The 2014-15 NBA season has officially come to a close; a new champion has been anointed and the draft has concluded. The end of the NBA season is also the unofficial start of the worst five weeks in a sports fan's life as it is the slowest and quietest period of the year. There are some fairly minimal NBA trades that get done and there will be some free agent news to follow; however, there is little drama to this offseason with only Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge creating much intrigue.
This is the fitting time of the year to sum up the NBA draft and profile the incoming lottery selections. eDraft Sports has highlighted the best sleeper picks of the draft and now we move into more in depth analysis of each lottery selection. Granted any true reflection on these players would be much better served after at least a couple seasons of experience; however, we will offer initial reviews and projections for the upcoming season.
The fifth overall selection in the draft went to the Orlando Magic who entered the draft thinking there was a reasonable chance of losing Tobias Harris and that an immediate replacement was going to be necessary. Coming into this draft the Magic knew two things about their current roster; that their backcourt was solid in Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo and that at center they had one of the most skilled players in the game in Nikola Vucevic.
The Magic had to be hoping to repeat last year's draft success as they were then able to nab Payton who turned out to be their starting point guard and an electric player for them. Given that the fifth overall pick all but guaranteed them of not having a crack at the top three prospects; the Magic had to be prepared to either take Kristaps Porzingis or Mario Hezonja with their pick. Given the landscape of the NBA, a team cannot have too many skilled, ball-handling players who can stretch the floor and play well off a cornerstone center. With this in mind the Magic had little chance of failure here as both Porzingis and Hezonja fit that bill nicely.
Once the Knicks grabbed Porzingis with the fourth overall pick, the Magic had an easy decision as Hezonja figured to be an excellent fit. The 6'8" 200 pound hybrid shooting guard / small forward has been an International draft prospect for three years as he continues to play well and impress in competitions. Hezonja has been exposed to top level competition in U19 tournaments as well as by playing with Barcelona in the Spanish League.
After drafting the talented Hezonja; the Magic extended an offer to restricted free-agent Tobias Harris, who surprisingly accepted the offer at $64 million for four years. With this the 22 year old Harris becomes the senior member of the Magic backcourt that is certainly bursting with talent now. By keeping Harris in the fold the Orlando Magic could challenge for a playoff spot sooner than later.
Hezonja now has the benefit of acclimating to the Association while not being burdened with the pressures of starting. Hezonja could conceivably be two years away from challenging for a starter's spot; however, that would mean that either Victor Oladipo or Elfrid Payton has not progressed in their development.
It wouldn't be too far fetched to see the Magic make have a succession plan in place that would see one of their talented backcourt players getting flipped for some help at power forward and a draft pick coming back. It remains to be seen if Hezonja will be that player; however, the team friendly contract to Harris certainly creates an enviable bargaining position for the team moving forward.