The guiding principle the Orlando Magic have used to build their roster can be distilled to two draft picks they didn’t even make. In 2013, when current Magic executive John Hammond was running the Milwaukee Bucks , he used the No. 15 overall pick to select Giannis Antetokounmpo . Three years later, in 2016, he used the No. 10 overall pick on Thon Maker .
The outcomes of those two picks diverged about as far as two draft pick can. Antetokounmpo is a five-time First-Team All-NBA choice. Maker’s career ended after five NBA seasons. But the logic behind the two picks was the same: they were home-run swings on physical traits and theoretical skills rather than what was immediately apparent. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman came from a Toronto Raptors team that has largely lived by the same philosophy: draft big wing-sized humans, then teach them the finer points of their roles as you go.
The Bucks and Raptors both prospered with that philosophy. The Magic are well on their way to doing the same. Their size is the envy of the NBA. Eight of their 11 most used players this season were 6-foot-9 or taller, and a ninth, rookie Anthony Black is 6-foot-7. That size isn’t just raw athleticism, either. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are two of the best ball-handlers of their size in the NBA. Wendell Carter Jr. , Jonathan Isaac and Mo Wagner can all shoot at least a bit. Together, they helped the Magic rank third in defense this season despite having the NBA’s fifth-youngest opening night roster. Broadly speaking, the plan is working.