Magic should trade one of their lottery picks in Thursday’s NBA Draft | Commentary
Running off at the typewriter …
The mega-million-dollar question heading into Thursday’s NBA Draft seems to be what should the Orlando Magic do with their two lottery picks — No. 6 overall and No. 11 overall?
Should they use them both?
Package them and try to move up into the top 3?
Trade down and obtain draft capital for the future while still being able to get a decent contributor (hopefully) in this year’s draft?
Or should they use one of the lottery picks and then trade the other for a future first-round pick?
Or, much less likely, maybe they should put together a package of draft picks and players and try to make a major splash by acquiring a marquee star such as Damian Lillard or Zion Williamson, both of whom could be on the trade block?
As much as I would love to see Lillard in a Magic uniform, I don’t think Lillard would love to see Lillard in a Magic uniform — at least not at this juncture. Lillard wants to compete for a championship right now, and the Magic aren’t close to being a championship contender. As for Williamson, the Magic certainly don’t need another perpetually injured player on their roster.
The beauty is that the Magic have tons of options and assets. If I were Jeff Weltman, the Magic’s president of basketball operations, I would use one of the lottery picks to try to find another young star in the mold of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner and then I would trade the other for a future No. 1 pick.
Let’s face it, the Magic are already the third-youngest team in the NBA and don’t really need two more young, developing players added to a roster already filled with young, developing players. If you have too many young, developing players, how do you develop them when they’re not getting extensive court time?
Mr. Weltman, if you’re listening, take notes:
Use the No. 6 pick, then trade the No. 11 pick for future draft capital to help make a major deal for an established star when the time is right.
Now is not the time to bring in an established star, but soon it will be.
Hopefully, very soon.
SHORT STUFF: Did you see where former Orlando Sentinel news columnist Mike Thomas resigned from the Tourist Development Tax (TDT) advisory board because “the deck seems stacked” in favor of once again spending zillions of TDT money to expand the Orange County Convention Center? My question: Why did Thomas agree to be on this panel to begin with? More than almost anyone, he knows the deck has been stacked in favor of the Convention Center for decades.
He was at the Sentinel for nearly 30 years and often wrote that we need to quit pouring TDT money into the already palatial Convention Center. Thomas, too, always has been against using the TDT money for sports venues and I often feuded with him in print about whether the TDT revenue should have been used to build Amway Center and refurbish the dilapidated Citrus Bowl. He, like current Sentinel news columnist Scott Maxwell, rightfully believes TDT money should be used for more practical uses such as mass transit, roads and affordable housing. I agree — as does most everybody else who lives in Central Florida — but state law restricts that from happening. It seems to me that Thomas resigned from the advisory board because he doesn’t merely want to decide how the TDT money will be spent but how it should be spent. Unfortunately, that’s a decision for state lawmakers; not former Sentinel columnists. …
Headline at Fark.com: “Bob Huggins resigns after a spectacular run of being a homophobic alcoholic.” … Let’s give it up for Hari Budha Magar for becoming the first double amputee to climb Mount Everest. Magar is a Gurkha military veteran who lost both legs in the Afghanistan War. In related news, Kawhi Leonard will sit out 30 NBA games next season with an inflamed cuticle. … French police are investigating Olympic organizers for graft allegations relating to the 2024 Paris Olympics. As the great Ben Franklin once said, “Nothing in this world is certain — except death, taxes and Olympic corruption scandals.” … Ex-porn star Moriah Mills had her Twitter account deactivated earlier this week after she threatened to release sex tapes of herself and the New Orleans Pelicans’ Williamson. Question: Why is everybody in that industry always identified as a porn star? Don’t there need to be role players as well? …
One of Colorado coach Deion Sanders’ pet peeves is when one of his players makes a mistake and covers for it by saying, “My bad.” Says Coach Prime: “Coaches hate that. Parents hate that. Don’t say it’s my bad because we know it’s your bad. Ain’t no ‘my bad.’ Just shut up and do better.” … I’m not saying the Washington Wizards gave away star player Bradley Beal to the Phoenix Suns, but essentially they traded one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers for a bag of balls, a meatloaf sandwich, a stick of gum, a pack of baseball cards and a free oil change at JiffyLube. … After little known but inspirational Wyndham Clark won the U.S. Open, he surged up to second on my list of favorite Clarks, right behind Roy Clark but ahead of Dick Clark. However, I must admit, I love Petula Clark’s iconic song Downtown. Then, of course, there’s my absolute favorite Clark(e) — former Orlando TV sports anchor Pat Clarke. … Wow, is Florida Gators football coach Billy Napier on a recruiting roll or what? Last I checked, he had secured verbal commitments from Lionel Messi, Beyonce, Victor Wembanyama, Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen, Babe Ruth, Patrick Mahomes, Taylor Swift and Max Verstappen. … The sneakers Michael Jordan wore in 1997’s legendary “Flu Game” playoff victory over the Utah Jazz were sold for $1.38 million at auction last week. I wonder how much his half-used box of Dayquil Cold & Flu went for? …
LAST WORD: With Wednesday being the first day of summer, it reminds me of one my favorite quotes: “Ah, summer in Florida — the season when you scald your hands on the car steering wheel and have to unstick your thighs from the fake leather seats.”
