2023 NBA Mock Draft: Magic Adds Pair of Top-10 Picks
ORLANDO - With the calendar about to flip to 2023 and college basketball about to reach conference play, NBA mock drafts are beginning to enter preliminary phases.
ESPN released its first 2023 mock draft and has the Orlando Magic taking a pair of top-10 picks, one with their own selection at No. 6 and the other with the Chicago Bulls selection, which was acquired in the trade for Nikola Vucevic back in 2021 and is top-4 protected this year.
With the No. 6 pick, ESPN projects the Magic to take Cam Whitmore, a 6-7 freshman forward out of Villanova. Whitmore is averaging 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds so far this season with the Wildcats. Should he come to Orlando, he could slot in next to Franz Wagner on the wing. Whitmore has a ton of upside, but will need to improve his three-point shot, which he's only making 24 percent of at this point in the season.
With the No. 9 pick, the mock draft projects Kentucky freshman guard Cason Wallace, who's averaging 12.4 points per game. Wallace could add competition next to Markelle Fultz and Cole Anthony to be the team's starting point guard of the future, but it could also create a logjam in the backcourt.
The mock draft also has the Magic taking Tennessee forward Julian Phillips, an athletic 6-8 freshman with the ideal NBA body but skills that need some fine-tuning before he becomes a legitimate rotational piece.
There's still a lot of season left and the Magic could move all the way up or down the standings, but the wheels are beginning to turn towards the next draft class.
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