Orlando won the No. 1 pick for the first time since 2004 when it drafted Dwight Howard.
Orlando Magic president Jeff Weltman on Tuesday expressed his excitement that the organization will have the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft after winning the selection in the lottery in Chicago, Illinois.
The Magic received their fourth No. 1 pick in franchise history and first since 2004 when they drafted Dwight Howard. They, along with the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons, had a 14% chance of winning after finishing with one of the three worst records in the NBA.
Orlando previously won the lottery in back-to-back years in 1992 when it selected Shaquille O’Neal. They drafted Chris Webber the following year but traded his rights to the Golden State Warriors for Penny Hardaway and three first-round picks.
The impact of winning figures to have lasting effects on the team.
“It means we get to choose who we feel is the best fit for our team and who we feel will have the biggest long-range impact,” Weltman said. “Obviously, with that will come a lot of conversations. It will be interesting to see some of the calls that come up but mostly it means that we get to familiarize ourselves now with the elite prospects that we can add to our team.”
The Magic will enter the draft process now in control of their fate. Weltman said the team will do its due diligence on those prospects in the conversation to be the top pick and will carefully meet with each of them to determine the best long-term fit.
Duke forward Paolo Banchero, Gonzaga center Chet Holmgren and Auburn forward Jabari Smith Jr. — who were all on hand in Chicago — are considered to be the front-runners and will meet in the coming weeks with the Magic.
“I think there are a lot of elite-level prospects at the top of this draft,” Weltman said. “I do feel that as they start to make the rounds, teams will start to fall in love with guys, which is what generally happens. Generally, the leverage will kind of unfold from there but I know we’ll have a lot of interesting discussions with teams. We don’t go into this thing looking to trade our pick. We’ll look to add a really talented young, high-character guy to our roster.”
The Magic hadn’t experienced much luck in the lottery after winning the top pick three times by 2004. The team had been in the lottery seven times prior to this year since trading Howard in 2012 and failed to improve on its odds each time.
Their luck changed this time around, and it could have been because of a last-minute change.
Weltman was originally chosen to represent the team on stage at the McCormick Place Convention Center. However, the team changed its mind and instead sent head coach Jamahl Mosley in his place, resulting in his biggest win since assuming the position last year.
“I haven’t been very good at this,” Weltman said of the change. “Coach was feeling lucky and we let him roll the dice. Tonight, he is the Coach of the Year.”
Weltman admitted luck is always needed in certain situations and every team needs things to break their way, especially on the night of the draft lottery. Call it fate or some really good luck brought on by Mosley, but the Magic will happily take their latest No. 1 selection.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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