ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic will go to the 2021 NBA draft with two top-eight picks for the first time in franchise history.
The Magic earned the fifth and eighth picks during Tuesday’s NBA draft lottery. Orlando finished the regular season with the third-worst record and had a 14% chance of earning the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance of finishing in the top four.
The Detroit Pistons earned the No. 1 pick, followed by the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors. Orlando was jumped in the order by Cleveland (fifth) and Toronto (seventh).
The Magic’s No. 8 pick comes via its trade deadline deal with the Chicago Bulls for two-time All-Star Nikola Vucevic and reserve forward Al-Farouq Aminu.
The move began Orlando’s latest rebuild as it also traded fellow franchise mainstays Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon. The moves brought back young talent and draft assets, including the Bulls’ first-round pick. The trade with Chicago didn’t seem as risky at the time, with the Bulls sitting at 19-24 in 10th in the East but were just 3 1/2 games out of fourth.
But the Bulls failed to gain any traction in the standings after Vucevic’s arrival. A month after the trade, they were nine games below .500 and were 7 1/2 games out of fourth. It looked for a time like they might wind up in the bottom six of the league and reduce the Magic’s chances of keeping the pick. But the Bulls wound up in a three-way tie for eighth.
Had Chicago’s pick moved into the top four, it would have conveyed to Orlando for the 2022 draft with top-three protection.
The Pelicans, Hornets, Spurs, Pacers and Warriors round out spots 10-14.
The Magic, who had the fifth and 10th picks (as well as the 13th) for the 2000 draft, currently have seven players who are 23 or younger, and now are poised to add more impact players through the draft. How the Magic approach the draft remains to be seen, but president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in his end-of-the-season media session that the Magic might look more at positional need rather than targeting the best player available.
With two top-10 picks, the Magic have some flexibility to do both.
“We have a chance to add one or maybe even two quality players this year through the draft, and I believe wholeheartedly in all of our young players, so I’m really bullish on our future,” Weltman said.
The draft class features five prospects widely considered to be a tier above the rest of the pack: Oklahoma State guard Cade Cunningham, USC center Evan Mobley, Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs, G League shooting guard Jalen Green and G League forward Jonathan Kuminga.
