Orlando Magic hold all the cards in NBA Draft

By Todd Salem | May 21, 2014

David Manning-USA TODAY Sports /

In the 2014 NBA Draft, there are three tiers of players. Tier one contains Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid and Jabari Parker. Unless something highly unlikely occurs, something much more bizarre than Anthony Bennett going first a year ago, these three will be the first three players selected in the draft.

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Tier two is where things get interesting. There is a clump of four or five players up next that could go in any order, to any team, depending on how things shake out. Those players are Julius Randle, Noah Vonleh, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon and perhaps Marcus Smart.

With trade rumors flying, teams trying to move up and down, the team that controls all the cards is the Orlando Magic at number four. Whoever they choose at four will determine how the rest of the draft pans out. If Victor Oladipo isn’t a true point guard (which he’s not), then Dante Exum or even Smart seem likely for Orlando. But Randle, Vonleh and Gordon are all tremendously talented forwards, each bringing a different skill set and talent to a team.

The other important factor for Orlando, outside of tier two, is they also have the 12th pick in this draft courtesy of the Denver Nuggets. They might possibly be looking ahead, trying to determine who they can get at 12, and that may affect who they select at four. Remember, there are a number of point guards who are expected to go later in round one.