The Magic appointed Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik co-general managers of the team on June 27th, 2005. Smith was later promoted to general manager, while Twardzik remains in charge of scouting. 3QC examines their draft history.
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| Year | Player | Pos. | Pick No. | GP | Picked ahead of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Fran Vazquez | PF | 11 | 0 | Danny Granger | Re-signed with FC Barcelona; eligible for buyout in summer 2009. |
| " | Travis Diener | PG | 38 | 49 | Monta Ellis | Played sparingly over two seasons; left as free-agent in summer 2007. |
| " | M. Andriuskevicius | C | 44 | 0 | Ryan Gomes | Traded to Cleveland for cash. |
Note: The Magic also bought the rights to Marcin Gortat, whom the Phoenix Suns selected with the 57th overall pick in this draft.
Essentially, the Magic spent four draft picks on four players who have played a combined 49 games over two-plus seasons. Only one -- Gortat -- is still with the team, although it still has the rights to Vazquez. This draft probably could not have been worse for Orlando. Grade: F
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| Year | Player | Pos. | Pick No. | GP | Picked ahead of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | J.J. Redick | SG | 11 | 66 | Ronnie Brewer | Hasn't cracked the rotations of Brian Hill or Stan Van Gundy. |
| " | James Augustine | PF | 41 | 22 | Paul Millsap | Spent his rookie season as the 15th man. He's up to 14th now. |
| " | Lior Eliyahu | PF | 44 | 0 | Leon Powe | Traded to Houston for cash. |
Redick at least practices hard, but his poor defense has kept him on the bench behind Keith Bogans, Keyon Dooling, and Maurice Evans. Augustine had value last week as an expiring contract, but the Magic didn't trade him. Still, the fact that Redick at least has potential makes this draft look a little better than the previous one. Grade: D
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| Year | Player | Pos. | Pick No. | GP | Picked ahead of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Reyshawn Terry | SF | 44 | 0 | D.J. Strawberry | Traded draft rights to Dallas for the rights to Milovan Rakovic. |
Note: The Magic were without their first-round pick because they sent it to Detroit as part of the trade that brought Carlos Arroyo and Darko Milicic to Orlando; Detroit used that pick on Rodney Stuckey. Additionally, the Magic sold another second-round pick, 54th overall, to Houston, which drafted Brad Newley.
The Magic have literally nothing to show from this draft, but that's actually not so bad. Otis Smith knew his team would be strapped for cash after signing a premiere free-agent, which Smith did just days later, when he reached a sign-and-trade agreement with the Seattle SuperSonics, who sent Rashard Lewis to Orlando. Still, the other teams in the division got an infusion of young talent (Atlanta: Al Horford; Charlotte: Brandan Wright, used to obtain Jason Richardson; Miami: Daequan Cook; Washington: Nick Young), while the Magic stayed the same. Still, the view from atop the Southeast sure is nice... Grade: C-
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Smith and Twardzik have presided over three drafts for the Magic, yet have have not improved the team at all. Imagine Monta Ellis throwing lobs to Dwight Howard on fast-breaks, or Paul Millsap hauling down some much-needed offensive boards. To be fair, plenty of teams passed on those players, but the fact remains: the draft is a viable way for teams to acquire young talent. For Smith and Twardzik to fail this miserably, year-after-year, is unacceptable.
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Stay tuned for more evaluations of Otis Smith's tenure as Orlando Magic general manager.