Magic pick #22...Draft Thursday!
Who should the magic take with their first pick? It might be smart to take a wing player who can fill in at both guard and forward seeing as how mo evans and keyon dooling arent for sure locks to return. Otis has said he'll take the best player available,at that time in the draft a host of shooting guards will be available and probably grade out as the top picks available still on our draft board. Courtney Lee and Chris Douglas-Roberts have both worked out for the magic and are expected to be on the board when the magic pick at #22. Lee is the more outside shooting oriented player being able to hit the three point shot with good size at 6ft 5. Douglas-Roberts is the slasher who can get to the basket at will with a very good mid-range game and has even better size at 6ft7. It's been rumored that otis likes lee the most out of the two. The magic dont have a second round pick but are supposed to trade for one,so who do they pick in the second round? They probably will take the best banger available. We also shouldnt be surprised on draft night to see us be a part of some deals,JJ could be on the move for better positioning within the draft if there's a player otis really wants.
posted by Big Figure @ 4:00 PM
19 Comments:
At 4:23 PM,
Big Figure said…
Courtney Lee-Position: SG
Height: 6-5
Weight: 200
Age: 22
School:Western Kentucky Chris Douglas-Roberts Position: SG
Height: 6-6
Weight: 195
Age: 21
School: Memphis
At 12:49 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Some thoughts on the draft...
I have to admit I originally wasn't too excited about the draft for the Magic this season, simply because when the Magic have picked outside of the top ten in the past, they messed up and picked a player who was nothing but a bust.
Remember Reece Gaines (15th, 2003); Curtis Borchardt (18th, 2002); Steven Hunter (15th, 2001); Jeryl Sasser (22th, 2001); Courtney Alexander (13th, 2000); Johnny Taylor (17th, 1997); etc., etc.
Even recently, after former GM John Weisbrod struck gold drafting Dwight Howard number one in 2004, the Magic and GM Otis Smith have had a poor draft record, drafting Fran Vasquez 14th in 2005 and J.J. Redick 11th in 2006. It's doubtful that Vasquez will ever play a minute for the Magic, and J.J. has been a benchwarmer his first two years despite outstanding shooting ability.
Last year, the Magic had only one draft pick at 44 and drafted Reyshawn Terry of North Carolina, but then traded him to Dallas for the draft rights to Milovan Rakovic of Serbia.
This year, however, there should be some serviceable players left when the Magic pick at number 22. Big Figure touched on a few of them. I think Courtney Lee would be a very good pick; he averaged 20.4 ppg on 47.7% FG shooting and 39.7% on 3 PT FGs last season. Douglas-Roberts averaged 18.1 ppg on 54.1% FG shooting.
Some people think that the Magic should go for a PF or C who would make a good backup; if they go this route, there should be some good players available like D.J. White of Indiana (17.4 ppg, 10.3 rebs) or Roy Hibbert of Georgetown (13.4 ppg, 6.4 rebs).
Ben Q Rock of thirdquartercollapse.com recently participated in a mock draft, and took Ohio State C Kostas Koufos, who averaged 14.4 ppg and 6.7 rebs his only year last season. He may be picked sooner, though; but some experts are not too impressed with him.
Hopefully, Otis Smith will have done his homework and select a player who can contribute in a meaningful way this season. This is a very important draft for the Magic, and for Smith, who I think we can all agree has not done a good job of drafting since being named GM.
I hope that Courtney Lee is available when the Magic pick; he would provide quality depth at SG and possibly even start.
At 1:10 AM,
Matt said…
I am not that familiar with college players to have any say in who is a good pick. However, I agree with, probably the minority, who advocate picking a PF or C. We could, in my view, manage relatively well in SG position. I am not conviced that J.J. is washed up. He may have to hit the weight room a bit more, and I am not concerned with his foot speed if he hits his shots, as was expected.
At 6:16 PM,
Big Figure said…
Matt i dont think your in the minority wanting our draft pick to be a PF or C,its probably like 50/50 bigman or wing-player. I would like us to take the best player available regardless of position,if thats a big i'm all for it. I watch a ton of college basketball so i 've seen most of these guys play,mike mentioned some of the better bigs that will be available at #22.
At 6:18 PM,
Big Figure said…
Gentlemen, start your wheeling and dealing.
Just about everything leading up to today in the NBA war rooms has been intramurals, especially the mock drafts and trade rumors which are more amusing and annoying to teams than accurate.
I can tell you that the Internet Age drives most GMs bananas because it's a lot of 24-7 gossip.
The serious talks leading to Thursday night's draft between teams mostly began today, as the Magic brass met in the morning with their scouting staff.
The Magic's needs are pretty well known.
In order, they are:
1. Shooting guard. This is priority No. 1. Mo Evans likely will not return after doing a decent job last season after arriving in a trade from the Lakers. Keith Bogans, to no one's surprise, decided not to opt out and will make $2.9 million in the last year of his deal. He could be trade bait, tossed in to a deal to make the numbers work. J.J. Redick wants playing time, even if he must go elsewhere, but the Magic are not intent on moving him. Hedo Turkoglu also could play the 2, especially if Tony Battie's return means Battie is back starting at PF and Rashard Lewis is moved back to the 3.
2. Point guard. Jameer Nelson played well in the postseason, relieving the Magic's concerns about his inconsistency. He still isn't going to get any taller than 5-10, and they need a bigger guard even if combo guard Keyon Dooling comes back.
3. A big. Could be a power forward or a backup center to Dwight Howard. You certainly don't want Lewis playing at the 4 forever. The Magic don't feel as desperate here with Tony Battie's return from injury, although I wish Otis Smith had found another veteran big to take into the postseason, especially after Brian Cook broke his hand. I'm not sure this isn't more of a need than they are letting on. Are they really sold on rookie Marcin Gortat? The Magic look at Battie as if they are getting a free agent, considering he missed all of last season when the club won 52 games and a playoff round.
Ok, now the club can obviously fill the position in the draft or by making a trade, although they have limited assets to include in a deal. When you have seven free agents and Turkoglu apparently is not in play, how do you swing a deal or move up in the draft? What's your sweetener?
The Magic have the mid-level exception available to sign a free agent, which can start a player at about $5-$6 million a season. That is pocket money for NBA starters. Evans would love to have the MLE for four or five years, but the Magic will not go there. Most teams split it between two players.
Can they find a starting 2-guard in the draft at 22?
You probably know the names who could be available: Brandon Rush, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee. Most mocks say Rush won't be around.
If the Magic take the best player available, it might well be a big. But everybody after Michael Beastley, er, Beasley, is a gamble. With apologies to Derrick Rose, Beasley is the best player in the draft.
Again, you probably know the names: UF's Mareese Speights, Darrell Arthur, Robin Lopez, to name a few.
Lopez is not an offensive threat, but at least he can rebound and plays like the hustling Anderson Vareajo. Give me offensive rebounds or give me death.
It wouldn't bother me if the Magic invested the pick in point guard Mario Chalmers of Kansas just for Jameer insurance. I like Chalmers.
The Magic better pick a guy who can play some defense -- that ought to be tops on their list. Right?
Whom will the Magic select? Here's what some mock drafts are projecting:
Sports Ilustrated: Lee.
ESPN: Lee.
CBSSportsline: Lee/SF Nicolas Batum of France. (I'd dare the Magic to take another foreigner in the first round after the Fran Vazquez debacle.)
NBADraft.net: SF Donte Green. (Another small forward? Yeah, right.)
Hoopsworld: Douglas-Roberts.
MSNBC: PF Richard Hendrix.
Inside Hoops: Batum (If I hear that name again, I'm giving up French toast.)
BSchmitz's Sentinel Blog
At 9:33 PM,
WeRDevos said…
Simply put. Magic have never drafted a contributing player over #5 (Mike Miller) since Nick Anderson was taken at 10.
That's a lot of history to overcome. And our friend Dave Twardzik has an amazing history at Portland, Golden State and Orlando to back up the idea that the Magic are best served trading the pick.
P.S. The shooting guards in this draft particularly suck. Count on Twardzik taking one.
At 10:32 AM,
Big Figure said…
Well said weR,mike pointed out all the flops for us. I really hope that otis has a plan and sticks to it(what ever it may be),all those years in the past we were picking players trying to fill positions,rather than taking the best player available. Who's to blame? Who cares! lets just start over from this point,we have a brand new team that just finished their first season together,if otis can somehow get it right we'll be in great shape going into next year. After reading schmitz's blog though,you have to start to wonder if otis feels the same way as schmitz and if so,is otis going to try and aquire a starting caliber 20+ scoring SG to give us a big three to try and match boston? Then will he do the same thing with the PG position. There will be a host of good players available this summer at both PG and SG that could be upgrades in our back-court. PG-hinrich,baron davis...SG-meggette,pietrus. I'd rather focus on putting together a starting five that can win it all,we need a PG and SG for that were fine with rashard,tony and dwight as the other three starters.
At 8:47 PM,
Big Figure said…
J.J. Redick turns 24 today.
To him, though, his jump shot isn't getting any younger.
If he is blowing out candles and silently asking for the Orlando Magic to trade him during Thursday's NBA draft or this offseason, well, J.J. isn't going to get his birthday wish.
The Magic said Monday they had no plans to make a draft-night move involving Redick or to deal him this summer, even though the popular but frustrated shooting guard wouldn't mind leaving Orlando in hopes of finding playing time.Redick asked for a trade in January and reiterated that feeling in his exit interview with General Manager Otis Smith and Coach Stan Van Gundy after the season.
"We're not looking to move J.J. If it doesn't make sense, we're not going to move him just to move him," Smith said. "He wants to play, and rightfully so. He thinks he hasn't been given the opportunity.
"You can say, 'I want to go somewhere else to play.' It's easy to say that but harder to do it. We're not giving him away. You're pretty much here. We do value J.J. I think he can play in this league."
Obviously, two seasons of bench-warming haven't enhanced Redick's value around the NBA.
Interest from other clubs "has not presented itself," Smith said.
Redick did not return messages, but it sounds as though he has accepted his plight. Just as he has accepted the fact that the Magic might well draft a shooting guard Thursday at No. 22 or acquire a starter during free agency in July, relegating him again to fight for backup minutes.
Redick told the Orlando Sentinel after the season ended that while he hadn't backed off his trade request, he expected to be in Orlando when camp opened in October at RDV Sportsplex.
In his June 18 blog entry on his Web site, Redicklive.com, J.J. wrote, "The Magic have some decisions to make this offseason -- free agency, trades, and the draft. But I believe 100 percent I'll be back with the Magic.
"In fact, I don't even think it's an issue. I just need to get better and earn Stan's trust and get some minutes. We shall see."
Redick, through his agent, Arn Tellem, had asked the Magic in early January to trade him -- about a month after the club acquired shooting guard Maurice Evans from the Los Angeles Lakers. Evans is a free agent and likely won't return.
Evans supplanted Keith Bogans as the starter. Redick, who was playing behind Bogans and combo guard Keyon Dooling, realized he wouldn't be playing much, if at all, for the second consecutive season.
He was right. He played in just 34 games, left on the bench by Van Gundy for 41 games -- the equivalent of half a season. Redick missed six games with back spasms, and one for personal reasons.
His playing time actually shrank last season. As a rookie, Redick played in 42 games under former coach Brian Hill.
He has started slowly each season after missing time while nursing injuries (back and left foot in '06; broken hand and back spasms in '07).
Smith said he has no regrets selecting Redick -- "none at all" -- and has preached patience to him. Redick's exasperation and trade request do not bother Smith; he expected it from a competitor such as Redick.
"Sometimes things have to fall into place," Smith said. "A lot of it is timing."
Orlando selected Redick with their No. 11 lottery pick in the 2006 draft. But shortcomings on the defensive end largely have turned the former Duke All-American -- one of college basketball's greatest shooters -- into a spectator. The Magic needed defense, not Redick's offense. Besides, Bogans surprisingly was draining 3-pointers, a Redick specialty.
In his blog, Redick wrote that he started training in late May after playing blackjack in Las Vegas and vacationing in the Turks and Caicos Islands and "hanging out" briefly with Tiger Woods.
"I want to get stronger [weight room]," Redick writes. "I want to get quicker and get my hips stronger for defense . . . I'm working on my game, trying to improve my ball-handling and scoring off the dribble.
"So far, I've been pleased with my progress and hope that come October 1, I'll be in peak physical condition to challenge for minutes."
Maybe by next year, J.J. Redick can wish for something besides a new team.
At 11:43 AM,
Big Figure said…
If JJ's off the trade block,then who's on? Hedo probably has the most trade value,do you trade him for a true starting SG? Hedo could fill in at the two as a reserve if he's not moved,but he's to big to be a starter there. I'm sure otis already knows whether he wants mo evans back or not,so it should be interesting to see how he plans on filling our starting SG position. If he lets mo evans walk,he almost certainly has to upgrade through free-agency or trade because keith is a solid back-up not a starter in SVG's mind.
At 1:17 PM,
Unknown said…
courtney lee is a better rodney stuckey because lee can shoot and is bigger. We know how stuckey messed us up this post-season, so a better version of that would be great.
At 1:23 PM,
Big Figure said…
Lee can handle the ball,but he isnt a point guard like stuckey. Both are good players though,and if lee can come in the league and have that same kind of impact that stuckey had,then somebody's gonna get a good players. He might even be able to compete in training camp and win a starting position if mo evans is gone (thats of course if he's still on the board when we pick).
At 1:40 PM,
Big Figure said…
bramjot,welcome to the blog!
At 6:58 PM,
WeRDevos said…
If they trade Hedo they damn well better get a legit all-star back.
They have my permission to trade anyone other than the 3 starting bigs. Heh.
Think Detroit would take our 12 scrubs for Chauncey and Prince? Or how 'bout PHX for Diaw & Barbosa? Indy for O'Neil & Tinsley?
Gawd I can't wait for something to happen.
At 2:42 AM,
Mike from Illinois said…
I think the Raptors, getting Jermaine O'Neal from the Pacers, made out very well and will be much-improved next season.
If O'Neal can stay healthy, he and Chris Bosh will make an awesome pairing at C/PF.
Giving up T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic is no big deal to the Raptors, as Ford was unhappy with his reserve role, with Jose Calderon doing an outstanding job as the starter at the point, while Nesterovic was barely a factor in the playoffs.
The Raptors might miss drafting a quality player at number 17 that they also gave to the Pacers, but to get O'Neal makes it more than worthwhile. The Raptors have other talented players, and will be tough competition for the Magic next season in the East.
At 1:49 PM,
Big Figure said…
I hate the pacers for letting oneal go,the raptors are gonna be super tough to beat barring injuries. Also yesterday the sentinel had a live chat with Bschmitz about the draft and free-agency,i was able to ask brian a few questions and got a couple answered. One of the questions i got answered is still in the transcripts of yesterday's chat which is one of the main articles on the sentinel sports home page. Some of the fans over there are crazy,i forgot how much of a jungle the sentinel message boards used to be. One guy stated that he thought we should give carlos a brand new deal because he puts spanish people in the seats,i responded to what the guy said with something simple not thinking that Bschmitz would take my response to the guy as one of my questions but he did,so some kind of way i got comformation about the status of carlos when i didnt even try to.
At 1:52 PM,
Big Figure said…
Big Figure: William with all due respect, putting fanny's in seats isnt enough to warrant carlos a new contract offer from the magic. I like alot of things about carlos,good guy, floor leader, veteran presence, etc. But the two things that i dont like about carlos,lack of defense and shooting inconsistencies is the reason he wont be asked back. He as a person might be missed, but his game wont be,at his age he is what he is.
Brian Schmitz: True.
At 1:56 PM,
Big Figure said…
I also asked brian if he thought mo evans would be resigned? This was his answer:Big Figure --- I think they want to see if they can upgrade after Evans, who is a backup most other places. Remember, the Magic don't have the money to spend; they are trying to add pieces cheaply around Howard and Lewis.
At 1:57 PM,
Big Figure said…
Not surprisingly william's last name was diaz.
At 2:08 PM,
Mike from Illinois said…
Interesting stuff, Big Figure!
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