By John DentonMay 20, 2015
ORLANDO – Contrary to the apocalyptic headlines emanating from Wednesday’s New York tabloids, the basketball world is not coming to an end. For the teams that failed to snag one of the top two spots in Tuesday’s NBA Draft Lottery – namely the Orlando Magic and also the New York Knicks – life will go on just fine following the June 25th NBA Draft.
The Magic, which came into the lottery with the fifth-best odds and held firm at the No. 5 pick in the draft, can take solace in that fact because of their history of drafting well in recent years. Also, there’s comfort in knowing that some of the best players in NBA history (Charles Barkley, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, Vince Carter and Dwyane Wade) have come from the fifth spot in the draft, proving that there are other ways to build winners if the top spot isn’t available.
New Yorkers, meanwhile, let out the kind of groan on Tuesday that could have drowned out the honking horns and blaring sirens that seemingly always fill their air in the five boroughs when it was revealed that the Knicks would be picking fourth. The back page headline in the New York Daily News screamed, ``TANKS FOR NOTHIN’^’’ over a picture of a Knicks fan wearing a paper bag over his head. Head coach Derek Fisher, who was lambasted all season for not winning with a patchwork lineup, was ripped even more on NYC talk radio for guiding the Knicks to two wins in the final three games – victories against Orlando and Atlanta that damaged New York’s odds of capturing the top spot in the June NBA Draft.
Of the 14 lottery picks, 12 held true to form based on the records from this past season. Minnesota because the first team since the Magic in 2004 to win the first pick after coming into the lottery with the best odds. The Los Angeles Lakers rose to No. 2 and Philadelphia will pick No. 3. The Knicks, who had the league’s second-worst record this season, were the night’s biggest losers by plummeting to fourth.
The Magic know a thing or two about falling backward in the draft, and they handled it the way that teams are supposed to by still nailing their picks. Orlando had the best odds in 2013, but dropped to No. 2 in the draft order. They got a gift when Cleveland picked disappointing forward Anthony Bennett first overall and the Magic quickly scooped up Victor Oladipo – the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year award and a blossoming talent at shooting guard.
In the highly anticipated 2014 NBA Draft, Orlando had the third-best odds but dropped to fourth overall. The Magic took the talented Aaron Gordon – who showed flashes of greatness at the tender age of 19 – and supplemented that pick with a bold trade for Elfrid Payton, a first-team All-Rookie selection this season.
Orlando’s drafting success under GM Rob Hennigan and Assistant GMs Scott Perry and Matt Lloyd has CEO Alex Martins confident that the Magic will be able to uncover a gem with the No. 5 pick in the upcoming draft.
``I have an incredibly high level of confidence in our Basketball Operations team because they have drafted very, very well over the course of the last several drafts,’’ said Martins, who represented the Magic on the lottery dais Tuesday night. ``We know that they’ll do the same this year to add another core piece that we’ll be able to build around for many years to come.’’
Hennigan echoed those thoughts and heaped praise for the past success onto Lloyd, the Magic’s Director of Scouting. In addition to working through the process of hiring a new coach, Hennigan and his staff will soon start bringing potential draft targets into the Magic’s headquarters at the Amway Center for interviews and workouts. Hennigan feels with the addition of a full-time coach, another top-five pick and the solid talent base already in place, there is plenty to be excited about in the seasons ahead.
``This (time) is very big because it’s our job to make sure that we know these players inside and out, and we’ll used the next five or six weeks to button up any holes in our research that we might have,’’ Hennigan said. ``We’ve got a lot of guys coming back. We’ve got to find a coach and the fifth pick will certainly add to our talent base. It’s up to us to make sure that the pieces fit and continue to push forward.’’
While fitting that puzzle together, the Magic most likely won’t be able to acquire top prospects Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor – centers that are considered the most can’t-miss players available. Point guards D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay also could be long gone, but that isn’t all bad considering that Orlando is stocked at the guard slots with Evan Fournier, Oladipo and Payton.
Duke standout Justise Winslow, Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis and Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein could be potential targets for a Magic squad that is in need of shot-blocking and perimeter shooting. Sitting at the fifth spot also raises an interesting question for the Magic: Do they base the pick on drafting for need or do they simply select the most talented player available? Also, a Magic team already loaded with youth could decided to trade down, trade out of the draft, trade for veteran talent or sit tight at No. 5.
``The depth of the draft is always relative and it’s hard to say, but we think it’s a good draft,’’ Hennigan said. ``We think we’ll have a lot of options at the fifth pick and we’ll have options to trade if that’s the route that we decide to take. So we’re open to everything.’’
Martins said the magic delegation that travelled to New York for the lottery braced themselves for worst-case scenarios on Tuesday night, knowing that the Magic could have potentially fallen to as low at eighth in the draft. So when the Magic’s logo was revealed at No. 5 there was actually a great sense of relief about a management team that has learned how to make the best of whatever cards that the fickle lottery deals them.
``We’re going to have a lot of options,’’ Martins said. ``As we looked at how far we could potentially drop, we knew we could still get a very good player at No. 8. Now, we know that we’re going to get a very good player (at No. 5) and we’ll be able to address a need. Our team has been work really hard all year scouting and doing intelligence work under Rob Hennigan’s guidance to determine who those best players are.
``Like with the rest of our roster, we’re going to be looking for high-character, hard-working players that can complement the core that we already have in place,’’ Martins added.
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