Sacramento Kings small forward Rudy Gay (Photo : Getty Images)
The 2016 NBA Draft is only days away and teams continue to try and improve their rosters. Even in the draft, there's more than one way to do that.
For the Orlando Magic which already has a wealth of young talent, the 11th pick in the draft is more of an asset. It would be challenging to find a "can't miss" talent that late.
According to Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders, this is "unfamiliar territory" for the Magic as they have had top 10 picks in recent drafts. While that may be a sign of improvement, it does put them in a quandary as they could get stuck. It's difficult to find a game changer late in the lottery considering the players they got for higher picks: Aaron Gordon, Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja.
While they have comprised a competent core, none of them is close to being an All-Star player.
Thus, Taylor said "the team should consider packaging this pick in a deal that would bring back a veteran player." They might have already done that with the rumored offer to Jimmy Butler of the Chicago Bulls.
That was the right move, but they just did not pull it off. It would be more challenging to trade for Butler as the bidding war for him may have started. The Celtics are rumored to be dangling the no.3 pick and Minnesota with their no.5, the Orlando may have to back off or regret paying too much.
This is the rationale for SB Nation team site Orlando Pinstriped Post for trading away the 11th pick in their mock draft.
The best they could get for the 11th pick was Rudy Gay of the Sacramento Kings. Zach Oliver of OPP admitted that it wasn't "the biggest, or sexiest name." Still, Gay is "a guy that can come in and make an impact right away for the Magic because he's a good defender and won't hesitate to shoot when needed in the end game. That was something the Magic didn't have in recent years.
Will a trade like this pan out when the real draft takes place on June 23? The Magic has been notoriously reluctant to include big pieces in a package for a veteran. That was allegedly one reason why Scott Skiles resigned as coach.
There is a probability that the Magic has elected to take the patient rebuild route (or at least, stay the course some more) since the new coach they hired, Frank Vogel, is known to develop studs (see Paul George). There is real possibility that they may just use the pick.
