Basketball is officially back in Orlando. Fans are, once again, crowding the Amway center to watch their beloved Magic take on whoever dares to challenge them. These fans are tired of mediocrity. They want to see this team win more than anything else in the world. The players feel the same way, from rookies Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner to veterans Gary Harris and Terrence Ross. Each of these players are hungry for a win. And I’m more than confident that this team will win as many games as they can, dominating the league en route to an NBA championship.
Just not this year.
Pessimistic? Me? Of course not! I’m just facing the unfortunate truth that this Magic team, as it is currently constructed, is not equipped to win a championship and I am not sure if they can make the playoffs. We do not know when stars Markelle Fultz and Jonathan Isaac will make their long-awaited returns, nor do we know whether the rest of the team will stay healthy enough to compete in their absence. Even with Fultz and Isaac, we have major holes on our roster that need to be filled. There is simply no conceivable way for us to dominate this year.
Fortunately, there is a silver lining to all of this. As many of you know, the teams with the worst records will have the highest chance to welcome a future star to their team in the summer’s NBA Draft. And based on what I have seen so far from the NCAA’s best players, I really, really like this year’s NBA Draft class. I think multiple players who will hear their names called this June will have productive NBA careers, if not elite ones. One of these players will likely report to Orlando next season and become the newest Magic Man. But who will this player be? Well, I don’t know. But I definitely have my preferences. Assuming the Magic have a high selection in the 2022 NBA Draft, they could pick any one of the seven players listed below. Some are big names in the college basketball world, and others are just now breaking out. Either way, they are my seven favorite prospects for this team. This is not a mock draft, nor is it even a big board. It is a shortlist of amateur basketball players I believe would best benefit the Orlando Magic based on their skillsets, positional fits, and potential. One of these players could be wearing pinstripes in less than a year. And if that ends up being the case, I believe they will be a tremendous asset to the Orlando Magic.
So, without further ado, the Orlando Magic select…
1.) CHET HOLMGREN—Gonzaga University (PF/C)
I’d be willing to wager that Chet Holmgren is a name you’ve probably already heard of. The Massive Minnesotan spent his senior year of high school tantalizing the basketball world, earning him the top spot in this year’s ESPN recruiting rankings. But what makes Holmgren such an intriguing basketball player? We’ve never seen anything like him. This seven-footer handles the ball like a point guard, especially in transition. His massive size, elite speed and breathtaking agility would make him one of basketball’s deadliest coast-to-coast players, but that’s not all. Holmgren’s presence in the paint can be felt on both offense, as an elite post scorer, and on defense, as a very effective shot blocker. Most players that are this versatile in the paint usually remain there for the entire game, but not Holmgren. His three-point shooting ability is enough to make him a perimeter threat as well. Chet Holmgren is everything you can ask for in a big man, from a juggernaut in the post, to a stretch 4/5, and to being a one-man fast break. He can do it all, and likely more that we haven’t seen.
But Holmgren, despite how elite he seems at nearly every basketball-related ability, has a major weakness: himself. Chet Holmgren is an outstanding, one-of-a-kind player that any team would have, but his body will always have NBA teams watching. At 7 feet tall and 190 pounds, his body is just simply not conducive to playing professional basketball. He’s way too skinny, and he possesses an equally-thin frame that doesn’t make it easy to add weight. This could limit some of his strengths when he faces bigger, stronger competition in the NBA, particularly his post ability. He may find it difficult to post up, contest shots at the rim, stay ahead of stronger players defensively, or beat his opponents for rebounds. But Holmgren will still be a very good player regardless. I believe he has the highest ceiling of any draft prospect in the past three years, as his sheer talent and versatile play style on both sides of the floor will be enough to make any opponent tremble.
Holmgren’s fit with the Orlando Magic seems plausible, especially if the team decides to move on from Mo Bamba in the offseason. He brings valuable transition scoring, shooting, and rim defense that the team has needed for several years now. But what makes this fit better is Holmgren’s relationship with Jalen Suggs. The two played together in high school and seem to be great friends; Holmgren currently attends Suggs’s alma mater, Gonzaga, and was even seen supporting the rookie in one of his summer league games. The chemistry between the two players is already electric, and could form an elite duo in the NBA because of it. But Suggs or not, Chet Holmgren is an elite prospect, one whose incredible, multifaceted game will entice front offices around the league.
2.) PAOLO BANCHERO—Duke University (PF)
Take one look at Paolo Banchero playing basketball and there’s one thing that stands out: him. He doesn’t seem to fit alongside most players in his age group. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think he’s an NBA player hosting a basketball boot camp for teenagers. Your observations would be very valid. Physically, Banchero is a man among boys. At 6’10” and 250 pounds, Banchero looks like a supersized football player, one who you’d think stumbled onto a basketball court by pure accident. But make no mistake, Banchero can play…but not in the way you might expect. His sheer size and dominant frame would suggest that he’s best suited for playing solely in the paint. Such a decision would make sense, but it would be a waste of his ability. Banchero can score very well in the paint, but he can score equally as well from mid-range and even from beyond the arc. The Duke standout flashed his effortless ability to score from anywhere during his win over the Kentucky Wildcats last Tuesday. He finished through contact well. He shot from the elbows well. He shot from three-point land well. He put up shots that most power forwards wouldn’t even dare to attempt…and they still went in. He may not be as explosive of an athlete as one would like from a forward, but that matters little knowing how elite he is at putting the ball in the basket. He hardly even needs athleticism to be effective on offense. He is already a three-level scorer, which requires many offensive skills that take many draft prospects years to master. And unlike Holmgren, it’s very easy to see how his game and frame could translate to the NBA. He could become the next great scoring big man, this year’s number one overall draft pick, and/or the newest member of the Orlando Magic.
If the latter were to happen, he would bring much-needed scoring to a team that severely needs it. Most of Orlando’s scoring comes from two players: Cole Anthony and Wendell Carter. A third scoring presence would certainly help, especially one who doesn’t need to limit himself to just one area of the floor. Many have compared Banchero to Carter, who is also a Duke alumnus, and I understand where that comes from. Both have shown elite three-point shooting potential and have a knack for scoring on the inside. But I think Banchero could be even better than Carter is. He can take the ball to the hoop in every single way possible, an elusive skill that I’m sure would intrigue the Orlando Magic.
3.) JABARI SMITH, JR.—Auburn University (PF)
In my opinion, Jabari Smith, Jr. is the most underrated prospect in this year’s draft. I think he has a case to be taken first overall, like Holmgren and Banchero, but he rarely gets talked about in comparison to the others. That will soon change. Smith is a very good shooter, especially for his massive 6’11” size. This combination alone makes him an elite stretch-four, but his 249 pounds gives him the powerful size and frame to make him a consistent pick-and-pop threat as well. But shooting is not his only skillset. Smith can play basketball like a guard with his ability to perform things that very few people of his height could ever do, such as shooting off the dribble, creating space, and making smart passes. Like Holmgren, his quickness and size makes him a dangerous one-man fast break, and like Banchero, he can create shots from multiple areas on the floor. Smith is also a threat defensively too. He moves around the floor well and knows how to use his size to stay on his man. He can switch when needed, but is also a decent lockdown defender with good hands and a serviceable rim-protecting ability. He’s not the most explosive prospect in this year’s draft class, similarly to Banchero, but he is agile enough to be a transition threat and a pesky defender. Smith projects to be a 3-and-D four, similarly to Jaren Jackson, Jr., but I think he can become so much more. Smith checks off so many boxes for me that it’s impossible to see him as anything other than a potentially elite NBA player.
But will he check off as many boxes for the Magic? His insane length, frame, and 6’11” wingspan would almost certainly pique Jeff Weltman’s interest. The Magic have drafted players with similar measurements for three straight years: Jonathan Isaac in 2017, Mo Bamba in 2018, and Chuma Okeke in 2019. But Smith possesses the offensive talent and versatility that none of these players have seemed to show. If drafted, Smith would add shooting, pick-and-roll versatility, and dominance off transition to our bench, and potentially our starting five. And once Coach Mosley has the time to develop him? It’s game over for the rest of the league. He could be the next great power forward for the Magic if the injury-prone Jonathan Isaac turns out not to be their answer. He likely would not be as good of a defender, but he’d definitely be a better offensive presence on a team that desperately needs it. I believe that Smith will one day be a star for his league, for his defensive versatility, his guard-like speed and agility on transitions, and his uncanny ability to get buckets, all of which are areas the Magic desperately need improvement on.
4.) JADEN HARDY—G-League Ignite (SG)
Speaking of getting buckets, no one in this draft class can do it better than Jaden Hardy. He averaged 30.4 points a game in his junior year of high school, and scored 24 points in one of his first G-League games against the Agua Caliente Clippers. Hardy claims to have modeled his game after James Harden’s, and it shows. His elite shot creation resembles that of the NBA MVP’s very well, one that he’s relied on throughout his basketball-playing career. He’s very, very good at creating shots for himself at every level of the floor, just like Banchero. Hardy is borderline unguardable whenever he prepares to shoot, and impossible to contain once he gets hot. He can be somewhat of a ball stopper, which has certainly affected his efficiency in the G-League, but if he passes more often and improves his shot selection, there’s no telling how lethal of a scorer he could be at the NBA level.
Jaden Hardy would obviously bring scoring to the Magic, which has been a need for the team for quite some time. Cole Anthony is perhaps the only reliable shot creator in Orlando, but he has proven to be elite at it. Adding a second shot creator to this team, possibly a better one than Anthony, would undoubtedly make the Magic more offensively versatile. Defenses would have two scoring threats to worry about, not just one. Both Anthony and Hardy are very capable of being first options, and Coach Mosley would have a lot of fun deciding how to play them. Would he start one and bench the other? Would he play them both together? Would he move Hardy to the three and pair the two with an excellent facilitator like Markelle Fultz or Jalen Suggs, creating a nightmare for opposing defenses? The possibilities are endless. Of course, Hardy’s position as a guard presents a problem to the Magic, who have too many guards. Where does he fit alongside Anthony, Fultz, Suggs, RJ Hampton, Michael Carter-Williams, E’Twaun Moore, Gary Harris and Terrence Ross? That would be for Coach Mosley to decide, and for Jeff Weltman to decide whether exacerbating the Magic’s logjam at guard is worth having Hardy’s elite shot creating and scoring ability that Orlando has always needed.
5.) JALEN DUREN—University of Memphis (C)
Jalen Duren is the most dominant paint player on this list. At 6’10”, 230 pounds, and with all the athleticism in the world, Duren is both an unstoppable force and an immovable object whenever he’s near the basket. He is an excellent finisher at the rim, a phenomenal scorer from the low post, and a legitimate lob threat with his athleticism and his gift at dunking the ball. Duren is also one of this draft’s best rebounders, whose quickness and athleticism allows him to time the ball’s drop well and catch it at the best possible angle. That quickness and athleticism also helps him defensively, as an outstanding shot blocker with an absurd 7’5” wingspan. This ability to contest shots in the paint, as well as make them, already makes him one of basketball’s most powerful paint presences, but there’s something else about him that I like: he’s very young. He chose not to play his senior year of high school and jump straight to college, playing for Magic legend Penny Hardaway’s Memphis Tigers. This means that Duren has plenty of time to develop into an elite paint player, even more than he is today. With enough time, polish, and assistance from NBA coaches, he could become one of the NBA’s best rim protecters and paint scorers. His two-way potential near the basket is almost unmatched in the class, but he is severely limited everywhere else. He is a poor perimeter shooter, and his sub-par free-throw percentage does not suggest an easy transition into NBA-level shooting. His handles need a little bit of work too, which could make him turnover prone if he ever finds himself away from the hoop. Duren’s teams could definitely benefit from him stepping outside of the paint more often, since his frame would make him a serious pick-and-roll threat. But his non-shooting, paint-dominant play style does not allow for him to leave the basket very often, and that’s something he must work on if he wants to avoid being double-teamed and highly-contested in the post. If he does, however, there’s no telling how good Duren can truly be.
Would the Magic be the team to help Duren reach his full potential? I can see it happen if the Magic decide to let Mo Bamba walk this summer. Duren would simply take Bamba’s place as the team’s athletic, powerful shot blocker with the length and athleticism to guard several positions down low. Will Duren be as good of a shooter as Bamba? Probably not. But he will definitely have a stronger command of the paint, as Bamba seems to be primarily a shot blocker when he’s close to the basket. If the Magic keep Bamba, I don’t think Duren would be a good fit for the team. I’m sure the front office would consider drafting someone with Duren’s length, like they usually do, but I don’t see him blossoming under both Carter and Bamba. But no matter where Duren ends up, he will make opposing offenses and defenses fear whenever he finds himself near the rim.
6.) PATRICK BALDWIN, JR.—University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (SF)
I can’t decide what my favorite part of Patrick Baldwin Jr.’s game is. Maybe it’s the fact that he has one of the best-looking jump shots I have ever seen. Maybe it’s his outstanding size and length (6’10”) for his position. Maybe it’s his excellent three-point shooting ability, whether in transition, off the dribble, or after a catch. Maybe it’s that he rarely makes mistakes on the floor. Or maybe it’s a combination of all of these things. Regardless, I love Baldwin’s game. I cannot stress that enough. I think he will, at the very least, be an outstanding scorer in the NBA. He has all the fundamentals to become one, from his size to his quickness to his pristine form, he has mastered the art of shooting the basketball and can already do so at an NBA level. Whether or not he can create those shots for himself is still up for debate, but there’s no question that he knows how to put the ball in the basket. Even better, at 6’10”, he’s significantly taller than most elite shooters. That puts him at another advantage against opposing defenses, as if he wasn’t a gifted shooter already. But that’s not all he’s got. He’s very quick and very active off-ball as well and is not prone to making mistakes when he’s not shooting, all of which gives him versatility on the offensive end. Everything about Baldwin’s game screams “NBA Offensive Star.” But don’t just take my word for it. Some scouts have been bold enough to label him the next Michael Porter, Jr. or even the next Kevin Durant. He’s that good and that talented. But he isn’t perfect. He’s not an explosive athlete. Or, at least, we haven’t seen many flashes of that trait, as he rarely gets to the rim. This unwillingness to attack the basket will severely limit his scoring arsenal, which will allow NBA defenses to read his otherwise-elite shooting ability like a book. He won’t have to worry about that level of competition for at least another year, as Baldwin will be playing for his father at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a much smaller school with less competition than the rest of these prospects. This would give Baldwin the chance to showcase his full potential, but it would also make teams wonder if his excellent shooting stints are inflated due to a relative lack of competition. But even with outstanding opposition, Baldwin would still hold his own. He is an elite scoring talent who can make a name for himself in college and beyond.
How does he fit in with the Orlando Magic? Well…how doesn’t he fit in with the Orlando Magic? Think about it. Baldwin is a tall, lengthy wing with good athleticism, maturity, and an elite jump shot. That’s literally the mold that this Magic team has been missing for quite some time now. He automatically increases Orlando’s shooting, which has long been a need for them, and his questionable creation ability may not matter much when consistently receiving passes from Markelle Fultz or Jalen Suggs, two great playmakers who can alleviate that aspect of scoring for Baldwin. Maybe in due time, the Magic could even run the offense through Baldwin, or he could be to Orlando what Michael Porter Jr. is to Denver: an elite scoring threat. Because that’s what Baldwin already is. And if the Magic select him in the 2022 NBA Draft, you can bet that he’ll bring that much-needed element to the team.
7.) CALEB HOUSTAN—University of Michigan (SF)
Like Baldwin, Caleb Houstan projects as one of this draft class’s best shooters. He has a very nice-looking jump shot and a smooth release, something I’m confident will translate to the NBA level. I think Baldwin has the slight, slight edge over Houstan in this category (which is no knock on Houstan whatsoever), but I’m much more confident in Houstan’s ability as a defender than I am with Baldwin’s. At 6’8”, an above-average height for the three, he’s quick and agile with very active hands and a decent ability to run the floor. He is easily one of the premier 3-and-D players in this draft class, but his game has room to grow. He is a willing passer with a promising floor-reading ability. He still needs slight improvement in that area, and he’s not explosive enough to lift you out of your seat, but those two minor weaknesses are not enough to impact his overall game. At worst, I can see Houstan as a very solid 3-and-D player in the NBA, and at best, he can be a game-changer on both sides of the floor.
It’s sad to think about, but Terrence Ross’s days as a Magic could be numbered. The ten-year veteran and the sole survivor from the Hennigan Era of Orlando Basketball has served his city well as one of the best 3-and-D bench players in the league over the past five seasons. But now that our team is heading into a new, younger direction in its rebuild, it’s hard to see the aging Ross as a core facet of this team. If the Magic decide to trade him or let him walk, Caleb Houstan would fill his place as the Magic’s 3-and-D bench threat. Wing scoring has long been an issue for the Magic, but it’s getting better. Ross is no longer the best scorer at that position, thanks to the pleasant surprise of rookie Franz Wagner. Adding Houstan to that position would give Orlando an additional scoring threat in a position of need, but he would add much-needed defense as well. That kind of versatility has been known to attract our front office, who selected similar archetypes in Wagner and Chuma Okeke in the 2021 and 2019 NBA Drafts respectively. Could Houstan end up wearing pinstripes next season? Potentially. But if he does, the Magic will benefit from his 3-and-D ability on the bench, and maybe even as one of the team’s star players.
CONCLUSION:
Of course, there are still more prospects that the Orlando Magic could select in this year’s draft, such as Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, Peyton Watson from UCLA, or one of Duke’s wings in AJ Griffin or Trevor Keels. The possibilities for this team are endless, and this list could very well change within a few months. But as it stands right now, I’m confident that these seven players would best fit the Orlando Magic, based on various directions they could go in. I am a massive fan of all of them, and I will be the first to sing their praises. But we don’t know what Jeff Weltman or John Hammond are thinking right now, nor do we know how they plan to improve the Magic with this year’s NBA Draft. But if their idea is to draft one of these seven players in June, I’m almost certain that they will not regret it, as I wholeheartedly believe that all of them can bring win after win to the Magic within due time.
The Orlando Magic are on the clock.
