Few Orlando Magic fans have heard of Latvian big man Kristaps Porzingis, but that will soon change.
Porzingis will become to the 2015 NBA Draft what Australian point guard Danté Exum was to the 2014 NBA Draft: a mysterious, but talented, foreign prospect who will be hyped relentlessly.
The buildup already has begun.
In a recent mock draft, ESPN’s Chad Ford projected that the Magic would use the fifth overall pick to select Porzingis. “What they need is a big, athletic rim protector who can also stretch the floor,” Ford wrote. “There are few international players who have come into the league with his talent.”
Ford stated the obvious when he said the Magic need a rim protector who can knock down long-range shots. Anyone who watched Orlando slog through its disappointing 2014-15 season can see that the team lacks someone who can block shots and also stretch the floor.
But Ford leaves out a crucial consideration: The Magic need someone who can do those things sooner than later.
The franchise has compiled a 68-178 record over the last three seasons, and although team officials are committed to their rebuilding plan, there is a widespread belief within the organization that the team has to contend for the playoffs during the 2015-16 season.
The Magic’s upcoming first-round draft pick has to be viewed within that context: In an ideal scenario, the player the team will select should be able to make an impact right away.
Can Porzingis do that? I have my doubts. He won’t turn 20 until early August, and although he’s almost 7 feet tall, he weighs just 220 pounds. His raw skills are evident in his YouTube highlights, but his rail-thin frame leads me to believe that NBA big men will push him around during his first two or three seasons in the league.
A better rim protector for the Magic would be Willie Cauley-Stein, a 7-footer who played three seasons at the University of Kentucky. Cauley-Stein has a rudimentary offensive skill set and doesn’t stretch the floor, but he should be able to block shots right away. He has to get stronger, but he almost certainly will be better suited to play in the NBA as a rookie than Porzingis.
Magic officials will not discuss the strengths and weaknesses of draft prospects.
In this case, however, it may not be necessary to hear their thoughts, because a pattern to Rob Hennigan‘s drafts has emerged. In 2013 and 2014, Hennigan and his staff opted to select prospects who were better suited to make immediate impacts.
In 2013, the Magic chose guard Victor Oladipo over injured center Nerlens Noel and Greek forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and French center Rudy Gobert.
In 2014, the Magic picked combo forward Aaron Gordon over power forward Noah Vonleh. Even though Gordon was the second-youngest player in the NBA in 2014-15, he was more NBA-ready than Vonleh.
Last year, the Magic also wanted point guard Elfrid Payton over Exum. Although both players appeared in all 82 of their teams’ games, Payton was more ready on both sides of the ball and better prepared to handle heavy minutes.
Most of last year’s mock drafts tended to have the Magic selecting Vonleh or Exum with the fourth overall pick.
Almost two months remain until this year’s draft arrives on June 25. Medical exams, interviews betweens teams and players and on-court workouts remain, so plenty of things can change between now and the draft. But if the Magic pick fifth, don’t be surprised if the Magic select Cauley-Stein over Porzingis, even if Porzingis’ upside seems to be greater.
Transparency travails
Adam Silver has sought to bring more transparency to the NBA.
It’s a noble goal, and he should be applauded for it.
In recent months, for example, the NBA has released publicly its officiating reports for the final two minutes of close games. For the first time, fans can learn league officials’ determinations about whether foul calls or important non-calls were accurate.
Videos of those specific plays also are available to the public.
Those are positive steps.
But transparency sometimes does more harm than good.
A case-in-point: the league’s end-of-season awards.
Before the end of the 2013-14 season, the NBA, with the blessing of the Professional Basketball Writers Association (which I’m now the president of), decided to make all of the media’s votes for major league awards public.
The initiative was intended to make members of the media more accountable. It was also intended to prevent the public from wondering who was responsible for questionable votes, like a 2012-13 MVP vote for Carmelo Anthony that prevented LeBron James from winning the award unanimously.
Now, the public knows who voted for whom.
That move has had unintended, harmful consequences.
The NBA permits team employees — sometimes members of the teams’ TV and radio broadcast crews, sometimes team website writers — to vote for the awards, and the disclosure of their votes puts them in unfair positions with their teams.
On Thursday, the NBA announced that Minnesota Timberwolves swingman Andrew Wiggins won the 2014-15 Rookie of the Year Award. Wiggins received 110 of 130 first-place votes.
Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic garnered 14 first-place votes — two of them from Bulls broadcasters and another from the Bulls’ website writer.
Payton received three first-place votes. All three of those votes came from members of the Magic’s broadcast crew.
Noel picked up three first-place votes. One of those was from a member of the Sixers’ broadcast crew.
See a pattern here?
Team employees shouldn’t be put in a position where their votes become public.
It’s not fair to them.
And it’s not fair to the players and the coaches who contend for the awards.
The NBA should either remove team employees from the voting process, or the NBA should make all votes confidential.
Layups
Speaking of voting irregularities, the NBA released the results of its 2014-15 Executive of the Year balloting on Friday. Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers won — and deservedly so. But why did Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak get a second-place vote after his team went 21-61? In case you’re wondering, league executives voted for that award, and executives’ ballots are not disclosed publicly. . . . With Billy Donovan accepting the Oklahoma City Thunder’s coaching job, the University of Florida has a vacancy for one of college basketball’s prime coaching jobs. UF athletic director Jeremy Foley ought to consider interim Magic coach James Borrego. . . . Oladipo will turn 23 on Monday.
Josh Robbins covers the Orlando Magic and the NBA for the Orlando Sentinel. You can reach him via e-mail at jbrobbins@tribune.com and connect with him on Facebook at facebook.com/JoshuaBRobbins. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.