Official 2020 NBA Draft Thread

[drsd]

Then we will never ever competitive because nobody is signing with Orlando without a cornerstone scorer. They’ve shown they don’t draft that player.

I get the Alpha- scorer narrative. But that is not relevant to Orlando's draft slot.


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[drsd]

I watched quite a bit of Cole Anthony this year and he has DSJ written all over him imo. Undersized athletic guard with subpar efficiency and questionable overall NBA skillset at best. He may put up empty stats similar to DSJ but I don't see him as an impact player at the next level.

I can't speak much on the other names you mentioned. I followed Hampton in high school and know he went overseas but his stock seemed to plummet pretty significantly with his play over there.

Again, it still seems like a mediocre draft top to bottom but time will tell.

To quote me above: all of this narrative is fully consistent with Orlando drafting BPA position-less knowing said player will be a back-up.

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[yoyojw17]

Was a great watch! Definitely like the kid even more. High IQ... hard worker and deadly shooter... in a 6'6" 215 frame.... DIBS if he's there for us.

Watch on YouTube

EDIT: 6'-11" wingspan!!!.... according to him.

That catch and shoot game would be nasty alongside a creative passer like Fultz. I would prefer a guard who could create for himself a bit more but outside the lottery I’m not complaining one bit if we end up with Nesmith.

Don't forget AG and Vuc. both of which are above average for their positions. Yeah.... there's no leaving this guy open at any point if his shot translates to the NBA.

[Bensational]

Weltman said numerous times he wont use draft as a tool to balance roster.

And-1 !

Orlando is drafting BPA, and based on metrics relative to draft slot, said Magician will project as a rotational back-up.



Let's not get crazy here on expectations. Boom/bust or whatever, slotted at 14-18, Orlando will draft a player it expects is NBA capable.
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Your language doesn't align for me. BPA is a flexible word, depending on what defines 'best' to you. If that's a rotational backup, that's a low standard to aim for when plenty of starting and better capable players are picked in this range.

Drafting for a rotation piece (and selecting someone with a limited profile) would be drafting to balance out the roster. But you can draft someone raw, like Giannis or Siakam, with the hope they fulfil their potential and become stars, but also feel confident that with their physical profile and abilities they should at least pan out as a capable NBA player.

[Bensational]

Hey dudes, I’ve seen a lot of Lewis to the Magic talk on twitter so I thought I’d stop by with my Kira Lewis Jr prospect breakdown. 10 minute vid going through his strengths and weaknesses. I’m a huge Lewis fan, have him around 7th or 8th on my board. I get the defensive concerns but the kid has so many NBA skills that should translate seamlessly. I think he’d be a fun fit with your core and Isaac can cover some of his defensive weaknesses.

Watch on YouTube

Great vid, dude!

I'm a big Lewis fan, too, and would love to see us pick him up. We're going to need a replacement for DJ, if not after this season, then in the near future.

Others have said that management are probably concerned that we're too young as it is, which is a very fair point. But I think guys like Lewis and Nesmith come pre loaded with some extra maturity being sophomores who have shown the commitment to work with a team and coaches and by themselves to improve their games substantially from their freshman seasons. I don't think youth is a problem, as long as they're prepared to buy in for the team.

Do any comps come to mind for you?

[jezzerinho]

Then we will never ever competitive because nobody is signing with Orlando without a cornerstone scorer. They’ve shown they don’t draft that player.

I get the Alpha- scorer narrative. But that is not relevant to Orlando's draft slot.


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Tyrese Maxey with a tradeup is gettable, imo. He's my best bet for an alph scorer in this draft.

[MagicMatic]

Weltman said numerous times he wont use draft as a tool to balance roster.

And-1 !

Orlando is drafting BPA, and based on metrics relative to draft slot, said Magician will project as a rotational back-up.



Let's not get crazy here on expectations. Boom/bust or whatever, slotted at 14-18, Orlando will draft a player it expects is NBA capable.
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The difference is that at 14-18 it’s very possible, with this roster, to draft a player that they deem “best” while also being capable of contributing.

Just because you make the statement that the draft pick is bound to be a “rotational back up” doesn’t mean it’s 100% true.

For example, they could absolutely think Precious Achiuwa is the “best” player to draft at Orlandos position. I still think it would be a dumb decision. Why? Because that player isn’t getting minutes on this roster over AG, Isaac, Vuc, Aminu, Bamba, etc. Nor does he provide a skill set Orlando is missing that deep in the draft.

Boiling everything down to “the FO will make the right decision always based on their metrics” is the same reason this roster is still imbalanced.

[pepe1991]

Be ready to find out on draft night we traded pick for some career backup like Jodie Meeks used to be.

[Knightro]

Then we will never ever competitive because nobody is signing with Orlando without a cornerstone scorer. They’ve shown they don’t draft that player.

The “don’t” part of this feels unfair out of context. What cornerstone scorers has this regime willingly passed on?

The only possible answer is Donovan Mitchell, but frankly saying the Magic made a mistake passing on him is significant hindsight. The vast majority of draft prognosticators didn’t consider Mitchell a top 10 talent at the time and it was widely accepted that Isaac was the better prospect.

I’m extremely confident that the Magic would have selected Luka Doncic or Trae Young over Mo Bamba had either of them been available in 2018, but they weren’t.

Would you rather have Collin Sexton than Bamba right now?

It’s unfortunate that the Magic have made several high picks since Dwight left and haven’t found a go-to scorer, but there’s a lot of luck that goes into where you’re slotted in the top half of the lottery as well.

[Knightro]

The difference is that at 14-18 it’s very possible, with this roster, to draft a player that they deem “best” while also being capable of contributing.

Just because you make the statement that the draft pick is bound to be a “rotational back up” doesn’t mean it’s 100% true.

For example, they could absolutely think Precious Achiuwa is the “best” player to draft at Orlandos position. I still think it would be a dumb decision. Why? Because that player isn’t getting minutes on this roster over AG, Isaac, Vuc, Aminu, Bamba, etc. Nor does he provide a skill set Orlando is missing that deep in the draft.

Boiling everything down to “the FO will make the right decision always based on their metrics” is the same reason this roster is still imbalanced.

Now this I agree with.

I don’t believe the issue is “drafting BPA” at all.

The main issue I have with this front office is that they have shown an inability to trade away veteran players who are eating up minutes from their younger guys.

In fact, the Weltman and Hammond haven’t just shown an unwillingness to alleviate roster balance concerns, they’ve gone the opposite way and actively created roster crunches with their decisions in free agency.

Drafting Mo Bamba wasn’t the problem. Resigning Vucevic to a four year deal after they picked a center 6th overall was the problem.

Drafting Jonathan Isaac wasn’t the problem. Resigning a natural PF in Gordon to a four year deal rather than trading him away for a more natural wing or guard after they picked him was the problem.

Drafting Chuma Okeke wasn’t the problem. Signing Aminu for the full MLE after they picked him was the problem.

What concerns me about this front office the most is they seem very unwilling to move off of their own decisions.

It’s perfectly ok to resign someone just for the sake of having them as a trade asset later.

[Knightro]

The 20-21 Magic could easily look something like this with different decisions by this front office in free agency.

G: Fultz, Kira Lewis
G: Fournier, Ross
F: Player Acquired for AG, Ennis
F: Isaac, Okeke
C: Bamba, Birch

Hardly a perfect roster, but I’d argue that this rotation is just as good as what they’re gonna trot out there next year and definitely has more cap flexibility to add pieces via trade or *gasp* free agency when Evan comes off the books.

[PrimeThyme]

The “don’t” part of this feels unfair out of context. What cornerstone scorers has this regime willingly passed on?

The only possible answer is Donovan Mitchell, but frankly saying the Magic made a mistake passing on him is significant hindsight.

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

[Knightro]

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

That’s fair.

Admittedly, I wasn’t super high on SGA that year. He’s turned out to be significantly better than I thought already, but I didn’t see him as a perennial 20 points per game guy which he clearly is.

It’s more than reasonable to chalk that up as a miss if you really liked SGA at the time.

That said...

The issue for me still isn’t drafting Bamba. He got a lot better this year as well and I think he might end up being a very good NBA center. The killer decision is the choice to resign Vucevic to a four year deal knowing those two are unable to be on the floor at the same time.

The front office willingly turned their sixth overall selection into a 15-18 MPG backup for the life of his cost controlled rookie contract. I don’t care how raw they thought Mo was going to be in Year 1 (which he was), that’s still roster malpractice.

[PrimeThyme]

That’s fair.

Admittedly, I wasn’t super high on SGA that year. He’s turned out to be significantly better than I thought already, but I didn’t see him as a perennial 20 points per game guy which he clearly is.

It’s more than reasonable to chalk that up as a miss if you really liked SGA at the time.

That said...

The issue for me still isn’t drafting Bamba. He got a lot better this year as well and I think he might end up being a very good NBA center. The killer decision is the choice to resign Vucevic to a four year deal knowing those two are unable to be on the floor at the same time.

The front office willingly turned their sixth overall selection into a 15-18 MPG backup for the life of his cost controlled rookie contract. I don’t care how raw they thought Mo was going to be in Year 1 (which he was), that’s still roster malpractice.

Though he was somebody I wanted on draft night, I would be lying if I said he wasn't already better than I thought he would have been at this stage in his career. I knew he had the skillset to be a very effective scorer in this league at some point, but his game is already much more refined then I expected it to be.

SGA even by our FO's bizarre criteria just checked too many boxes. A long, athletic, point guard with the ability to playmake and defend when we had a roster devoid of all guard talent. If Fultz doesn't develop like we hope, that one will eat at them for along as they are here.

I really don't have an issue with Bamba either. I've definitely gone back and forth on him dating all the way back to his time at Texas, but from January or so on I've been pleasantly surprised with his development.

As you pointed to though, the issue with Bamba is the fact that we resigned Vuc to the contract that we did. It's year two and Bamba is averaging less than 15 mpg on a fringe playoff team. That's pretty unacceptable imo for a team as invested into Bamba as we are. We aren't good enough to justify it imo, and with this team wanting to be as competitive as possible with Steve Clifford as their head coach I don't see that changing anytime soon.

[Skybox]

I agree with the Bamba/Vuc analysis...a lot of people seem to think "we overpaid Vuc and we weren't bidding against anyone"...I find that hard to imagine, although right now, you can make a case that his value is not far beyond neutral due to his contract. IDK anymore-I can't see how he wouldn't help Bos, LAC, or GSW win a title with a more complete offense...I would also say the SGA logic, while sound, could just as easily led to Dennis Smith over Isaac...Personally, I guess I need to recalibrate my old brain to the idea that one and done draftees are allowed to suck for 3 years without judgement. People saying Bamba will be "ready" when Vuc's contract expires

I'd love to REALLY (not RealGM hamNeggers) know what Vuc's value is league wide, same with Gordon. I think very highly of both and we drafted to potentially replace both. If Vuc is going to better than Bamba for 5 years, trade him...Personally, I'd trade Vuc (unless there's no value) for a one-dimensional scorer and throw Bamba in there. If the FO hasn't seen enough from Bamba to make that commitment, even with a temporary dip, I'm worried that Mo's a bust.

[Knightro]

And look...

The Magic's front office were in a tough spot heading into the summer of 2019.

They were coming off their first playoff appearance in seven years. They were arguably (soft schedule or not) the hottest team in the league after the all-star break. Contract year or not, Vucevic had a spectacular season. 10.1 win shares, 5.0 OBPM, 6.6 BPM - he was unquestionably an all-star.

It would have been VERY difficult to justify to the fans, the coaching staff and the players on the team not retaining Vucevic and to a lesser extent Ross.

Obviously these guys are paid the big bucks to make these sort of difficult decisions, but it seems like they felt they owed it to the coaches and players to give them an opportunity to try and build off what they accomplished in 18-19.

But with the benefit of hindsight which is always 20/20, the Magic almost certainly would have been better off in the long run letting Vucevic walk (or playing much more hardball on his contract) and trading Aaron Gordon away either that offseason or at the deadline of this season.

[Xatticus]

The “don’t” part of this feels unfair out of context. What cornerstone scorers has this regime willingly passed on?

The only possible answer is Donovan Mitchell, but frankly saying the Magic made a mistake passing on him is significant hindsight.

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

And I'd add Doncic and Young weren't out of our range. We very easily could've had either player, but our front office spent the year evaluating and we ended up picking sixth. So I don't like the defense that they were already off the board when we picked. Doncic was still available on draft night.

This front office has only been in place for three drafts, so it's difficult to make a definitive argument about their preferences, but it's just a fact that they haven't drafted a player whose scouting report favored their offensive skill set over their defensive tools. That's not an indictment by itself, but if the plan is to draft raw talents that will serve as complementary role players for re-signed veterans from losing rosters, then this franchise is doomed for the duration of their tenure. That sure as hell looks like what we are doing. The icing on the cake would be the re-signing of Fournier.

[MagicFan101]

The “don’t” part of this feels unfair out of context. What cornerstone scorers has this regime willingly passed on?

The only possible answer is Donovan Mitchell, but frankly saying the Magic made a mistake passing on him is significant hindsight.

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

Michael. Porter. Jr.

Don’t talk to me about the injury. I don’t want to hear about it. MPJ had and still has as much upside as anyone in that class and WeHam went on to draft Chuma a year later with a known injury. So they have an appetite for handling injury concerns.

[jezzerinho]

The “don’t” part of this feels unfair out of context. What cornerstone scorers has this regime willingly passed on?

The only possible answer is Donovan Mitchell, but frankly saying the Magic made a mistake passing on him is significant hindsight.

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

And I'd add Doncic and Young weren't out of our range. We very easily could've had either player, but our front office spent the year evaluating and we ended up picking sixth. So I don't like the defense that they were already off the board when we picked. Doncic was still available on draft night.

This front office has only been in place for three drafts, so it's difficult to make a definitive argument about their preferences, but it's just a fact that they haven't drafted a player whose scouting report favored their offensive skill set over their defensive tools. That's not an indictment by itself, but if the plan is to draft raw talents that will serve as complementary role players for re-signed veterans from losing rosters, then this franchise is doomed for the duration of their tenure. That sure as hell looks like what we are doing. The icing on the cake would be the re-signing of Fournier.

Doncic has to be on the list because
1) we screwed up our lottery chances by winning meaningless games at the last hurdle and
2) we tried to trade up to get him but failed. If we had the courage of our convictions we should have thrown the kitchen sink at it.

[MagicFan101]

I don't agree. To me, the biggest pass of all was SGA. I won't fault them per se for passing on Mitchell in a draft with a consensus top 6. But I will fault them for passing on SGA when we were desperately in need of guard talent in a draft without a consensus top 6 (widely considered a 5 player draft, and Bamba was expected to fall if not taken by Dallas at 5).

SGA is going to be a perennial All-star and consistent 20 plus ppg scorer in this league. Right now we hope to just continue to develop Bamba into a rotational piece on a team who just invested 100 million into a player who plays the same position.

And I'd add Doncic and Young weren't out of our range. We very easily could've had either player, but our front office spent the year evaluating and we ended up picking sixth. So I don't like the defense that they were already off the board when we picked. Doncic was still available on draft night.

This front office has only been in place for three drafts, so it's difficult to make a definitive argument about their preferences, but it's just a fact that they haven't drafted a player whose scouting report favored their offensive skill set over their defensive tools. That's not an indictment by itself, but if the plan is to draft raw talents that will serve as complementary role players for re-signed veterans from losing rosters, then this franchise is doomed for the duration of their tenure. That sure as hell looks like what we are doing. The icing on the cake would be the re-signing of Fournier.

Doncic has to be on the list because
1) we screwed up our lottery chances by winning meaningless games at the last hurdle and
2) we tried to trade up to get him but failed. If we had the courage of our convictions we should have thrown the kitchen sink at it.

Option 1 is the only workable scenario and given the lottery even that is not a given.

I just don’t see how a trade would have worked once the existing draft order was set. Atlanta was both locked into Trae Young who was unlikely to last to #6 (in hindsight) and was never going to trade Luka within the division without a rediculous overpay on the trade.

Our only hope was a deal with Memphis for Trae Young. A deal for Luka is off the table unless you move up to talk with the Suns or Kings who didn’t seem interested in a trade.