Official 2021 NBA Draft Thread

[MagicFan101]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

[Skin]

Explain yourself. You like him at SG? Or do you think we need a SF?

A few things...

1. The Magic do not have a single franchise caliber player on their roster at any position. They *might* have some decent supporting pieces, but even that is up for debate. If the no questions asked best player is a center, then they should pick him and just dump Carter and/or Bamba. If the no questions asked best player is a point guard, then they should pick him and move Fultz and/or Anthony.

There’s absolutely nothing on this roster that should influence this year’s draft pick.

Draft the very best player available regardless of position and move pieces around that player.

It’s a clean slate at this point.

2. Just because Steve Clifford has an obsession with set positions and specifically how he can find size at said positions, doesn’t mean that’s how the Magic should operate moving forward.

Also I don’t expect Steve to be here more than one more season and how he sees things isn’t how the rest of the league really plays anymore.

There are really only three positions at this point.

-primary ball handler
-wing
-big

There’s little nuances within those position groups, smaller wings and bigger wings, but for the most part that’s how it works.

The difference between SG/SF is the most negligible of all the positions IMO. They’re just wings.

If you are a shooting guard, in almost every instance you can also play small forward and visa versa because it’s simply an interchangeable position for most NBA teams. Wings are wings.

When it comes to Cade Cunningham specifically, I don't think he's a guy you want as your primary ball handler every single play. But the guy should have absolutely no issues anywhere on the wing. Playing the 2, 3 or 4 depending on matchups. And beyond that I really want to get away from this whole "we're going to play the exact same way every night - same rotation, same minute structure, same playing groups, same play calls - in the name of building consistency" thing that Clifford does. It's a free flowing game and the best coaches are cognizant and look to take advantage of favorable personnel matchups on a nightly basis.

I see what you're saying... For me, I just don't see the separation that you see between Cunningham and Green, I guess.

I see BOTH of them as All-Stars. If given the choice between 2 players who are both similar in grade, I go with the guy who addresses our weaknesses first.

Furthermore, in this case... I simply see Green as the best player in this draft. More quick, explosive, athletic and that equals higher upside.

[Skin]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

Kispert is the guy we get with our Chicago pick. Did you see my sig?

[MagicFan101]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

Kispert is the guy we get with our Chicago pick. Did you see my sig?

April fools

[The Effect]

Started looking into Jalen Johnson... there's something about him that makes me think he would be one of the top 4 players to come out of this draft. his combination of Size, athleticism, length..... AND SURPRISE.... SKILL, BALL HANDLING, COURT VISION, and SCORING... is really intriguing!

Watch on YouTube

kinda reminds me of a bigger tatum ... less offensive potential... with more defensive potential

I keep saying hes gonna be this drafts Michael Porter Jr

Maybe not the same game, but hes the guy with top 5 skill\potential, but is gonna drop due to stuff unrelated to his game

Hes my target for the Chi pick and think we will regret passing on him if we have the chance with our second pick

[The Effect]

My top 5 is

Kuminga
Mobley/Green
Cade
Suggs

I know its just me, but man i just not feeling Kuminga, especially for this team

I think hes AG, who i love, but we spent 7 years developing him until we realized hes not a fit and got rid of him for Okeke and isaac

I think if we didnt have isaac, he would be fine and we could probably do well with Okeke and Kuminga on the wings, but with the current config, hes not a fit, and i like those 2 better than Kuminga in both the short and long term

[drsd]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

The next Dan Majerle / Mike Miller; I love it!


..

[tiderulz]

Started looking into Jalen Johnson... there's something about him that makes me think he would be one of the top 4 players to come out of this draft. his combination of Size, athleticism, length..... AND SURPRISE.... SKILL, BALL HANDLING, COURT VISION, and SCORING... is really intriguing!

Watch on YouTube

kinda reminds me of a bigger tatum ... less offensive potential... with more defensive potential

I keep saying hes gonna be this drafts Michael Porter Jr

Maybe not the same game, but hes the guy with top 5 skill\potential, but is gonna drop due to stuff unrelated to his game

Hes my target for the Chi pick and think we will regret passing on him if we have the chance with our second pick

i would like him with the Chi pick too. need a good SF to develop. I just dont think he will last until the Chi pick unless it gets a lot higher.

[Skybox]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

Would love to get him with our CHI pick. Mature, ferocious, tough, shoots lights out...Joe Harris 2.0

[MagicFan101]

The absolute worst thing we can do is get this pick wrong.

We need a winner. We need a leader.

We can’t fall victim to the hype. That’s how you end up with Anthony Bennett. I wonder if we are falling victim to that already?

I’m really starting to think beyond the usual suspects. I think the true answer is ...

Corey Kispert

Would love to get him with our CHI pick. Mature, ferocious, tough, shoots lights out...Joe Harris 2.0

It was meant as a joke (4/1) ...


But yes, if the Chicago picks doesn’t work out for other options then he could be in play there.

[RookieStar]

Started looking into Jalen Johnson... there's something about him that makes me think he would be one of the top 4 players to come out of this draft. his combination of Size, athleticism, length..... AND SURPRISE.... SKILL, BALL HANDLING, COURT VISION, and SCORING... is really intriguing!

Watch on YouTube

kinda reminds me of a bigger tatum ... less offensive potential... with more defensive potential

I keep saying hes gonna be this drafts Michael Porter Jr

Maybe not the same game, but hes the guy with top 5 skill\potential, but is gonna drop due to stuff unrelated to his game

Hes my target for the Chi pick and think we will regret passing on him if we have the chance with our second pick

i would like him with the Chi pick too. need a good SF to develop. I just dont think he will last until the Chi pick unless it gets a lot higher.

As someone who follows Duke, yes he has always have had the physical tools/skills to be very good. However, it's between the ears that I want to be certain of regarding him. You can have all the elite athleticism and etc to be GOAT in this league but if your attitude,bbiq,etc is in question, then see Wiggins, Darko, etc.

Also, where do you guys see the SF in him? All I saw when I watched him play at Duke was that this is a PF in the NBA. For me, he also has not developed his court vision. I mean have you seen the TOs he racked up in the games?

[basketballRob]

Jalen Johnson put up good numbers but mostly against weak competition, like Nesmith did last season. I also thought he looked too stiff to play SF.

I know a couple places have him mocked high, like tankathon, but some have him in the late first round. That's where I think he'll go, around 25-30.



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[RookieStar]

Jalen Johnson put up good numbers but mostly against weak competition, like Nesmith did last season. I also thought he looked too stiff to play SF.

I know a couple places have him mocked high, like tankathon, but some have him in the late first round. That's where I think he'll go, around 25-30.



Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Agree, he "looked" too stiff to play SF in the NBA. Unless he was doing it on purpose ( like mailing it in or just wanted to prevent injury ) we will see in the combine/interview/workouts if he does have the lateral foot speed to be effective as a SF.

ALso, yeah, I can't believe he is that high in th top-10. Sure before the NCAA started I had him in the top5-8 but when I saw his game I thought.. naaah guy should be in the early to mid-teens. With the crap he pulled just to preserve his draft stock, I can see late teens or 20 at the worst. Who knows, he could WOW someone in the interview though.

I just wanna hear him answer " What made you quit 2 high schools and jump around the country just to also quit so early in the season at Duke? " lol

[basketballRob]

Jalen Johnson put up good numbers but mostly against weak competition, like Nesmith did last season. I also thought he looked too stiff to play SF.

I know a couple places have him mocked high, like tankathon, but some have him in the late first round. That's where I think he'll go, around 25-30.



Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

Agree, he "looked" too stiff to play SF in the NBA. Unless he was doing it on purpose ( like mailing it in or just wanted to prevent injury ) we will see in the combine/interview/workouts if he does have the lateral foot speed to be effective as a SF.

ALso, yeah, I can't believe he is that high in th top-10. Sure before the NCAA started I had him in the top5-8 but when I saw his game I thought.. naaah guy should be in the early to mid-teens. With the crap he pulled just to preserve his draft stock, I can see late teens or 20 at the worst. Who knows, he could WOW someone in the interview though.

I just wanna hear him answer " What made you quit 2 high schools and jump around the country just to also quit so early in the season at Duke? " lol

A few mocks have him real late. Plus as soon as the competition got tough, he mailed it in. Remember last year Nesmith shot 50% from 3, but it was all against small schools before conference play, then he got injured.

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[basketballRob]

I think I want Washington to beat Detroit. If they beat the Magic and Raptors next week also, they'll knock the Bulls out of the 10th spot.

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[RookieStar]

I think I want Washington to beat Detroit. If they beat the Magic and Raptors next week also, they'll knock the Bulls out of the 10th spot.

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the wiz can win more games later on. wr need the pistons to win as much as possible so we can overtake them for the 3rd spot

[The Effect]

I think I want Washington to beat Detroit. If they beat the Magic and Raptors next week also, they'll knock the Bulls out of the 10th spot.

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the wiz can win more games later on. wr need the pistons to win as much as possible so we can overtake them for the 3rd spot

Dont get your hopes up on that, we not only have better players, but they are tanking, we arent gonna be in the top 3-4 odds come lotto day

My only hope for drafting in the top 3-5 is that Silvers gifts us for saving the nba playoffs last year

[RookieStar]

I think I want Washington to beat Detroit. If they beat the Magic and Raptors next week also, they'll knock the Bulls out of the 10th spot.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

the wiz can win more games later on. wr need the pistons to win as much as possible so we can overtake them for the 3rd spot

Dont get your hopes up on that, we not only have better players, but they are tanking, we arent gonna be in the top 3-4 odds come lotto day

My only hope for drafting in the top 3-5 is that Silvers gifts us for saving the nba playoffs last year

I know we have the better players but Grant and Bey can sometimes shoot themselves for the win..

[MagicFan101]

I’m sure they meant well, but this isn’t the flex they think it is ... we made the trade so we could TANK!!

Read on Twitter

?s=12

[RookieStar]

I’m sure they meant well, but this isn’t the flex they think it is ... we made the trade so we could TANK!!

Read on Twitter

?s=12

Yeah.. whats up with that. its like we, BOS and CHI all got the opposite of what we wanted