Magic Lands No. 6 Pick in NBA Draft; What's Next?

The Orlando Magic may have missed out on Victor Wembanyama, but the team should still get a strong player with the No. 6 overall pick.

Jeremy Brener | May 16, 2023

In this story:

Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic is certainly disappointed after falling out of the top five in Tuesday's NBA Draft Lottery.

Despite entering the lottery with a nine percent chance to land the top selection, Orlando has secured the No. 6 pick in next month's NBA Draft. After the Chicago Bulls' pick conveyed to the Magic, Orlando now has the No. 6 and No. 11 pick in this year's draft as well.

The Magic showed the league it improved this past season with a 34-48 record, but Orlando won't be able to get that high-billing star that will ignite the team's rebuild in this year's draft ... unless they trade up.

It's hard to see any of the top teams trade down, but the Magic still has some solid options to choose from outside of the top five.

With the No. 6 overall pick, there's a decent chance the selection could be used on Villanova small forward Cam Whitmore.

"Whitmore stands out as a guy who kinda plugs in the middle as a versatile wing," The Ringer said. "A guy who can be a lob threat, you can use him as a ball handler."

Whitmore, a 6-6 forward, entered his freshman campaign as a five-star prospect and one of the top-15 players in the country. In his freshman campaign, the Big East Rookie of the Year averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals on 47.8 percent shooting from the field.

Whitmore is raw, and while he may not be a headliner for this draft class, he could give the Magic something solid to build its foundation off of.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Magic? Click Here.

Follow The Magic Insider on Facebook.

Follow The Magic Insider on Twitter.

Want even more Orlando Magic news? Check out the SI.com team page here.

Published May 16, 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.