Be 100% honest. Who did you like in previous drafts?

[jonbob17]

Here's how I remember it, some times i am more passionate about who we shouldnt take.

2023: Black Wallace Hendricks. really liked some guys i thouht would be available in late first, that went earlier, still plenty of guys i wanted at 36.
2022: Wanted us trade back to 3 and take Paolo. Thought Chet was highest ceiling.
2021: Barnes Giddey Sengun , was thrilled when Suggs fell...may have lead the Kuminga hate train at pick 5
2020: Rj Hampton, Josh Green, Maxey, was fine with Cole... Really wanted to move into first for Bane, or move back, then wanted us to take Isaiah Joe at 2nd pick, also was very high on Grant Riller, but that waned after combine measurements...maybe biggest anti-Nesmith poster.
2019: Cam Johnson, Thybulle, Bitadze, Brandon Clarke, Grant williams
2018: Only Trae Young. Never thought he wouldnt be there. Assumed Doncic would be one of the first two picks, was ultimately fine with Bamba, but didnt really have a back up plan
2017: Wanted Isaac...thought they were going to take Dennis Smith Jr
2016: Wade Baldwin, headed exploded when that trade was announced
2015: Kristaps, feel like i didn't see any mocks with him going ahead of us, until right before the draft.. tortured when NY took him.
Prior to this i was more casual draft follower
2014: Kind of thought Embiid would be there for us with the medical concerns, but even then thought it was a big risk. Think I was team Exum as a 2nd choice
2013: really had no idea about any of these guys, but was happy with Oladipo

There have been a lot of gut punches.
2023 lottery...still peeved over a letting Portland beat us on the tank....
2021 lottery....loved Cade, since worn off after hitting on Franz
2018: dead inside over not getting Trae, and lottery situation, out tanked by Dallas, jumped by Sacramento
2016: "The Trade"
2015 Kristaps and lesser degree the lottery
2014 lottery. Cleveland jumped to 1 with a 1.7% chance

[basketballRob]

This season was a rare occasion when we drafted the guy I wanted.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM mobile app

[Ralof]

2018- Trae Young

2019- Romeo Langford

2020 - Aaron Nesmith

2021 - Jalen Suggs

2022 - Chet Holmgren

2023 - Amen Thompson

[drsd]

2023: I had Hendricks at 6
2022: I LOVEEEEDDDDD Smith last year.
2021: had Suggs at 5 and Moses Moody at 8
2020: Precious Achiuwa
2019: Alexander-Walker
2018: I was 12000% for trade-down. There was a clear deal for 10 rumored, and then: Gilgeous-Alexander.
2017: Isaac


In conclusion, I would be a terrible drafter, but I trust management in what they do.

[Furinkazan]

2023 wanted Amen would be fine Ausar
2022 wanted Smith
2021 wanted Green/Giddey was fine with Suggs /Bouknight/Moody/Sengun
2020 wanted Lewis Jr/Maxey
2019 wanted Herro/NAW
2018 the only player I wanted in this draft was DOncic I was nagging you on the board about how he is best ever from Europe (was wrong Jokic is ) while some on this board ganked me me with Hezonja comparisions also I was ok with Bamba..but only if Vuc is gone....considered Mikal as someone here was advocating strongly for him...I think I liked Nick Anderson comparisions
2017 wanted Fox or Dennis Smith
2016 wanted Beasley
2015 wanted Russell but we knew we coudnt get him I was looking at Winslow
2014 Smart was my pick and totally hated drafting AG
2013 Dipo

hmm seems I favor drafting guards mostly XD

[Catledge]

Way back in the Before Times, I was pissed that we drafted Dwight over Emeka Okafor.

Ever since then, I just try to get excited about whomever we pick. Some will be great, but most will be busts. I have no special ability to guess which will be which.

[Nyce_1]

2013: Oladipo/CJ
2014: Exum/Smart/LaVine
2015: Turner
2016: Sabonis/(Cheick Diallo was my crush)
2017: JI
2018: Mikal
2019: Wasnt super invested but Matise Thybulle was my guy
2020: BIIIIG Vassell guy but knew not likely without trade up. Nearly cried when Spurs took him. I settled on Bane.
2021: Moody and Franz
2022: didn't care - was happy we had #1.
2023: Ausar, Coulibaly (crush), Whitehead, Hawkins, Jett. I liked Black a lot but didn't see a fit.

[Anti Chalmers]

This was who I remember I wanted at the time that was available

2013 - Vic
2014 - AG
2015 - Mario
2016 - Thon
2017 - DSJ
2018 - MPJ
2019 - Little
2020 - Coke
2021 - Mitchell
2022 - Chet

[j_n]

2013 Oladipo/Mcklemore/Burke
2014 Vonleh/Exum/Jerami Grant /Kyle Anderson
2015 Dlo/Winslow
2016 Didn't follow
2017 Tatum/Lonzo
2018 Luka by a mile but I also liked Ayton and would have Taken Bamba at 6
2019 Didn't follow
2020 Didn't follow
2021 Mobley/Green
2022 Jabari
2023 Hendricks/Whitemore

[best of luck]

Trae young the biggest disappointment to not of worked something to trade up. Or lose 1 game more so Dallas pipped us.
Marcus Smart (especially the year before he was drafted after he went back to college another year)
Jabari Smith Jr, didn’t want Chet
Was expecting Kuminga didn’t want Barnes and delighted Suggs fell to us.
Think I was expecting Randle and surprised by Gordon.
Wasn’t overly happy with Franz W but felt we needed a sf.

Couldn’t be more happy as a fan to be sitting with Paolo and Franz and even bought Jerseys for the first time in almost 20 years

[Skin]

2013 - Victor Oladipo / Trey Burke - The Dipo vs BMac debates were EPIC! Was always on the Dipo side. Also LOVED Trey Burke! I thought he was the next Chris Paul! Was happy with Dipo in the end and wish we never traded him.

2014 - Joel Embiid / Dante Exum / Aaron Gordon - Was bummed when Embiid went 1 spot ahead. Gordon was definitely a fun propsect, but seemed so raw offensively. I was an Exum fan too *hides face*

2015 - Kristaps Porzingis / Myles Turner - The case for Kristaps Porzingis went 72 pages! That was awesome. I also loved Turner and still do to this day.

2016 - No 1st

2017 - Jonathan Isaac - The one year that we got who I wanted most!

2018 - Trae Young / Mikal Bridges - LOVED Trae Young but I knew he wouldn't last. Created "The case for Mikal Bridges" but I knew the Magic wouldn't take him at our spot either. Tried to get behind Bamba, but that was mostly driven by my distaste for Vucevic and wanted interior defense.

2019 - Matisse Thybulle / Kevin Porter / Chuma Okeke - I was excited when the Magic took a chance on Okeke and supported the pick 100%. Porter had the "dawg" in him that I love, but Thybulle seemed to fit the WeHam profile.

2020 - Devin Vassell / Jaden McDaniels / Aaron Nesmith - I was a cry baby when we drafted Cole. I wanted to trade up for Vassell. Made a "Case for Jaden McDaniels", was bummed when Nesmith went. Hated that we didn't tank harder.

2021 - Jalen Suggs / Jonathan Kuminga / James Boughknight - Jalen Green was my #1 guy that I was hoping to tank for all year long... Made a "Case to trade whatever it takes to get Jalen Green" thread. Still was very THRILLED when Suggs fell past Toronto! Felt like FINALLY the stars aligned and we didn't miss our target by 1 spot. Damn you Suggs for sucking.

2022 - Jaden Ivey / Shaeden Sharpe / Ben Mathurin - But I knew none of them were going #1. Why couldn't we have the #6 pick last year and the #1 pick this year! I did make a thread saying "The case for Jabari Smith a SG/SF/PF". A desperate attempt to like him. I was not Team Paolo, so I feel bad about that one. I couldn't get past having a big man who couldn't shoot 3s or provide interior defense. I overlooked his offensive feel for the game.

2023 - Cam Whitmore / Jordan Hawkins / Trey Hendricks - I can't believe Whitmore fell that far. My best guess is that once he passed 9, teams were scared off and didn't have a chance to work him out so they took guys that they did bring in and study more about. HOU got lucky. Made a "Case for Jordan Hawkins" so will always be cheering for him from afar. Black might prove me wrong like Paolo did. Hard to get past a PG who can't shoot and has a bad assist to turnover ratio, but like Paolo... maybe I'm overlooking his feel for the game.

[eyriq]

2013 - Victor Oladipo / Trey Burke - The Dipo vs BMac debates were EPIC! Was always on the Dipo side. Also LOVED Trey Burke! I thought he was the next Chris Paul! Was happy with Dipo in the end and wish we never traded him.

2014 - Joel Embiid / Dante Exum / Aaron Gordon - Was bummed when Embiid went 1 spot ahead. Gordon was definitely a fun propsect, but seemed so raw offensively. I was an Exum fan too *hides face*

2015 - Kristaps Porzingis / Myles Turner - The case for Kristaps Porzingis went 72 pages! That was awesome. I also loved Turner and still do to this day.

2016 - No 1st

2017 - Jonathan Isaac - The one year that we got who I wanted most!

2018 - Trae Young / Mikal Bridges - LOVED Trae Young but I knew he wouldn't last. Created "The case for Mikal Bridges" but I knew the Magic wouldn't take him at our spot either. Tried to get behind Bamba, but that was mostly driven by my distaste for Vucevic and wanted interior defense.

2019 - Matisse Thybulle / Kevin Porter / Chuma Okeke - I was excited when the Magic took a chance on Okeke and supported the pick 100%. Porter had the "dawg" in him that I love, but Thybulle seemed to fit the WeHam profile.

2020 - Devin Vassell / Jaden McDaniels / Aaron Nesmith - I was a cry baby when we drafted Cole. I wanted to trade up for Vassell. Made a "Case for Jaden McDaniels", was bummed when Nesmith went. Hated that we didn't tank harder.

2021 - Jalen Suggs / Jonathan Kuminga / James Boughknight - Jalen Green was my #1 guy that I was hoping to tank for all year long... Made a "Case to trade whatever it takes to get Jalen Green" thread. Still was very THRILLED when Suggs fell past Toronto! Felt like FINALLY the stars aligned and we didn't miss our target by 1 spot. Damn you Suggs for sucking.

2022 - Jaden Ivey / Shaeden Sharpe / Ben Mathurin - But I knew none of them were going #1. Why couldn't we have the #6 pick last year and the #1 pick this year! I did make a thread saying "The case for Jabari Smith a SG/SF/PF". A desperate attempt to like him. I was not Team Paolo, so I feel bad about that one. I couldn't get past having a big man who couldn't shoot 3s or provide interior defense. I overlooked his offensive feel for the game.

2023 - Cam Whitmore / Jordan Hawkins / Trey Hendricks - I can't believe Whitmore fell that far. My best guess is that once he passed 9, teams were scared off and didn't have a chance to work him out so they took guys that they did bring in and study more about. HOU got lucky. Made a "Case for Jordan Hawkins" so will always be cheering for him from afar. Black might prove me wrong like Paolo did. Hard to get past a PG who can't shoot and has a bad assist to turnover ratio, but like Paolo... maybe I'm overlooking his feel for the game.

Not a bad track record. Remind me, unrelated to the draft, who did you have, Bass or Anderson?

[Skin]

Not a bad track record. Remind me, unrelated to the draft, who did you have, Bass or Anderson?

Anderson. Never really gravitated any feelings towards Bass. He was a JAG - Just a Guy

[eyriq]

Not a bad track record. Remind me, unrelated to the draft, who did you have, Bass or Anderson?

Anderson. Never really gravitated any feelings towards Bass. He was a JAG - Just a Guy

NICE! For some reason I thought you were on the Bass side of all the arguments. I must be thinking of some other poster haha

[VFX]

Some people are lying with how much I remember hearing about Marquese Chriss on this forum

[Message Boar]

I did not put as much effort into most drafts as this one, so I didn't always have any opinions, but I'll do my best to search my memory as best I can to recall who "my guys" were (also not necessarily Magic-specific):

2013 - Oladipo, Trey Burke, Steven Adams
2014 - Embiid, Aaron Gordon, Exum, Noah Vonleh
2015 - Hezonja ( ), Porzingis, Mudiay, Booker
2016 - Ingram, Buddy Hield, Juancho Hernangomez (also Sabonis being picked with our #11 pick here still effin hurts)
2017 - Dennis Smith Jr., Malik Monk, Jonathan Isaac, Donovan Mitchell
2018 - Mo Bamba ( ), Doncic, obviously, also kinda liked Ayton. Knox and SGA I liked later in the lottery.
2019 - Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Nassir Little, Ja Morant, Cam Reddish
2020 - I was fine with Cole Anthony here, didn't really like anyone anyway. Patrick Williams, Deni Avdija, Kira Lewis.
2021 - Suggs, Franz (pretty sure I made a post predicting those two as a scenario for the Magic). Evan Mobley out of the top guys. Davion Mitchell, Moses Moody.
2022 - Paolo, but talked myself into Jabari with all the intel that we were picking him, to a degree. Jaden Ivey, Jalen Duren, Nikola Jovic, David Roddy.
2023 - Ausar, then Hendricks at our #6 with what was left. At #11 Dick or Keyonte George. Hawkins or Bufkin would've also been fine.

[Skin]

My team right now if it was only comprised of draft picks, all the same pick numbers, and player availability....

PG Jaden Ivey / Jalen Suggs
SG Victor Oladipo / Jordan Hawkins / James Bouknight
SF Mikal Bridges / Cam Whitmore / Matisse Thybulle
PF Aaron Gordon / Jaden McDaniels
C Myles Turner / Jonathan Isaac

Of course I turned Injuries OFF.

[Bensational]

2013 - CJ
2014 - AG, Exum
2015 - DLo/Winslow
2016 - Denzel Valentine/Thon
2017 - Wanted Markkanen with our pick and Wanted to trade with Detroit for their pick to take Mitchell
2018 - Trae and Luka were at the top for me and then it was Bamba. Again, I was greedy and wanted a 2nd pick to get SGA.
2019 - NAW
2020 - Maxey
2021 - Suggs + Giddey
2022 - Chet for talent, Jabari for safety or trade back for Keegan.
2023 - Cason Wallace + Black

Forgot that Haliburton was my guy that year. I was sure the Warriors would take him or trade back for him and they didn’t. When he slid to #10 and Phoenix was up I wanted us to trade Gordon and our pick for #10 to take Haliburton. Would’ve made the same deal with the Kings. Like Giddey, he was just an obvious maestro on offense, but unlike Giddey Haliburton could shoot like a gun and defend well too.

I forgot that Tre Mann and Ayo Dosunmu were also up in my top ranked guys in 2022. I thought both would be sleeper steals like JHS/Podz/maybe George. Mann has done terribly and Ayo hasn’t stepped up like I thought he would.

[dsg2021]

2013 -
Ben McLemore
Ben McLemore over Oladipo, but to be fair I would have heavily given him off-ball actions and situations that built up his confidence. And in retrospect, the fact he needed that, and had less on-dribble skill was something for me to learn from. As well as an average defense. I was very close to picking Otto Porter Jr. as well, and I suspect if I had had the info ORL did, I would have leaned Oladipo, Otto, and maybe even Giannis over McLemore. Hammond drafts Giannis after my pick, where I missed out on the lesson of taking ultra tall and athletic, high upside picks.

2014 -
Marcus Smart
I liked Marcus Smart the most if I remember correctly. I did the full games scouting and everything. I don't remember liking anyone enough, enough to trade up to or anything either, aka Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker. There were some interesting names we even talked about as a whole like Dante Exum, Dario Saric, McDermott, Elfrid Payton, and I was very fine with the Aaron Gordon pick. If I looked back, it would have been Smart or Aaron. But Smart more. If we kept the Saric pick, I think I would have gone Saric because I like height and skill in my players. DEN drafts MVP and Finals MVP Nikola Jokic after me.

2015 -
Mario Hezonja
I was all for Kristaps Porzingis too, loved him. But he went one pick before us. I fell in love with Mario Hezonja like everyone else. I think I would have probably taken him, but I do recall some posts where I think I was giving looks to Justice Winslow and Devin Booker. Yep, PHX drafts Devin Booker who might be the next Finals MVP now, and I went Hezonja.

2016 -
Probably Domantas Sabonis or Malik Beasley
We were the 11th pick and I don't remember studying this draft so well. We traded Domantas Sabonis, and if we had kept the pick I genuinely can't remember who I would have went. I vaguely remember thinking of Malik Beasley, Furkan Korkmaz, and Malcolm Brogdon. I think we talked about Skal Labissiere and Sabonis on the forums pre-draft, and I was digging the group-think to go Sabonis.

Hennigan FO ends.

WeHam FO begins.

2017 -
Jonathan Isaac
Everyone and their mother wanted Dennis Smith Jr. here. I was ready to take him at certain points pre-draft too. Our board, and I, looked at Frank Ntilikina a ton too. In the end, I actually think I would have gone Jonathan Isaac, however. I was not his flame torch bearer pre-draft but when I did read about him here and scouted him on my own, I settled on him pre-draft. I also imagine, if I was really in these shoes of GM'ing, by this point my head would have been filled with the stories of 6'2 and shorter guards like Dennis not often reaching stardom in the NBA and would have became enamored with the package of defense, athleticism, and solid shooting that Isaac had. Basically, if I had the extra info ORL had, I would have gone Isaac too. But I think I was already. UTA drafts Donovan Mitchell after me.

2018 -
#3 Luka Doncic and probably even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander too
This was my money-maker year. Some context first. Every year, our forum, especially back then, cried about "trading up" in drafts. And I believe I might have even recommended it once, maybe even twice, in the 2013-2017 time frame too. Half-heartedly so, though. Because I don't even remember it if I did. But in 2018.. this was either the first year I ever recommended "trading up", or it was the first time I was 1,000% sure of doing it. This was the year I said to throw the kitchen sink at trading into Luka Doncic, and I will keep him as my pick this year, because he was traded up to in reality as well. We were all high on Trae Young, but he goes one pick before us though. For me, I liked Trae a lot for some reason too (despite being ultra short), but I was still dead-set on trading into who would have been called Luka Magic for us. I was, sadly, very salty about it for like 3 years in a row afterwards, too.
We're not even halfway done with this year, either. By this point in my armchair GM'ing, I was both invested enough this year, and learning from my past mistakes. And I saw how hard it was picking guards in the draft. It became apparent to me that if you could at least find a tall guard, who shot the ball well, had some good on-ball skill, some solid defense, then this would be the most check-marked guard prospect to work with. So my second plan was to also trade into Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. I would not have made it priority number one before Doncic, but I was looking at it as the "trade the whole future for Doncic and SGA" year, or "if you didn't listen to me on Doncic, pick/trade down into SGA at least."

2019 -
Nickeil Alexander-Walker
I imagine this pick being gone, because of how 1 million percent sure I would have traded into Luka and SGA (or at least Luka) the year before. If we kept it, I would have looked at NAW and Matisse Thybulle the most, which a lot of our board here did too. WeHam grabbed Chuma Okeke because his stock in the draft was being pulled down by injury only and not by skill or talent. Sounds like Jett Howard today.

2020 -
N/A / Tyrese Haliburton
My issue with this draft was that it was the only other year I was screaming like crazy to trade up into. And it was for Tyrese Haliburton. He checked all of the boxes like SGA did, and then more as a passing guard over a scoring guard. In this fantasy timeline, I am probably still mortgaged and unavailable to select a single player this draft because, remember, I traded into Luka Doncic and maybe even SGA two years ago. I was enamored with Aaron Nesmith if no one was going to trade into Tyrese Haliburton, but even then, I still distinctly remember, "I'm trading into Haliburton, period." You can, HOWEVER, argue to throw this draft away from me. It seems no team traded up into the top 12. Therefore it can be said Haliburton was never get-able, and I default on my pick or it went Saddiq Bey (as my vague memory might recall). I really didn't research enough who I wanted besides Haliburton. I think it was maybe Saddiq, Josh Green, or Leandro Bolmaro for me.

2021 -
#5 Jalen Suggs and #8 Moses Moody
At this point, I am starting to follow the drafts less intensely over the next years. I think this was one of the years I watched the Magic the least and I don't have any second teams to keep involved with the league and draft. Some past seasons, the fantasy leagues kept me on top of everything as I managed 1st place in the forum fantasy league here a couple times iirc. But no fantasy this year either. From what I do remember, I would have gone Jalen Suggs 5th for sure, and then for Franz Wagner's pick I would have probably gone Moses Moody instead of the franchise pillar we have instead, Franz! I also imagine this might have been my last mortgaged draft, as I am still footing the bill for trading into Luka Doncic, with trade attempts at SGA and Haliburton since then too. One final note I think I can recall is that I was a big Cade Cunningham fan. I would not have protested a trade up into him but I wasn't actively like, this is it, get him. I bet I called DET, saw the asking offer, and decided no.

2022 -
Jabari Smith Jr.
I think I was missing the parallels to Ben McLemore here, or talking them away in my head too much. Jabari had much more height and defense to beat out anything Ben McLemore would do. Jabari also still seems to have a very wet jumper in multiple scenarios, on the catch, on the mid-range, as a slight fade away that looked unguardable. I was ready to grow with Jabari for some seasons and if his on-ball skill never developed enough, keep him as a very nice-fitting 3rd/4th option that has great size and defense. In my mind, if I had the extra info ORL had, and if I actually followed the prospects will full game tapes like in past seasons, I MIGHT have really, really gone Paolo Banchero. Banchero is a remix version of Luka Doncic to me, trading better driving for much lesser shooting skill. And like an old LeBron James of today. Give him the ball and let him point forward. I was also vaguely interested in trading into Malaki Branham as well. Jabari, Banchero, Branham were my three favorite prospects.

2023 -
#6 Traded for Future Assets, #11 Gradey Dick and/or Jalen Hood-Schifino
This is the first draft that I am dead-set on trading out of. I did not like anyone enough in the top 8 or so (I'm assuming Victor is completely untouchable). I would have probably selected Taylor Hendricks, maybe Cam Whitmore, if the offers I got for #6 were just plain awful. Or if I got too caught up in the moment of keeping #6 for the sake of keeping it. Hendricks reminds me vaguely of Jonathan Isaac. Like, nothing is going to go wrong with the pick. At #11, I was loving the idea of ORL picking whoever they felt was the best of the 6 or 7 shooters in the draft, after all of these high upside top 10 picks. For our board, it was sounding like Gradey Dick or Jordan Hawkins, and I would have picked either before Jett. (Again, I'm not following drafts with full game scouting anymore). For the best shooter, I leaned towards Dick at the very end but I also became VERY deadlocked in my mind to take Jalen Hood-Schifino instead. He would represent as a gambling roll at a very nice lead guard for once. Because I saw flashes of some of the tools needed for a top 15 starter. I would have absolutely been calling at the costs to trade into 12-16 for JHS.

[OrlDave]

2013: McLemore, Dipo, Noel (in that order. Thought Ben would be the next Reggie Miller lol)

2014: Smart, Randle. (Gordon seemed more athlete than basketball player. Embiid scared me with injuries and Exum seemed like a bust. I liked Smart for the previous draft before he opted out.)

2015: Porzingis (I was all about KP, potential unicorn size and skill at a time we needed a star. Nothing pointed to NY taking him and I remember knick fans booing the pick. I think Stephen A did as well, but don't quote me. Crushed when NY grabbed him.)

2016-20: didn't pay too much attention to these. As fan of the Noles I was reasonably happy with JI. Bamba seemed like he could be solid pick with his size and shooting, who knew he had no motor? Okeke was a head scratcher after his injuries and I wasn't super happy. Cole seemed fine.

2021: Barnes for 5, Sengun for 8. I really thought Suggs was gone so I didn't even really consider him. I didn't like Kaminga. Franz seemed like a good glue guy, but we were still looking for a star and also in my mind we had a SF already in Barnes. I wanted Green if we could trade up. He seemed the most star ready.

2022: Paolo, but unenthusiastically. Jabari Smith seemed like fairly pedestrian three and D guy. Chet seemed like a walking injury. They made Paolo out like he was the biggest liability ever on defense, but at least he could score which is something we desperately needed.

2021: BPA for 6. This draft felt very weak. Dick or Hawkins for 11. I'm pretty okay with how it went.








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