Predicting The Magic's 2007 NBA Draft/ Erin Advances to the Next Round

First of all, congrats to Erin for killing Erica's chances by a margin of almost 4 to 1. I would be remiss if I didn't point out that the 'leaning over on a black box' pose upped Erin's chances of victory maybe 3000 percent. -And that's a modest assessment.

So draft night is upon us! All of the waiting, all of the scouting, all of the tension has led right up to this moment! I can't barely contain mysel-

Oh, who am I kidding?

This draft night stands to be one of the most boring for Magic fans in a long time. Our first round pick was sent to the Pistons in the Darko-Arroyo deal, our top second round pick was sent to the Heat in exchange for the services of Stan Van Gundy, and attempting to maximize the amount of cap space we have this summer will most likely prevent us from jumping into the first round of the draft (barring an unlikely trade for a pick to dump a player and his salary).

The good thing is that we Magic fans can't really complain too much about sitting out this draft:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I now announce the Magic's 2007 Draft Picks!

With the 15th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Magic Select:

Darko Milicic and Carlos Arroyo, PF and PG, Serbia and F.I.U

Our first round pick produced a player with a huge amount of potential in Darko and a guy who performs decently well (when he isn't taking wild off-balance shots while ignoring the other players) in Carlos Arroyo. If we do manage to resign Darko this offseason, we can definitely label this draft an overall success. He would undoubtedly be a top 10 pick this year and maybe even be the 3rd choice overall with the boom-or-bust potential of the players after Oden and Durant. Best of all is that he is around the same age as the seniors coming out so it literally is like drafting a big guy with NBA experience.

Oh, quick look! The Magic are on the clock again!

With the 39th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Magic Select:

Stan Van Gundy, Coach, SUNY Brockport

Our second round pick gave us one of the best coaches on the market this offseason, and one could speculate that it even saved our chances of a new stadium by helping us save face in the wake of the Donovan saga. Management agreed with the fans that having a quality coach that could get the most out of our young squad was infinitely more valuable than adding yet another young face to a young squad. Getting a coach earlier rather than later also helped our chances in free agency, providing a semblence of stability to the franchise.

With the 44th and 54th overall picks in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Magic Select:

Some guy who slipped in the draft and some European dude

As for our other two picks this year, deciding to keep them and not trade into the first round (what I think the Magic will do unless they can somehow unload Turkoglu, Battie or someone else in the draft) gives us flexibility to be one of the power players in the free agent market this year. I think we'll wind up spending one of the picks on a foreign prospect and the other on a guy who slipped down possibly due to workouts. Otis has said that the Magic try to draft based on the player's body of work and not pre-draft hype, which was evidenced by us grabbing Reddick and Augustine last year. Having two players without guarenteed contracts is like music to the ears of a team looking to clear money out, which in my mind makes a trade up unlikely.

Possibly the best part of not doing anything in the draft this year is the fact that our offseason facelift wont end tonight, unlike many other teams. In fact, not doing anything tonight is a signal to the fans and players that our team is stockpiling funds for major action once the bell goes off July 1st and the team can contact free agents.

So what will I be thinking tonight while I watch the draft? Not much, but I will make sure to look at the calendar and realize that the Magic's draft truly begins when the free agency period opens this Sunday.

...Well, I'll be thinking about that AND the fact that Greg Oden looks like he is 57 years old. Yowza.