Amid the NBA playoffs the NBA Lottery draft for the non-playoff bound teams took place and with it the NBA draft order has now been determined. For the lottery teams this year's draft marks hope and optimism as he talent pool here is deemed to be considerably better than it has been in the past few years; mind you it seems like the draft pundits say this same thing every single season.
Nonetheless, the teams who are holding lottery bound picks must be looking at ways to complement their rosters, be it by using the upcoming selection or via a trade on draft day. Not every team with lottery selections are able to address their needs via the draft as there is only so much talent available at each position and since these rookie deals are guaranteed, the new incoming salary amounts must be accounted for within the team's salary cap.
As the NBA Draft approaches eDraft.com will look at each of the lottery teams and identify their needs heading into the draft as well as who might be available to fill hose teams needs. Our draft coverage won't stop there though as post-draft we will have analysis of the picks as well as report cards for each of the teams as to how they fared.
We have now covered off the top four teams and their lottery desires so now we move on to Orlando who holds the fifth overall pick this year. After a few years of draft day misses, the Magic certainly righted the ship back in 2013 when the drafted the versatile Victor Oladipo and since that draft they have done quite well in assessing eligible draft talent as they nabbed Aaron Gordon and swung a deal that landed them Elfrid Payton. The Magic won't be contenders again next season and they will certainly find themselves relegated to the fate of the ping pong balls once again come May. Having said that though this is a young team with plenty of potential that is really just a couple years and a couple players away from being a mid-range Eastern Conference playoff team.
Key Pieces to Build Around:
The Magic actually have three solid building blocks on which they will construct a team around. Oladipo, Payton and Nikola Vucevic are very good players who play different positions and who all complement each other nicely on the court. With Payton and Oladipo under rookie contracts there isn't much concern as they are locked up for a few more years. Vucevic just signed on till the end of the 2018-19 season as well so these three pieces will be in place for a while. The Magic will have to make a decision on Tobias Harris this offseason as he is a restricted free-agent who is sure to attract some offers. The Magic must have a number in mind for him already and seem prepared to let him go if the dollars start getting too high for his services.
State of the Union - Orlando Magic
Knowing that the Magic are at least one more year away from being a playoff team, they will want to draft here to fit their needs. The backcourt play of Payton and Oladipo is strong and so is that of Vucevic in the middle; however, where the Magic have a big weakness is their ability to generate offense and play defense out of their power forwards. The Magic ranked near the bottom of the league in points per game, rebounds per game and blocks per game and everyone knows that in order to win in the Association a team needs defense and rebounding. I don't expect Orlando to try and spend big money this offseason to address this need as they spent big money last season on Channing Frye and they would be ecstatic if they could unload him now.
Draft Needs:
The Magic will definitely want to address their frontcourt needs here by drafting a big bodied power forward or versatile center to complement Vucevic. Things could go the Magic's way here and they could land themselves a quality prospect like Willie Cauley-Stein, although the New York Knicks at the four spot might also be suitors. I have to believe that the Magic will quickly grab whomever is available here between Jahlil Okafor and Cauley-Stein. Although most drafts have Okafor going to Los Angeles as an automatic pick he could be passed over by the Lakers and then watch himself fall to the five spot for Orlando. While it would be a bit of a stretch as another lottery team would likely mortgage the farm to move up and grab him and they would probably find a willing trade partner in New York.