Reports came out Tuesday morning via Jonathan Givony of ESPN and DraftExpress.com that rival teams are convinced the Magic will select sharpshooting stretch 4 Jabari Smith out of Auburn with the number one overall selection. Apparently, the reports also mention that Smith is excited about the opportunity to play in Orlando.
Then you have John Hollinger (former VP of Basketball Operations for the Memphis Grizzlies and current senior NBA columnist of The Athletic) who reported that the Magic are favoring the unicorn out of Gonzaga, Chet Holmgren.
“Orlando winning the lottery could throw a monkey wrench on draft night,” Hollinger and Vecenie wrote. “While most draft analysts have Jabari Smith Jr. rated as the top prospect, John Hollinger Spies think the Magic are leaning toward selecting Chet Holmgren. Of course, that would play to their type. This front office’s track record reveals an obsession with length, so one can easily connect the dots there.”
It will be interesting to see how many more reports come out between now and draft day as well as who the Magic end up taking. Is there still a chance they would trade back?
In the podcast clip below, Kravitz and I discuss last night's lopsided Celtics/Heat Game 4, our take on these reports and who we are currently favoring for the Magic at #1, Jimbo Fisher's recent remarks, and how my Yanks and Kravitz's O's turned back the clock last night as both starters threw well over 100 pitches.
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