[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 I know nothing lights the internet on fire like Orlando Magic draft discussions, but I want to throw this out there on the off-chance that someone else cares enough to venture an opinion. If you were Rob Hennigan (Orlando’s GM) and you were creating a top-5 for your "big board", which players would you include on that list? Put them in order and maybe list a reason for extra credit. 

To kick it off, here’s mine:

1) Jabari Parker – He is playing like the most sure-fire star in the making. Has a lot of up-side and is consistently showing that he has a vast array of moves and counter-moves  to score the basketball. He may not be an elite athlete, but he’s not exactly a schlub. Parker can still get up and down the court, plus projects to be relatively solid on the boards. He would help the Magic tremendously on offense and because of the positional flexibility that we currently have, he would be able to play the 3 or 4, dependent on whom Vaughn preferred in minutes distribution.

2) Andrew Wiggins – His speed and length is ridiculous. His ceiling is higher than almost anybody else’s in the draft because of his physical tools. He can rebound extremly well and is a good finisher. His jumpshot isn’t spectacular, but it is actually pretty solid and fundamentally sound. Wiggins has a spin move when driving to the rim that is absolutely incredible to watch, because of the distance he is able to cover with it. With the Magic, he would offer positional flexibility, as mentioned above for Parker. He may not bring the same offensive repertoire, but he should at least become an elite defender. The knock is that he does not play like an alpha dog very often, if at all.

3) Joel Embiid – First, I doubt you agree with me and that is understandable. The only person who’s ceiling challenges Wiggins is Embiid. He is beginning to play extremely well, has incredible physical attributes, and based on his development over the last few years, it seems very unlikely that he doesn’t become a very good NBA center. The Hakeem-comparisons might be a little lofty, but his footwork is really advanced for a young player (especially one with only a few years of organized basketball experience). Positionally, Embiid is not the best fit for the Magic. I suppose it could be argued that he could play the 4 on defense, because he has decent lateral speed. On offense, he could play like a traditional center, as Vucevic has shown the ability to his mid-range shots with consistency. 

4) Dante Exum – Thank God for the internet. Dante Exum is an extremly exciting player to watch and he puts up some pretty spectacular numbers. He is tall, fast, a very good passer and an incredible scorer. He is able to finish well at the rim (although he hasn’t shown much ability to finish with his left hand ((seriously, watch any mix tape and tell me if you see more than one left-handed finish)) and appears to have a very solid pull-up jump shot. Positionally, he is the perfect fit for the Magic as the PG is currently their weakest position. Oladipo could possibly make the transition, but would probably have more success staying with the position that he has already had success with (SG). 

5) Marcus Smart – Depending on what kind of mood I’m in, he switches spots with Exum. Smart’s defensive capabilities are phenomenal and he certainly is a great fit with the hard-working cultural that the Magic are building. His shooting has improved so far this season and he isn’t turning the ball over nearly as much. These were the two biggest knocks on his game last year, but he probably still would have been taken 2nd overall by the Magic, had he declared. I’m actually starting to talk myself into the fact that it’s too scary to put a much less battle-tested player like Exum ahead of him. However, I’m just going to hit save, as I’ve spent 45 minutes at work typing this up and am liable to get #%@-canned if someone walks by.

Let me know what you think!

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Solid list, but I would put Wiggins above Parker simply because the Magic already have a scoring combo forward in Tobias Harris who plays a similar role to Parker.  Parker has higher upside than Harris and certainly would be a great pick for them, but I think Wiggins would be the top prospect for them.  Of course, you could argue that Moe Harkless is a little similar to Wiggins, but I think Wiggins has the shooting ability to coexist.  

[KingoftheOceanCourtParticipant]

 I agree with B-ball fan, particularly as having Wiggins, Afflalo, and Oladipo would give the Magic both devastating perimeter defence as well as considerable lineup flexibility.

edit: welcome to the site, by the way.

 

 

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 I’ve been coming to this site a few days a week for a couple of years, but just hadn’t taken the time to sign up. I figured since I spend about 2 hours a day at work screwing around on the internet anyway, it was time to join the community here.

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 I’ve been coming to this site a few days a week for a couple of years, but just hadn’t taken the time to sign up. I figured since I spend about 2 hours a day at work screwing around on the internet anyway, it was time to join the community here.

[KingoftheOceanCourtParticipant]

 I agree with B-ball fan, particularly as having Wiggins, Afflalo, and Oladipo would give the Magic both devastating perimeter defence as well as considerable lineup flexibility.

edit: welcome to the site, by the way.

 

 

[B-ball fanParticipant]

 Solid list, but I would put Wiggins above Parker simply because the Magic already have a scoring combo forward in Tobias Harris who plays a similar role to Parker.  Parker has higher upside than Harris and certainly would be a great pick for them, but I think Wiggins would be the top prospect for them.  Of course, you could argue that Moe Harkless is a little similar to Wiggins, but I think Wiggins has the shooting ability to coexist.  

[Kreal22Participant]

 I live it here in Orlando and  city of Orlando believes this will be a failed draft if they don’t get parker or wiggins.. I think if they can’t get wiggins or parker smart would be the next pick. Embeed has upside but idk But I just believe the magic need good young star guards,…can’t really tell me the last magic had like a star guard…. I believe Aaron A. Will get traded

[Kreal22Participant]

 I live it here in Orlando and  city of Orlando believes this will be a failed draft if they don’t get parker or wiggins.. I think if they can’t get wiggins or parker smart would be the next pick. Embeed has upside but idk But I just believe the magic need good young star guards,…can’t really tell me the last magic had like a star guard…. I believe Aaron A. Will get traded

[sheepish_moParticipant]

I don’t see how the magic can go wrong with any of the top 6 prospects.  They already have some exciting young talent in Harris, Dipo and Vuc and i think adding any of the top 6 guys will be great for them and allow them enviable flexibility to make some trades. Having said that my big board would be something like

1) Wiggins, Harris moves over to the 4 and the Magic have potentially the most formidable defensive wing combo in the league.

2) Parker, Doesn’t really fit a need but he’s BPA if Wiggins is off the board and allows them to think about trading Afflalo, Harkless and maybe even Harris since i’m not sure he works as well next to Jabari.

3) Smart/Exum, I really haven’t seen enough of either to choose between the two but either one of these two could be their franchise pg for a long time.  Being an Aussie i already love Exum and i really enjoy watching this Magic team so i’m hoping he ends up next to one of my favourite young players in Dipo.

4) Zach Lavine, Haven’t seen him but if Exum and Smart are gone and the Lavine Westbrook comparison is even remotely close then maybe they look at Lavine as their franchise pg.

5) Randle, I’m not sure Vucevic has the defensive quickness to move to the 4 which he would have to do if they drafted Embiid so Randle would probably be the safer pick.

6) Embiid, If the magic drafted Embiid and he started to show he might live up to his potential then they have another valuable trade chip in Vucevic which is never a bad thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 Some people will tell you that Smart is overrated. He isn’t. He’s an exceptional defender and leader. He also offers the same kind of tough, work-hard mentality that Oladipo does, but with a little bit more of an alpha dog demeanor. Exum looks like an athletic freak and actually has a lot of finesse to his game. The knock on him is that he hasn’t faced the same kind of competition as these other guys, which is true. I flip-flop everyday over which one I’d prefer to have if we did draft a PG.

[wildpfingParticipant]

I think the good news is both guys are extremely talented and obvioulsy young. Smart would be a great pick because he is just a solid all-around player on both ends of the court, but I think Exum has the higher upside. 6’6" with handles, a jump shot, and blow by speed is hard to come by anywhere in the world. I believe he’s only 18 or 19 so he would get plenty of time to develop while actually getting in games for the Magic. The best part is, Exum could be the facilitator and Dipo could play off the ball, but on defense Dipo could hound the point guard and Exum would have the length to cover the 2-guard.

[NZcoachParticipant]

 For anyone wanting to see a bit of Exum apart from highlight tapes, here a video of him playing in the Aussie U19 team against NZ. Granted we arent top competition compared to America or those other top countries but we had a couple of nice players in the team, especially the player who is guarding Exum at the start. Just from this video though you can tell he is very long and quick, speeds down the floor effortlessly. Gameplay starts around 4.07, will try embed the video but Im not too good with that kind of thing so Ill post the youtube link aswell. 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZBEJ1TOhg

 

[NZcoachParticipant]

 For anyone wanting to see a bit of Exum apart from highlight tapes, here a video of him playing in the Aussie U19 team against NZ. Granted we arent top competition compared to America or those other top countries but we had a couple of nice players in the team, especially the player who is guarding Exum at the start. Just from this video though you can tell he is very long and quick, speeds down the floor effortlessly. Gameplay starts around 4.07, will try embed the video but Im not too good with that kind of thing so Ill post the youtube link aswell. 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8ZBEJ1TOhg

 

[wildpfingParticipant]

I think the good news is both guys are extremely talented and obvioulsy young. Smart would be a great pick because he is just a solid all-around player on both ends of the court, but I think Exum has the higher upside. 6’6" with handles, a jump shot, and blow by speed is hard to come by anywhere in the world. I believe he’s only 18 or 19 so he would get plenty of time to develop while actually getting in games for the Magic. The best part is, Exum could be the facilitator and Dipo could play off the ball, but on defense Dipo could hound the point guard and Exum would have the length to cover the 2-guard.

[FoxdashmanParticipant]

 Some people will tell you that Smart is overrated. He isn’t. He’s an exceptional defender and leader. He also offers the same kind of tough, work-hard mentality that Oladipo does, but with a little bit more of an alpha dog demeanor. Exum looks like an athletic freak and actually has a lot of finesse to his game. The knock on him is that he hasn’t faced the same kind of competition as these other guys, which is true. I flip-flop everyday over which one I’d prefer to have if we did draft a PG.

[sheepish_moParticipant]

I don’t see how the magic can go wrong with any of the top 6 prospects.  They already have some exciting young talent in Harris, Dipo and Vuc and i think adding any of the top 6 guys will be great for them and allow them enviable flexibility to make some trades. Having said that my big board would be something like

1) Wiggins, Harris moves over to the 4 and the Magic have potentially the most formidable defensive wing combo in the league.

2) Parker, Doesn’t really fit a need but he’s BPA if Wiggins is off the board and allows them to think about trading Afflalo, Harkless and maybe even Harris since i’m not sure he works as well next to Jabari.

3) Smart/Exum, I really haven’t seen enough of either to choose between the two but either one of these two could be their franchise pg for a long time.  Being an Aussie i already love Exum and i really enjoy watching this Magic team so i’m hoping he ends up next to one of my favourite young players in Dipo.

4) Zach Lavine, Haven’t seen him but if Exum and Smart are gone and the Lavine Westbrook comparison is even remotely close then maybe they look at Lavine as their franchise pg.

5) Randle, I’m not sure Vucevic has the defensive quickness to move to the 4 which he would have to do if they drafted Embiid so Randle would probably be the safer pick.

6) Embiid, If the magic drafted Embiid and he started to show he might live up to his potential then they have another valuable trade chip in Vucevic which is never a bad thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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