Who do you want us to take at #1?

[pepe1991]

They have to. MInimum salary is around $105M.

I wanna know who Pepe wants to pick!

He never says so he can hate whoever the pick is

lol what? Last year i wrote like 15 posts how i would pick Mobley

When we picked Suggs i was trilled but over time it turned out he has incredible amount of flaws in his game. But to stop harping on him, i said that i won't talk about Suggs game until calendar year of 2023.

You confuse hate with critical opinion. Not my problem tho.

Since i joined forum there have only been 2 players i was harsh about. Payton and Bamba.
Outside Magic roster Cam Reddish, Trae Young , Frank Ntkilina, Jarret Culver and Wiggins.

Majority of them are very bad players. Wiggins is 5th most important player on contender. I've eat enough crows about Trae over years so i'm fine with my trackrecord.

[Ralof]

Really don't know.

my fav player is Holmgren,think has the higher potential(defenseve potential,in his case),but also scared a lot for the bust risk(and not for his frame,not a concern for me at all ).

as for oladipo draft,we got the top 3 pick in the most leveled top draft,with no generational player projected.

also,the fact we do not have a creative FO is another concern,we'd need so much more managerial creativity in adjusting this squad.

gun at head i would probably take j.smith,but i'd really explore the chance of trading down

[bigdogdylan5]

I don’t trust anyones opinion who is all out on any one of these 3-4 guys. Why do we have to get so negative? I would be really happy with any of the three. Again though I trust the guys making the pick so I guess makes it easier.

[drsd]

gun at head i would probably take j.smith,but i'd really explore the chance of trading down

I agree with every pixel there!


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[drsd]

I don’t trust anyones opinion who is all out on any one of these 3-4 guys. Why do we have to get so negative? I would be really happy with any of the three. Again though I trust the guys making the pick so I guess makes it easier.

Let's say that between us, one of us here would certainly have all-of Smith, Holmgren, and Banchero as #3 on their depth chart. If that "#3" player was selected overall #1, every Magic fan would be thrilled.

That is: there is no bad pick to be made here!

Smith, Holmgren, or Banchero will be the next Magician, and I am 100% confident there will be universal joy over that here in the Magic Kingdom.

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[PrimeThyme]

I think the playoffs this year have really shown where the league is trending.

Look at how valuable an elite 6'8 plus switch-all defender who can stretch the floor and create off the dribble like Tatum can has been this postseason. Even a player like Kleber who can do similar things defensively while also stretching the floor has shown his value and minimized Ayton/Gobert as both series progressed. Giannis is obviously a physical outlier, but the off-the-dribble creation and uber-elite ability to guard all positions at his size is another example. Players with those skillsets are just impossible to play off the floor.

To me, Jabari was the best player in college basketball this season, && for how much Chet's two-way upside is talked about, I think Jabari's is often not talked about enough. He will be an elite switchable defender in this league who will also offer legitimate helpside rim protection.

The good thing for us at 1 is you could make the case that Chet is the same type of player. Personally, I don't think he will offer the same level of switchability that Jabari will, but he's also probably the most skilled shot-blocker to come out of college since Anthony Davis. While I don't think he has the same athletic pop or broad-shouldered frame to become the level of 1-5 defender and physical force offensively that Giannis is, the aspect of Giannis's game that has him initiating fast breaks and offense downhill as a primary ball-handler is certainly something I could see Chet doing. He flashed the same ability in college.

With that said though, Jabari Smith would be my selection. Elite shooter, Elite defender, younger, and has a skillset that immediately translates to post-season impact. His untapped potential as a shot-creator of the dribble and the fact that he played with one of the most selfish score-first backcourts in NCAA history last year also screams high ceiling to me.

This front office is selecting Chet Holmgren though. He's basically Weltman/Hammonds create-a-player and the exact mold of forward they've been dying to get since getting hired. I'm laying a bet down on +155 Chet to go first overall as I type this.

[p0peye]

You don't "slot in" the 1st pick in the draft. You take the franchise guy and build around him. That being said, kill me if I know who that guy is in this year's draft. Crap.

[bigdogdylan5]

Will be 100% honest and haven’t watched a lot of Jabari. What are the thoughts on his handle? Is it completely a mess or can it really be developed? I am leaning towards wanting to select the highest upside player. I am leaning towards Chet especially with the team wanting to play Bamba and WCJ together I am intrigued by the fit as WCJ has the strength to help Chet early in career. I think Jabari is 100% the pick if there is a path for him becoming an offensive fulcrum off the bounce.

[LDNMagic90]

So does this mean we'll get one national televised game this coming season?

[jezzerinho]

1) First and foremost for me it has to be a two-way player. At absolute least a player who has shown desire, tools and effort to be v good at both ends, even if there is room for development. One-way players are a waste of high picks. You can spend a 2RP on one to fill the roster.

On that basis, I rule out Sharpe - whose lack of defensive effort appears at times alarming.

I would have big reservations about Banchero, but his defence was better in HS and he grew very quickly, so there's some mitigation.

Mathurin is at best an adequate defender, but the effort appears to be there and he has the tools to be v good.

Murray is also just about tolerable defensively.

Ivey regularly has concentration lapses but effort and tools are there.

I wouldn't call Daniels one-way but his scoring and esp 3pt% is deficient. Orange flag at least.

Sochan is a project offensively, a la AG00, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to go down that rabbit hole again.

That leaves me
Chet
Jabari
Davis
Mathurin
Eason
Griffin
Ivey

2) They need to be at least a league-average athlete for their position.

Griffin's lack of explosion really worries me, even though I'm quite high on him being a guy who will really improve in the NBA with time and coaching. If his athletic limitations mean he's a 3&D wing archetype and nothing more, I'd prefer to bet on Jabari or Mathurin.

Murray also strikes me as a relatively pedestrian athlete. There's a reason nobody could quite believe or justify how this kid made such a huge offensive jump - you just don't see any outlier athletic traits when you watch him. A concern.

Davis gets labelled also as a limited athlete who lacks a first step. While it could be better i think there's a lot he could do technique wise to get by defenders in isolation. I'm not out on him athletically, though he's going to come in quite undersized, i think.

Chet? I guess it depends on what you think his position will be. To me, he's a perfect complement to a guy like WCJ, where Wendell bangs on the big bodies and Chet ghosts around from perimeter to paint as a deterrent and help rim protector. In that role, even then it's a stretch to believe he'll be athletically strong enough, but he gets the benefit of the doubt.

That leaves:
Chet
Jabari
Davis
Mathurin
Eason
Ivey

3) They need to be elite or show elite potential at something the Magic needs

We need 3pt shooting, self-creating/advanced handling, rebounding in particular

I am not a buyer on Ivey's shooting form. He actually shoots better from NBA range than inside. Great right? Well, yeah but the sample size is small. What it does suggest is that he needs to shoot from where he isn't contested. The further in he is, the easier to disrupt that low, slow push shot style he uses. This kid is a coach's son too, so i imagine he's worked on his shot hugely. I don't think a ton of retooling is going to be embraced by him. Allied to his lack of court vision, and our glut of combos and I'm not fully convinced he's for us.

Davis has every shot in the book and can get to any spot in the court. That he was inefficient at it is a worry, but I'd rather be coaching restraint than how to score. His form is excellent, so i buy him being better in the NBA than college. Enough to take him #1 overall? Nah. In a trade down, definitely.


That leaves Chet, Jabari, Mathurin and Eason and I could be talked into any of the 4 at #1 overall. If Eason is a surprise here, he shouldn't be. His upside is huge and he was already a v efficient, athletic, energètic and smart college player.

I'd probably lean:
1) Chet
2a and 2b) Smith and Eason
4) Mathurin

[basketballRob]

So next year...

PG: Fultz, Anthony
SG: Suggs, Hampton
SF: F. Wagner, Okeke
PF: Jabari (or Chet), Isaac
C: Carter, M. Wagner

That top 10 is semi interesting on its own, and the Magic would have $30M to spend if they wanted to.

Now if they wanted to more or less punt that money to 2023, they could just resign Bamba and Harris to 1-year deals to slide into Hampton and M. Wagner's spots.

Jabari could draw so much attention on the perimeter that it improves the shooting of the whole team. I know Ross without Fournier has been a worse shooting player.

Sent from my SM-G950U using RealGM mobile app

[Husky1]

What a fantastic position to be in. our young core is scary good. We caught a break here

[LDNMagic90]

Read on Twitter

Just a little reminder of where we started with this rebuild, I can't believe 2 seasons ago I would stay up late watching us put this line up out and watch the full game lol.

[KillMonger]

case for Chet?(from reddit)https://www.reddit.com/r/OrlandoMagic/comments/us35x4/freshman_bpm_leaderboard_since_2010_1_zion/

Freshman BPM leaderboard since 2010: 1. Zion Williamson (18.7), 2. Anthony Davis (16.7), 3. Chet Holmgren (14.1), 4. Karl-Anthony Towns (13.1), 5. Evan Mobley (12.6)

Chet Holmgren shot 84% at the rim, 48% from midrange and 39% from 3, and was good for a TS% of 69.1%. Those are absolutely elite from every range.

Among players who shot at least 50 3s, that is good for the 2nd highest TS% from a lottery pick since 2008 (trailing Zion at 70.2%).

Without the 3PA requirement, it is still the 5th highest TS% from a lottery pick. His ridiculous efficiency at the rim was not just a product of getting dunks - he shot 70.5% on layups which is ridiculous. To compare, Mo shot 58.7% on layups in college, which is an enormous difference.

Don't overthink it.

it's going to be tough....there is no clear cut

[VFX]

This front office is selecting Chet Holmgren though. He's basically Weltman/Hammonds create-a-player and the exact mold of forward they've been dying to get since getting hired. I'm laying a bet down on +155 Chet to go first overall as I type this.

Yep. They’ll never get away from the Giannis pick making their career. I wouldn’t be shocked if they took him despite the other two bigs making more sense on paper.

[Mauro Pedrosa]

Chet and find a way to draft Sharpe as well

[Skybox]

Jabari is the "safer" high-floor pick and who wants to make a safe pick at #1? BUT, the more I think it through, Jabari's size, perimeter D, and (especially) his elite long distance shot making could have the biggest effect on the TEAM's success for a decade. I could see Banchero or Ivey winning ROY on Detroit or Houston, with big numbers but having way less impact on winning. Jabari could, theoretically, score 15-18 but suddenly Fultz, Franz, WCJ, Suggs all take major leaps in large part because of the floor spacing and horrifying defense ORL's length could offer (with a healthy Isaac)...Jabari could be a lot more than his own stats, IMO...and that's being conservative about his ceiling.

I don't even want to talk about Chet. I can't take any more "we all knew it would take a few years...". Great kid, great skills, not for me.

[drsd]

Chet and find a way to draft Sharpe as well

If the Magic gain the #2 and #12, who do you take at #12?


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[tiderulz]

I was down on Chet compared to the basketball community when he burst onto the scene as someone billed as like KD or some 7' point guard or something. His frame is frail, but he's got everything you can ask for from a modern front court guy. He's long as hell, mobile, skilled with the ball, and he relishes playing good defense and attacking the glass. He was highly productive on a winning, top tier program too, I think people overlook that.

I don't think he's a #1 scorer, MVP talent just on offense, but there's no reason he can't be a 20+ scorer, a floor spacer, a + passer, and a top tier rim protector. He plays hard, he's smart, he loves basketball, it's all there.

His frame might never fill out, but if it does, his potential is top notch. He has a high floor and a high ceiling, I think he plays winning basketball from day 1.

Also, he's a real 7'. He's not 7' like all the 6'9 and 6'10 guys in the league that get called a 7 footer. They might call him 7'2 at the NBA level lol.

He's what all those big, supposedly skilled shooting/shot blocking "unicorns" are supposed to be. The ones that people fall in love with, despite not really producing at any level, and still get drafted super high.

I wouldn't overthink it here.

i see the block Theis had and picture Holmgren trying to do that and having his arm snap because it is so thin. He will have issues blocking shots from the bigger PF's and centers at the rim imo

[bigdogdylan5]

I know people won’t want to hear this but a consideration has to be there about personality and the wants of the player. We have failed and lost two superstars because they weren’t the right fit for small markets. It has to be a consideration. I am not saying draft a clearly inferior player but I think interviews need to be strongly considered.