Magic take FSU’s Isaac
The Magic are getting a Seminole at No. 6. FSU’s Jonathan Isaac, who played his final college game at Amway Center in the NCAA Tournament, will be returning there as a NBA rookie.
Our Magic beat writer, Josh Robbins, writes of Isaac: “Isaac fits the mold that new Magic executives Jeff Weltman and John Hammond like. At 6-feet-10, Isaac is long, athletic and agile. He even made a respectable 34.8 percent of his 3-point tries during his lone season at FSU.
“But he’s also a project.”
Our FSU beat writer, Safid Deen, says, “Isaac ? a Freshman All-American, All-ACC Honorable Mention and an All-ACC Freshman Team selection ? became the second-highest draft pick in school history. Hall of Fame forward Dave Cowens was drafted fourth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1970.
“Isaac also became the highest NBA lottery pick, one of the first 14 selections in the draft, drafted in school history. George McCloud was taken seventh overall pick by Indiana in 1989, and Al Thornton was picked 14th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 2007.”
Read more from Deen’s story here.
Los Angeles Times NBA writer Broderick Turner says of Isaac: “Isaac needs to put some weight on his 6-10, 210-pound frame. But NBA scouts think he has a great upside.”
Sound familiar, Magic fans?
Still, Robbins tweets “The fan reaction within Amway Center’s seating bowl was highly positive when the Magic’s Isaac pick was made.”
More NBA draft picks
And the Celtics did take Jayson Tatum from Duke at No. 3 — making it the fourth straight year that a Blue Devil has been taken in the top three of the NBA Draft. Comment about Tatum from LA Times’ Broderick Turner: “Tatum is considered the prototypical NBA small forward. He’ll be a nice wing player for the Celtics.”
Josh Jackson from Kansas goes No. 4 to the Phoenix Suns. Turner on Jackson: “Jackson may be the best athlete in the draft. He needs to work on his shot, but he’s a big-time competitor.”
De’Aaron Fox from Kentucky is the No. 5 pick by the Sacramento Kings.
Now we’re just waiting on the Magic …
NBA Draft has (finally) started
And the 2017 NBA Draft is under way. The 76ers, as expected, took point guard Markelle Fultz from Washington.
Lonzo Ball from UCLA is the No. 2 pick, taken as expected by the Lakers. (His Dad did not follow him on stage, by the way.)
Meanwhile, are we nearing a big trade? See below…
Where’s Rob Hennigan when you need him?
Unfortunately, former Magic GM Rob Hennigan is not working back stage at the NBA Draft in Brooklyn tonight. If so, maybe that big white paper behind Commissioner Adam Silver would already be filled with names of the players who are going to be taken. We know Hennigan likes to share information on social media, right?
How good is Lonzo Ball?
So, maybe FiveThirtyEight didn’t do such a great job predicting the presidential election, but Nate Silver’s site is sort of predicting that Lonzo Ball of UCLA will be a star in the NBA. Neil Paine writes on the site, “Ball’s numbers as a freshman at UCLA suggest his star potential: He cleared all of the statistical benchmarks for college point-guard prospects with flying colors, save for scoring (where he fell a bit short — although as a first-year college player, he probably deserves to be cut a little slack). Full story here.
NBA Draft will start at 7:30 p.m.
We won’t see the commissioner and the first pick for tonight’s NBA Draft until around 7:30 p.m. ESPN is doing its pre-draft show from 7 to 7:30 p.m. Have to build that draft drama somehow!
Will he or won’t he?
The biggest question being debated on Twitter — OK, not really debated — is whether Lonzo Ball’s father will walk on stage when his son’s name is called, most likely by the Lakers. (I say it’s not a debate since most people on Twitter say, yes, dad will be there.) Someone at Barclays Center, besides the Ball family, seems pretty certain Ball is going to the Lakers. Check out the jersey on the fan below.
It’s the shoes!
Expected No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz is ready for the draft, showing up tonight in Brooklyn with shoes made of basketballs.
Is this the Magic’s draft pick at No. 6?
FSU Sports tweeted a picture of possible Magic draft selection Jonathan Issac at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton and others waiting for the draft to start.
Timberwolves are talking trades, report says
The Timberwolves, who are scheduled to pick No. 7 in tonight’s NBA Draft, are looking to make a splash by trying to acquire Jimmy Butler or Paul George, according to Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski. NBC Sports has a story about the speculation here.
Magic’s Pat Williams talks about Knicks, Portzingis
Pat Williams, the man who founded the Orlando Magic, was on Rich Eisen’s DirecTV and Sirius radio show today, talking about the drama in New York between the Knicks and Kristaps Portzingis. He said skipping the exit interview is what may have started this whole crazy situation with Phil Jackson. Video below.
Lakers may throw draft into a frenzy if they don’t take Lonzo Ball
NBA Central, citing Steve Kelyer, says the Lakers are considering taking Kentucky freshman point guard De’Aaron Fox with the No. 2 pick instead of UCLA freshman Lonzo Ball.
Whoa!
That would throw the top part of the draft into a frenzy. Could that help Ball end up in Orlando with the Magic? We’ll have to wait and see.
Signs point to Magic taking FSU’s Isaac with No. 6 pick
There seems to be a consensus among mock drafts that Florida State small forward/power forward Jonathan Isaac will be the Magic’s top draft pick tonight at No. 6.
As our Josh Robbins said in his mock draft, “Isaac fits the mold that new Magic executives Jeff Weltman and John Hammond prefer: He has length, athleticism and agility. Isaac doesn’t have an NBA-ready offensive skill, and he likely would require several seasons to develop. Still, it seems like Isaac will get the nod over Lauri Markkanen, Malik Monk and Dennis Smith Jr.”
Our FSU beat writer, Safid Deen, wrote this about Issac today: “As one of the nation’s top high school basketball players before enrolling at Florida State, Jonathan Isaac earned comparisons to Kevin Durant for his ability to handle the basketball and create his own offense while being a stout defender despite a slender frame.”
Players make their best poses before NBA Draft
Sports Illustrated posted this video on Twitter of the players assembled at Barclays Center in Brooklyn for tonight’s draft. They’re all on stage now, but they all hope they will be there again later tonight when their names are called.
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![Through two games against the Magic, the Cavs average the most first-quarter points (31.5) among all playoff teams. "For us, we've just got to get off to a better start [and] not let them get off to this hot start," Orlando guard Cole Anthony said.](https://www.orlandosentinel.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Magic-Cavaliers-Basketball-14.jpg?w=525 "Through two games against the Magic, the Cavs average the most first-quarter points (31.5) among all playoff teams. \"For us, we've just got to get off to a better start [and] not let them get off to this hot start,\" Orlando guard Cole Anthony said.")
