Magic Having Pair of Lottery Picks 'Exciting,' Says Exec Jeff Weltman

The Orlando Magic holds two of the first 11 picks in this year's NBA Draft.

Jeremy Brener | May 18, 2023

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic pre-draft process is in full swing after it was announced that the team would have a pair of lottery picks in this year's NBA Draft.

The Magic currently holds its own No. 6 selection and the Chicago Bulls' No. 11 pick, which was acquired as the final piece of the Nikola Vucevic trade back in 2021.

The Vucevic trade signaled the official start of the rebuild, and now the final pick will give Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman and the rest of the front office the tool to take the next step.

"It's what we're doing, it's what we fully embarked on a couple years ago," Weltman said via Khobi Price of the Orlando Sentinel. We said we were going to build through the draft and having two lottery picks is exciting for us."

This year marks another crucial draft for the Magic, which is looking to capitalize after taking Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 pick last year. Orlando truly believes it can contend for a playoff spot next season, but a big part of that will come down to who the team drafts to best complement the current promising pieces on the roster.

"Now, the hard work starts, and the fun starts," Weltman said. "We have to figure out for the architecture of our team what allows us to play the best basketball."

The NBA Draft takes place on June 22 on ESPN.

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Published May 18, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.