CHICAGO – The Orlando Magic now know where they’ll pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
After the ping-pong balls fell on Tuesday night, the Magic emerged from the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago with the No. 6 and No. 11 overall selections in this year’s draft to go along with the already pre-determined 36th pick.
While they were certainly hoping to emerge with the top overall selection for the second year in a row – just as they had done 30 years earlier – they’re certainly pleased with the outcome of not falling back from their position and securing No. 11 overall from the Chicago Bulls as the final part of the Nikola Vucevic trade.
“That board looks pretty good,” said Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman as he pointed to the lottery results. “To be six and eleven and have two lottery picks. The greatest likelihood coming into tonight percentagewise is that we would move back from six. So, to hold six and add eleven is a good day for us.”
Now, the real heavy lifting starts for Weltman and his team. Orlando’s basketball operations staff is currently out in Chicago for the NBA Draft Combine and will remain there throughout the week.
Upon the completion of the combine, the Magic will host a number of prospects for in-person workouts and interviews at the AdventHealth Training Center. Considering Orlando is now armed with three picks in the top 36, they’ll cast a wide net and certainly do their due diligence on a multitude of players.
“It increases your workload because we’re going to be able to get more kids in now,” said Weltman of having multiple lottery selections. “We cover a broader swath of the lottery (this year) so we can now bring in guys that maybe wouldn’t have come for this pick or that pick … Other than that, the work doesn’t change. We always go through the whole draft for any eventuality. We have to plan on trades. I say planning on unpredictability and organizing chaos. That’s the draft. So, that’s what the next month is for us.”
Regardless of who Orlando selects with its picks – assuming the Magic keep those selections – those players will join a promising young core. Along with reigning Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero, Orlando has five other former lottery picks all 25-years-old or younger on its roster, and that doesn’t even include other promising pieces such as Cole Anthony and Caleb Houstan, who were selected slightly later in the draft.
The Magic are also coming off a season where they improved by 12 victories over their prior campaign – the biggest jump in the Eastern Conference – and are armed with plenty of cap flexibility to potentially add pieces through free agency.
“I love our team, I love what we’re doing, I love how we’re building, (and) I love how they’ve come together,” said Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley, who represented the team on stage for the second straight season. “It’s just such a tremendous group in how they care for one another. We’ll say it over and over again, how much they really root and empower each other to strive to be great. They hold each other accountable. Them being together this summer is going to be huge as well.”