Orlando's selection:
Danny Fortson

 

Current Team Status, and Possible Off-season Moves.

Center:

It's a miracle that things are as good as they are at center for Orlando. 
After Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Lakers, Orlando was left far over 
the cap and their starting center was Jon (no-knee) Koncak.  Somehow, John 
Gabriel managed to acquire Rony Seikaly by giving up Koncak (who may never 
play again) Donald Royal, Brooks Thompson, and a first round pick. 
Moreover, Seikaly waived the final two years of his contract, which now 
expires after the 97-98 season.  Seikaly has his limitations, especially on 
defense but he came in and played hard, averaging 17 pts and 9.5 rbs per 
game.  I+d  like to see the Magic move Seikaly away from the basket.  His 
best asset is his ability to move.  If Orlando ran him more, opposing 
centers might not have as much energy available to punish him by posting him 
up.  It also would clear the paint for Penny and (I hope) Nick Anderson to 
slash.

The situation at back-up center is more problematic.  David Vaughn showed 
some early flashes and then, after Seikaly was acquired, reverted to his 
last season's level.  He has the physical skills, but not the mental focus 
nor the desire (if only we could transplant Strong's brain into Vaughn' s 
body).  He has one year left on his contract - I predict it will be his 
last, and most of it will be spent on IR.   Danny Schayes can still give you 
some help when you need finesse at the 5.  But he, like Jeff Turner in 
previous seasons at power forward, is not an enforcer.  And Orlando 
desperately needs an enforcer.  Schayes will be a free-agent this summer.  
Orlando probably will offer him the league minimum raise, but won't compete 
if he gets a better offer from another team.

Power forward:

Horace Grant  continues to be one of the best role-player PF's in the game. 
He may not be flashy, but rarely is he out of position, rarely does he miss 
an assignment, rarely does he make a mistake on the floor.   I wish every 
magic player's game was as fundamentally sound.  He averaged 12.6 points and 
9 rebounds when he played.  The problem - he only played in 67 games last 
season, and we need him for 82.  Not having to split time at center with 
Derek Strong when  Seikaly is out of the game would help enormously.  This 
team should have had 4, if not 5 healthy bodies to cover the PF and C spots. 
For most of the year they had 3 or fewer.  Shoring up this gap will be a 
focus this summer. Grant just signed a new five-year contract.

For the first time the Magic had an effective back-up PF.  Derek Strong 
signed to a one-year league minimum contract and  made the Lakers sorry they 
let him go.  Strong worked hard, rebounded, and played hard-nosed defense at 
both the 4 and 5 spots. Orlando would love to see him return, but they can 
offer him only a 20% raise, so he may be gone.

Amal McCaskill was a non-factor.

Small Forward:

Last season, Dennis Scott had his best season as a pro, showing us what he 
could do if he put his mind to it.  This season he showed us he didn't 
really feel like putting his mind to it.  He was  overweight most of the 
year, and played without fire when he did play.  Many are calling for 
Orlando to trade him.  John Gabriel would like to but probably won't be able 
to.  Scott will be a free-agent after next season - his only upside at this 
point.  It would be a miracle if the team  could find a trade that didn't 
involve taking on a long-term contract.  So, Dennis will have another chance 
- but it will be his last.  Either we see a 95-96 type season from Scott or 
we see his last season in Magic pinstripes.

Brian Evans - who?  An injury kept him from playing until mid-season.  He 
never got any time after that.  I hope he shows something in the summer 
leagues.  He could be a valuable niche player with the 3pt line moving out 
next season.

The only silver-lining in all of this was Nick Anderson's play at SF. 
Anderson historically has been afraid to  play against SF's.  At SG, he is 
used to exploiting his strength advantage against opponents who, for the 
most part, are smaller than he is.  In previous years, when he was asked to 
play against SF's he was not able to shift his game to exploit a speed 
advantage.  This began to change this season.  Forced to play the position, 
Anderson at least defended all comers effectively.

Shooting Guard:

One of Chuck Daly's biggest tasks this summer is going to be the 
resurrection of Nick Anderson.  Anderson's offensive game disintegrated - 
we're talking total meltdown.  There are three rays of sunshine, however. 
First, Nick's defensive game is still strong - so there is something to 
build on.  Second, if Anderson is moved to SF, and given Penny's explosion 
in the playoffs playing SG that  seems very likely, you'll want him to learn 
a new game.  That will be a lot easier now.  Finally, Gabe won't have to 
worry about a big contract wrecking his plan to get under the cap next 
summer. Anderson's contract is up.  I expect he will re-sign with the Magic.

At back-up, Gerald Wilkins was a very pleasant surprise; more than worth the 
league minimum he got paid.  He, too, may get a better offer elsewhere than 
Orlando can make.  Orlando is more likely to be able to retain Wilkins than 
Strong, though.  His fg% (42.6%) and age might keep the bidding from getting 
out of hand.

Point Guard:

Penny had a sub-par season.  Early injuries and a premature return hurt him. 
A simmering conflict with Brian Hill didn't help.  The year ended on an up 
note:  His play against Miami in the last three play-off games was nothing 
less than spectacular.  It wasn't lost on Chuck Daly, who will push Penny 
hard if necessary (and it probably won't be) to play at that level 
consistently.  Orlando will be looking to move Penny to SG, if at all 
possible.  I expect a return to 1st team All-NBA status next season.

Penny's primary back-up was  Brian Shaw.  He continues to be a strong 
defender.  A poor fg% and too many turnovers continue to make it impossible 
to make him the starting PG.  He has one year remaining on his contract. 
Next summer, he will in all likelihood be sacrificed to create room under 
the salary cap.

Darrell Armstrong broke out in the playoffs.  As a result, there has been an 
outcry to make him the starting PG next season.  My question is: why didn't 
I see his playoff game during the regular season?  His fg% in the regular 
season (38.3%!) was abysmal, and he had more turnovers than assists. He may 
get the nod as starter - but only if he earns it with his play in the summer 
leagues.  Here again, Daly has to find a way to inspire Armstrong to show us 
his "Miami" game every day.

Coach:

Chuck Daly's contract is for two years with an option for a third.  I hope 
we get all three.  I doubt we can expect more.  Which will leave Orlando 
with three choices:  make another run at Phil Jackson, name Dr. J head 
coach, or give the job to one of Daly+s assistants.

Brendan Suhr already has agreed to rejoin Daly.  There are reports 
circulating that Tree Rollins will be kept on.  I hope Daly also hires 
Dennis Johnson, who did a great job under very trying circumstances up in 
Boston.  I don+t know why Pitino let him go.  I hope Daly takes advantage.

Getting Dr. J to join the management team was a coup.

Summary:

Orlando+s biggest needs are a starting PG and back-up help at PF/C.  We+re 
not going to get a PG who can play starter+s minutes with the 17th pick, so 
I expect Orlando will simply be looking to take the best player available.

The biggest questions facing Orlando this summer are:  Who is going to be 
our starting PG?  Do we trade Nick Anderson?  Do we trade Dennis Scott?  A 
trade involving Nick Anderson is a possibility, particularly if we see him 
signed to a long-term contract (which would effectively scuttle Orlando's 
chances of being able to sign a major FA next summer).  A trade involving 
Dennis Scott would be welcome, but I don't see it happening.  Only a trade 
involving Penny is out of the question.  Orlando will be pushing hard to 
land a starting PG (unless Armstrong proves early on that he can be 
consistent over 82 games) and more muscle at the 4/5 spots.  Free-agents the 
Magic might pursue include:

PG's - Eldridge Recasner, Howard Eisley, Joe Dumars (who would come only as 
a personal favor to Daly),  Greg Anthony.  None of these (except Dumars) 
could be counted on to be a starter long-term.  They might be able to help a 
team through one year (look at Matt Maloney).  In the next draft we have the 
rights to Golden State+s pick, which should be a lottery pick.

PF/C's - Andrew DeClerq, Othella Harrington, Travis Knight, Antoine Carr.

The big push will happen next summer.

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Orlando's selection:

Danny Fortson, PF, 6-7, Cincinnati

We know he+s a tweener.  We know he has no hops.  But he+s mean; he+s not 
afraid to mix it up in the low blocks; and his work ethic is stellar.  At 
worst he+ll be a very capable back-up.  He could be a lot more than that.
     
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Who else we considered:

The only other player we considered was Jacque Vaughn.  If Orlando is very 
lucky, Vaughn will still be available at 17 in the real draft.  We simply 
think Fortson is better.

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Who the team will probably take:

Orlando hasn+t brought anyone in for workouts yet.  The Orlando Sentinel 
reports that Austin Croshere and Bobby Jackson will be given workouts, so I 
would make them the early favorites.

The Magic may also be looking to package their pick this year, Golden 
State+s pick next year (very likely to be a high lottery pick) and a player 
(most likely Rony Seikaly) or players to move up into position to get either 
Daniels or Billups.  Barring that, they could also try to package the pick 
in a trade, probably for a PG to take over for Penny.  They won+t want to 
get saddled with a guaranteed three year rookie contract unless they feel 
very strongly that they have been (or will be) able to draft a real 
contributor (unlike Vaughn or Evans).  Both Fortson and Vaughn fit that 
description.