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2020 Official Draft Thread

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On 10/17/2020 at 3:08 AM, CTMagicUK said:

I actually disagree with this. I certainly wouldn't stash Poku, his current situation has hardly been good for his development so if he's moving and uprooting his life anyway it might as well be to the US. And then the benefit with Poku is he's the youngest guy in the draft so I wouldn't be as concerned with immediate playing time for him like I would if he was 21. I think it'd benefit him to train with the Magic and work with our strength and conditioning guys while getting him lots of game time and specifically on ball reps in the G League and then situational game time with the Magic as a wild card 7 footer who you can really do some creative things with on offense off ball (in short spurts because there's a chance you bleed points on the other end unless he adds some serious weight and really commits to playing defense).

I don't think we'll pick him to be honest but I would be so excited if we did.

As I said, I wouldn't hate that pick, but I think we would then have to make some other moves - not necessarily to get him playing time - as you noted, he could get practice time with the team and playing time (presumably) with Lakeland. But, we need to sign a backup guard (or two) since Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Iwundu are all free agents. We have to figure out if Frazier is worth keeping on the team option, or if his roster spot can be better filled. Also, do we bring back Clark, Johnson, and/or Law? Using pick #15 on Poku means you would now have nine forwards and centers on the roster (ten if you keep Frazier):

Isaac - injured, Gordon, Okeke, Aminu, Vucevic, Bamba, Birch, Ennis (assuming he exercises his player option), Poku

Currently we would have only three backcourt players signed (can Okeke play some at SG?):

Fultz, Ross, Fournier (assuming he exercises his player option) 

Are there three free agent guards we like/can afford? I'm assuming we don't bring back all three of Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Iwundu. I would actually like to see us make a run at PJ Dozier, as he is a 23 year old, 6'6" PG/SG. I think he is a younger, slightly better shooting, version of Carter-Williams. I also was quite impressed with a couple of other "reclamation" projects that played well last year and/or in the bubble - Trey Burke, and Alec Burks. Trey reminds me a bit of DJ, only younger.

Even if you can get a break on the salary cap with an injured-player exception for Isaac, that doesn't give you an extra roster space. I actually really like Clark, and as a restricted free agent, we can probably bring him back reasonably cheaply, but with 9 (or 10) roster spots already filled with other forwards/centers, there really isn't a space for him. Would he take a 2WP spot, who knows?

I think if our front office drafts Poku (or any other forward or center) then they will have to move on from one or more of our existing front-court guys. I can see some smaller trades with Birch or Ennis, some medium trades with Bamba or Aminu, and possibly a larger trade with Gordon or Vucevic (less likely). I doubt we trade Isaac (injury reduces current value) or Okeke (hasn't played to establish a value).

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2 hours ago, jmmagicfan said:

As I said, I wouldn't hate that pick, but I think we would then have to make some other moves - not necessarily to get him playing time - as you noted, he could get practice time with the team and playing time (presumably) with Lakeland. But, we need to sign a backup guard (or two) since Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Iwundu are all free agents. We have to figure out if Frazier is worth keeping on the team option, or if his roster spot can be better filled. Also, do we bring back Clark, Johnson, and/or Law? Using pick #15 on Poku means you would now have nine forwards and centers on the roster (ten if you keep Frazier):

Isaac - injured, Gordon, Okeke, Aminu, Vucevic, Bamba, Birch, Ennis (assuming he exercises his player option), Poku

Currently we would have only three backcourt players signed (can Okeke play some at SG?):

Fultz, Ross, Fournier (assuming he exercises his player option) 

Are there three free agent guards we like/can afford? I'm assuming we don't bring back all three of Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Iwundu. I would actually like to see us make a run at PJ Dozier, as he is a 23 year old, 6'6" PG/SG. I think he is a younger, slightly better shooting, version of Carter-Williams. I also was quite impressed with a couple of other "reclamation" projects that played well last year and/or in the bubble - Trey Burke, and Alec Burks. Trey reminds me a bit of DJ, only younger.

Even if you can get a break on the salary cap with an injured-player exception for Isaac, that doesn't give you an extra roster space. I actually really like Clark, and as a restricted free agent, we can probably bring him back reasonably cheaply, but with 9 (or 10) roster spots already filled with other forwards/centers, there really isn't a space for him. Would he take a 2WP spot, who knows?

I think if our front office drafts Poku (or any other forward or center) then they will have to move on from one or more of our existing front-court guys. I can see some smaller trades with Birch or Ennis, some medium trades with Bamba or Aminu, and possibly a larger trade with Gordon or Vucevic (less likely). I doubt we trade Isaac (injury reduces current value) or Okeke (hasn't played to establish a value).

That's true. And you're very right. I've been thinking a lot about the cap situation we're in and was going to type a long post about it but then thought I'd wait until we had clarity on the numbers for the upcoming season but one thing I hadn't really considered in that is roster balance. 

I think we could easily move Ennis or Birch if we wanted to but whether we would want to is another thing and if we're not going to make any other moves then a guard really is the only player pick that makes sense.

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22 minutes ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

adding a guard last year made sense too...and then we signed Aminu and drafted Okeke

Except last year we had Fultz coming in who needed playing time to figure out what we had, we already had Augustin, Fournier, and Iwundu all under contract, and then we re-signed Ross and Carter-Williams. Yes, we still have Fultz and Ross, and Fournier will probably opt in; but I doubt we re-sign all three of Augustin, Carter-Williams, and Iwundu. We currently have Fultz as the only PG under contract. That's why I said if we draft Poku, then I think we make other moves to "balance" the roster. We know that the team really likes Carter-Williams for his defensive versatility, energy, and ability to play the PG when necessary. I actually think he is the most likely of our free agents to be re-signed. I like both DJ and Wes, but I can see them trying to replace either, or both of them. If Ennis opts in, that probably makes Wes Iwundu expendable. Especially considering you can bring back Gary Carter cheaper, and he is a little better fill in for Isaac until we know more about Okeke. I really see us going for a PG, or a combo G in the draft. 

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11 hours ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

adding a guard last year made sense too...and then we signed Aminu and drafted Okeke

To be fair it really didn't matter what position Okeke played as we knew he wouldn't suit up this season. 

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Just saw a completely unsubstantiated (and somewhat ridiculous source wise) rumour that linked us to Jalen Harris and I immediately spent 10 mins trying to find his wingspan. Can't find it and so I'm unable to say whether we'd have any interest in him lol. 

FWIW Jalen Harris was a big time scorer in college who can score from all 3 levels so he'd certainly be interesting as a second rounder or two way guy. 

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Report came out that the Wolves haven’t made a decision of who to take at 1. 
 

They mentioned they would also be open to all options including trading the pick. 
 

So, my question is, who would you draft at 1 and what would you trade to acquire that pick? 
 

I would take Anthony Edwards and trade, AG, 15 and 2021 top 2 protected first for James Johnson and Jake Layman. 

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The latest mock from BR has us trading Bamba, Aminu, and #15 to Atlanta for #6 and taking Haliburton.  They have the Hawks taking Nesmith at #15.

Quote

Orlando Magic receive: No. 6

Atlanta Hawks receive: No. 15, Mohamed Bamba, Al-Farouq Aminu

The Orlando Magic likely feel optimistic about Markelle Fultz's progress, but they could still use another passer. Even with Fultz in the plans for Orlando, Tyrese Haliburton makes a lot of sense as an interchangeable guard, secondary playmaker and accurate spot-up shooter. 

Bamba became expendable once the team signed Nikola Vucevic through 2023. And the Hawks, who struggle defensively, could be interested in his shot-blocking.

Haliburton would give the Magic a second ball-handler, good decision-maker and floor-spacer off the ball when Fultz is running pick-and-rolls.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2914096-2020-nba-mock-draft-3-trades-that-would-turn-the-lottery-upside-down

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1 hour ago, MagicFanDan said:

Report came out that the Wolves haven’t made a decision of who to take at 1. 
 

They mentioned they would also be open to all options including trading the pick. 
 

So, my question is, who would you draft at 1 and what would you trade to acquire that pick? 
 

I would take Anthony Edwards and trade, AG, 15 and 2021 top 2 protected first for James Johnson and Jake Layman. 

I personally don't think it's worth trading up in this draft so I wouldn't bother (I wouldn't even be thrilled about AG for James Johnson and #1). If we had the pick I prefer Lamelo Ball over Ant but it's pretty close so I wouldn't be too troubled either way.

1 hour ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

The latest mock from BR has us trading Bamba, Aminu, and #15 to Atlanta for #6 and taking Haliburton.  They have the Hawks taking Nesmith at #15.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2914096-2020-nba-mock-draft-3-trades-that-would-turn-the-lottery-upside-down

I hate this. 

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Aminu this season was the single worst player ive seen in a magic uniform he was horrible. Hopefully he pulls his head in or we can trade him.

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