Find A Primary Scoring Weapon In The Draft
Wendell Carter Jr. has had a fantastic season in Orlando and Cole Anthony has really emerged as the primary ball-handler and facilitator for this team, but when you look at the Orlando Magic as a hole, it is hard to pinpoint who “the guy” on this team is.
Sometimes it is Carter Jr. or Anthony, but other times it could be Franz Wagner or even Mo Bamba if he gets going from the perimeter.
This is not necessarily a major problem to have, but the main problem with the Magic is that they have no identity right now other than being a young, growing team in this league, which is why they need a young playmaker who is comfortable having the ball in his hands late in the game or late in the shot-clock.
One of the top forwards in this year’s draft class in Paolo Banchero (Duke), Jabari Smith (Auburn) or Keegan Murray (Iowa) could really help the Magic in the sense that they all possess the mindset of being “score-first” type of talents either on the wing or in the low-post.
LATEST NBA NEWS & TRADE RUMORS: Latest NBA Rumors: Bradley Beal, Jerami Grant, Knicks, More
Maybe it is someone else that the Magic target outside of these three top prospects in the draft, but Orlando needs to try and find “their guy” in terms of a player that they can lean on for production and upwards of 15 shot attempts per night.
The players they currently have in Anthony, Suggs, Wagner, Carter Jr. and Bamba are all talented players, yet the Magic have struggled mightily on the offensive-end of the floor this season because most of the players on their roster are more off-the-ball threats than playmakers and scoring threats with the ball in their hands.
Maybe this changes in the offseason with all of these guys getting time to work on their game and develop further, but it is very apparent that the Magic need a primary scorer and with them not likely to be able to get one in free agency, the NBA Draft is their next best option, especially since they will have a top pick this year once again.
