2023 NBA Draft Thread

[Petre1978]

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Don't forget Whitehead.
He's coming back in shape.

[eyriq]

One thing that really stands out with Scoot is his ability to control the ball. It reminds me of CP3. His mix of athleticism, ball handling, and hand size make him such a good PG prospect.

[MagicFan101]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

[Petre1978]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

Keep Suggs, highest ceiling of the three, just needs to stay healthy.
Keep Anthony, Perfect 6th man off the bench.

[eyriq]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

In this scenario I'd heavily favor another season dedicated to player development and experimentation. This would mean prioritizing rotation minutes for Paolo, Franz, Suggs, Houstan, Scoot, and Keyonte, and moving on from Fultz, Cole, and Harris. We'd have an issue with unused cap space, not sure what we look to upgrade in this scenario or how'd we'd maximize the value of Fultz, Cole, and Harris.

Point Guard: Scoot
Combo Guard: Keyonte
Shooting Guard: Suggs
Swing-Man: Houstan
Small Forward: Franz
Combo Forward: Bol
Power Forward: Paolo
Combo Big: Moritz
Quick Center: WCJ
Power Center: Goga

[drsd]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

I would hope that 2 and 6 leads to Henderson and Dick.

But that creates the same narrative. For me, dumping Fultz and Suggs makes sense under any scenario that the PG AND the SG are upgraded. Anthony looks to have elite 6th man potential, and would be retained for that role.


Regardless of the draft outcome, either Felt or Suggs needs to be shipped. This roster proved that keeping both is a big mistake.

[RichCollab]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

Pass on Keynote.

[Skybox]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

I would hope that 2 and 6 leads to Henderson and Dick.

But that creates the same narrative. For me, dumping Fultz and Suggs makes sense under any scenario that the PG AND the SG are upgraded. Anthony looks to have elite 6th man potential, and would be retained for that role.


Regardless of the draft outcome, either Felt or Suggs needs to be shipped. This roster proved that keeping both is a big mistake.

Fortunately, we would have the option to waive Fultz and only take a minimal cap hit. I really like Suggs off the bench now and maybe even more in the future. His defensive energy is immediately impactful and there's plenty of reason to believe he'll get better offensively...like Marcus Smart progressed. Suggs is not going to be Thybulle, IMO. I like him as third guard and that second draft pick is gravy...we could just take a high-upside wing scorer and plug them in wherever. George is one of a handful of intriguing guys...personally, I lean towards the snipers like Dick, particularly if we manage to land Scoot. If we also waive Harris (or even if we don't), we'd have significant cap space to take looks at GTJ or Cam Johnson types or pull off a big trade with a combo of cap, players or picks. Getting Scoot with that pick would open so many angles to significant improvement....as it stands, I'm all about getting that Lead Guard, which looks to me like FVV...but if we draft Scoot, all doors are open for a quick and exciting ascent for ORL.

[BCS]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

I would hope that 2 and 6 leads to Henderson and Dick.

But that creates the same narrative. For me, dumping Fultz and Suggs makes sense under any scenario that the PG AND the SG are upgraded. Anthony looks to have elite 6th man potential, and would be retained for that role.


Regardless of the draft outcome, either Felt or Suggs needs to be shipped. This roster proved that keeping both is a big mistake.

If we land Scoot, I feel best option might be to try and trade the other pick for a big or you could also try to consolidate assets to move up and grab Miller as well, either way trade the #6 pick lol.

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[Knightro]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

My guess is that the Magic would/will not take two guards with their two lottery picks.

But if they do...

Fultz and Harris are let go.

Cole remains the backup PG. Suggs and George battle it out for starting SG and the other is the backup.

[Ralof]

Imagining to keep two picks between #5 and #9

-suggs,fultz,anthony,g.harris + one backcourt player(smith or george for example)

-okeke,houstan,f.wagner,isaac,banchero,,bol bol + one frontcourt player(whitmore or walker for example)

-wendell,moe wagner

gosh,if they have decisions to make

[VFX]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

My guess is that the Magic would/will not take two guards with their two lottery picks.

But if they do...

Fultz and Harris are let go.

Cole remains the backup PG. Suggs and George battle it out for starting SG and the other is the backup.

I think the only possible scenario they take 2 guards is if they manage to land the #2 pick. If Orlando earns #3 and #8, then I think they take a forward and a guard.

My guess is that the FO already has a plan on who to replace from the guard rotation heading into next season.

[MasterGMer]

What is the difference between Scoot and Fultz? Plus Fultz Is a much more efficient mid range shooter plus more playmaking skills. Both struggle with 3s. I am not considering Scoot but Brandon Miller. We need shooters


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[KillMonger]

Miller has similar issues that Jabari Smith had in college from my eyes

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[Magic#1]

What is the difference between Scoot and Fultz? Plus Fultz Is a much more efficient mid range shooter plus more playmaking skills. Both struggle with 3s. I am not considering Scoot but Brandon Miller. We need shooters


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Fultz is a poor man's Scoot but without upside to improve. For Scoot to already have the skills he has is ridiculous. I appreciate Markelle's journey and what he has brought to the team. He plays hard, is a good teammate and has a positive impact. But we also know what he is at this point. If we got the No. 2, you take Scoot and let Fultz go. There isn't a team in the NBA who wouldn't do the same. Scoot probably puts us in the playoffs next year.

[Viper1500]

I would be just as happy landing #3 as I would #2. I think Miller has put himself into the same tier as Scoot. I believe both have current limitations but I think Miller would be an awesome fit on this team (as would Scoot)


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[Bensational]

If we got Scoot at #2 we’d have:

WCJ/Moe
Paolo/Bol
Franz/Houstan/Okeke
Suggs/Harris
Scoot/Fultz/Cole

I don’t think we’d add another rookie to that team, and we’d likely already have to move Fultz or release him.

I could see us moving it for a future pick. Or we could trade it for a veteran big man.

[MagicFan101]

Let’s play a silly hypothetical that sets up a good problem to have:

Orlando ends up with picks #2 and #6

Orlando drafts Scoot Henderson and Keyonte George.

After the victory parade, what does Orlando do with Markell Fultz, Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony and Gary Harris … not to mention our 2-way guys?

Surely some stay for depth but we can’t / shouldn’t keep them all. Who stays and who goes?

My guess is that the Magic would/will not take two guards with their two lottery picks.

But if they do...

Fultz and Harris are let go.

Cole remains the backup PG. Suggs and George battle it out for starting SG and the other is the backup.

I think the only possible scenario they take 2 guards is if they manage to land the #2 pick. If Orlando earns #3 and #8, then I think they take a forward and a guard.

My guess is that the FO already has a plan on who to replace from the guard rotation heading into next season.

Exactly. Landing Scoot Henderson changes the direction of the team and players on it. No other player outside of Wemby does that. Landing instantly sends us into filling out the starting lineup mode for a big playoff push. Trading the other lotto pick + assets is also a viable option but that opens up a messy can of worms. I’m playing a controlled hypothetical here.

[eyriq]

What is the difference between Scoot and Fultz? Plus Fultz Is a much more efficient mid range shooter plus more playmaking skills. Both struggle with 3s. I am not considering Scoot but Brandon Miller. We need shooters


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I think it this is a ridiculous question as Scoot is a prospect (18 years old) and Fultz is entering his prime (24 years old).

That said, I respect your critical thinking and I want to run through the thought experiment of comparing Fultz the prospect to Scoot the prospect, with the help of my friend ChatGPT. Consider as you read this that Fultz has already developed, so what potential we saw has either developed or not. I'd draft Scoot over Fultz as prospects and I sure as heck wouldn't let veteran Fultz block drafting Scoot. Scoot is a beast.

Physical Tools: Fultz has the edge in height at 6'4, with a 6'9 wingspan. Scoot makes up ground with his athleticism, 6'9 wingspan, and huge hands. Probably a wash.

Offense: Both are versatile scorers who can finish at the rim, knock down jumpers, and create for themselves and others. Fultz is a more polished scorer with a smooth all-around game and the ability to score from all three levels. He is also a talented playmaker with an outstanding feel for the game, capable of making passes from numerous angles in transition, and patient off the pick and roll. Henderson, on the other hand, is a gifted slasher with a clean and precise pull-up jumper, impressive passing reads, and a premier drive-and-dish threat. He can change speeds on a dime, display immense craftiness off the dribble and seek out mismatches to score.

Defense: Defensively, Fultz has the tools to be a lockdown defender at either guard spot but needs to improve his focus and intensity. On the other hand, defense is clearly a work in progress for Henderson, who has a tendency to find himself out of position. The athleticism and determination are there, but he will have to get better at weaponizing his unique physical gifts and translating them into consistent defense.

Weaknesses: In terms of weaknesses, Fultz can be turnover-prone, have poor shot selection at times, and can be loose with the ball on offense. His intensity and effort can also be inconsistent, particularly on the defensive end. For Henderson, decision-making and shot selection can be an issue, but with more polish, he should settle into a more controlled style of play.

[thelead]

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