No. 4 — Orlando Magic: Ja Morant, PG
School: Murray State | Class: Freshman | Height: 6’3” | Weight: 175 | Age: 19
Orlando has their pick in before the Grizzlies finished reading theirs.
Being one of the truly point guard-deprived teams in the NBA, Morant is exactly what the Magic were hoping for in this draft: a shot-maker (24.3 ppg), a play-maker (10.2 assists), a marquee player (you try to count all the articles and features about him) and he fits a huge need.
Orlando foresees Morant breaking down defenses, kicking to a wide-open Evan Fournier and setting up Aaron Gordon. But, maybe most importantly, the Magic foresee Morant delivering something that has eluded them for a decade: relevance.
Magic games on TNT and ESPN, Magic/Morant Jerseys being sold, attendance rising, all because of the point guard wunderkind from little Murray State. Does Orlando see his turnovers and poor defense, yeah, but they can fix that.
Do they pay any attention to all the misses they’ve had at the point in recent drafts? Nope. Morant is different, right? — Jonathan Matthes