After the 2023 NBA Draft Lottery, we now know the Orlando Magic draft will include the Nos. 6 and 11 picks in the first round. The second first-round selection is courtesy of the Chicago Bulls via the Nikola Vucevic trade. With that second pick, the Magic have the chance to get a real difference-maker at a position of need, which is why Kansas freshman Gradey Dick to the Magic is a perfect fit for Orlando with the No. 11 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.
3. Gradey Dick fits the Magic’s rebuild timeline
Gradey Dick is a 6-foot-8 wing who played one season at Kansas and is the best pure shooter in the draft. Dick enters the 2023 NBA Draft at 19 and won’t turn 20 until Nov. 20, 2023.
Age is important with this pick, as the Magic are in the midst of a massive rebuilding process that is starting to bear fruit. The younger the player they pick, the better off the team will be in the long-term if they turn into contenders down the line (as is the plan, of course)
Orlando has made three picks in the top eight of the last two NBA drafts. In 2021, the team took Jalen Suggs from Gonzaga (No. 5) and Franz Wagner from Michigan (No. 8). In 2022, the team won the lottery and selected Paolo Banchero from Duke No. 1 overall.
While injuries and outside shooting struggles have hurt Suggs' development, both Wagner and Banchero look like NBA stars. Wagner averaged 18.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists this season and is one of the league’s most versatile wind defenders. Banchero went for 20.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year Award.
Wagner and Banchero are 21 and 20, respectively, and they lead a large group of 23-and-under Magic teammates who all played over 20 minutes a game last season. This includes Suggs (21), Wendell Carter Jr. (23), Bol Bol (23), and Cole Anthony (22).
At 19, Gradey Dick to the Magic makes sense as the team continues its rebuild. Coming into the team as a teenager gives him time to develop and start to reach his ceiling and, eventually, his prime at a similar time as his teammates.
If Dick works out, his age also allows Orlando to keep a winning team together longer in the future.
2. The Magic can hide Dick’s defense
While Grady Dick is a great shooter, he does have some weaknesses as a defender. The Magic draft prospect doesn’t have the elite athleticism that some of his 2023 NBA Draft peers do, which leads to questions about his ability to guard elite NBA wings.
Dick does give solid effort on defense and has deceptively quick and active hands, which led to him averaging 1.4 steals per game for the Jayhawks.
As a potential Magic draft pick, though, another reason that Dick is a great fit is that he won’t need to be a lockdown defender on the Magic. Franz Wagner can easily guard the opposition’s best wing, and Paolo Banchero is an excellent defender both on the perimeter and as a rim protector.
And if the Magic draft 6-foot-7 Arkansas point guard Anthony Black at No. 6, Dick may never have to play defense if he joins the Magic! OK, that’s a bit of a stretch, but the point is the sharpshooter’s defensive deficiencies will be more well-hidden in Orlando than anywhere else.
1. Shooting, shooting, shooting
Gradey Dick is the best pure shooter in the draft, averaging 14.1 points shooting 48.4% from 2-point range, 85.4% from the line, and 40.3% from behind the arc. With numbers like that all over the court, there is no reason to believe this skill won’t translate to the NBA level.
The final reason the Gradey Dick-Magic NBA draft fit is so good is that putting shooting around Wagner and Banchero is the exact next step Orlando needs to take in order to upgrade the offense.
Wagner and Banchero are both versatile scorers who can get buckets from almost anywhere on the court. When a team has players like this, giving them as much space as possible to operate is crucial.
Dick would immediately become one of the best floor-spacers on the Magic as a rookie. Veteran guard Gary Harris shot an excellent 43.1% from 3-point range in 2022-23, but no other player approached 40%, and guards Markelle Fultz (31.0%) and Jalen Suggs (32.7%) both shot poorly from the arc this season.
At least one of the first-round Magic draft picks in 2023 should be an excellent outside shooter. And if Gradey Dick is there at No. 11 as the best outside shooter in this NBA draft, Orlando should race to hand their card in and take the young Kansas product.
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