “It’s like every day I feel like I’m moving better and I can do more. I’m like a kid in the candy story wanting to run around and do so much. I feel good. I’m getting better every day.”
- In the search to replace Steve Clifford, the Magic front office wants someone with previous head-coaching experience, Marc Stein of The New York Times writes in his latest newsletter. Lakers assistant Jason Kidd and Clippers assistant Kenny Atkinson are two candidates that Stein has heard mentioned frequently.
Disappointed? He has a top 5 pick in a draft with a top 5. He also didn’t lose the Chicago pick (at #8). I don’t expect any team to trade out of the top 5. But trades within the top 5 should be doable. So, stop whining and start evaluating.
Doesn’t sound like he is whining. Besides, what team would want their draft position to drop. You want to keep it, or move up.
As a Knick fan, I’m used to dropping. I just hope that we don’t drop out of the consensus top tier of the draft. Nobody wants to drop, true, but in the top 4 you’re almost certainly NOT going to “keep it” (only 14% for that). It’s either drop or gain.
But perhaps he’s not whining, and his finer point statement (on a re-read) might not have been about dropping.
Oh, I hear you about suffering through terrible management. One bad trade can set a team back a decade. And the Warriors have had plenty of those.
Yeah and he gets the one that the other 4 teams decided was the worst of the group. This “top 5” is going to have at least one bust, probably two. That’s not saying that the #5 pick will be the bust, just pointing out that just because there are 5 top prospects doesn’t mean they are all automatic All Stars.
Atkinson is a good choice. He built the Nets back up. I’m sure he wants another shot at building a winner. Issac is a talent. He was starting to ball out when he got hurt. I see him more as a PF now. 5th pick in this draft could be best player. All top 5 picks could go #1. Cade is probably a little ahead as the #1 pick. Kuminga is a great pick to play alongside Issac. I don’t see Magic passing on him. So basketball of operations is an idiot. Kuminga is ready to start next yr. Why would you move up. Magic ain’t going nowhere next yr. 5th and 8th pick are excellent players. I know I would love Knicks to trade up for Kuminga. Kuminga and Bouknight at 8. Is getting two excellent players with Big upside. Two starters in one draft. A SG and SF who play both ways. Can’t do much better than that.
“basketball of operations is an idiot”
IDK what all that was about, but Bouknight will be falling.
I believe Weltman’s biggest mistake was not cleaning house earlier. Some talent still here with Carter, Isaac and Fultz. Fleecing Chicago for its first Rd picks and accumulating cap space is a start.