Jeff Weltman Pre-Draft Media Availability presented by Wendy’s

Jeff Weltman Pre-Draft Media Availability presented by Wendy’s

guys we will also be doing a watch party sponsored by W uh Wendy’s right here on YouTube and the Orlando magic.com so make sure you tune in and join into that um and as we get ready to hear Jeff wman talk um that uh draft show will be at 9:15 p.m. and it’ll be myself and Dante marelli who will be join me and you never know who else will join us and so it’ll be a really good time as we get ready for this upcoming draft I’m super excited the offseason has just been so sad that we haven’t seen the magic so I am so ready for us to get ready for this upcoming season um and we are just counting down the days for this draft and I’m looking forward to hopefully we’ll hear some people come in and we’ll get some people to chat with us see who you guys are excited to see and who you guys are excited to um hopefully see welcome as we welcome in to the magic um so yeah we are getting ready again I’m Kendra Douglas with the magic we are getting ready for press conference soon with president of basketball operations Jeff welman um should be happening soon um as he gets us ready for this upcoming draft we had an amazing season last year and it’s so exciting to see what this team is going to be doing in the upcoming year so hopefully we can get ready for that um I’m looking forward to hopefully hearing about some of the newcomers that they are looking into um and then also hearing how the magic is continuing to prepare for this upcoming draft which again will be this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. and you can check it on on ESPN but we want you guys to also chime in and tune in to our watch party which is sponsored by Wendy’s and you can see it right here on YouTube or the Orlando magic.com website um we’ll be getting on I kind of mentioned earlier we’ll be getting on at 9:15 me Dante marelli B gang we’re here we’re coming back we’re excited um and we’re looking forward to this upcoming draft um so yeah we’re gonna get ready for this and it’ll be so exciting um also on Friday um we’ll be introducing hopefully who the magic pick so get for get get ready and look out for that um so we’ll just hang out here hopefully some people will come in chime in and chat with us as we get ready to hear welman to talk about the pre-draft press conference um and yeah so hopefully we’ll hear that soon U magic fans looking and tuning in miss you guys can’t wait to see you guys in this upcoming season um can’t wait to see what the schedule is going to look like can’t wait for all of it looking so looking forward to everything that’s going to be happening this season and it should be a good year we finished strong finished on a high note finished on on a good note so we finished strong are we having Dan Savage come and join us please come join us I’m I’m here please come join us so Dan I don’t know if you can how you can get in here turn this a littleit yeah there we go Dan I’m so happy you did join us tell me what are you looking forward to the most about this upcoming draft class you kind of wrote about it a little bit but who are some of the picks that um are on the hunt that we should be looking out for well to me it really comes down to do the magic go best player available do they go in the direction of continuing to add defense or do they you know go for playmaking and shooting so this draft is is weird in the sense that when you talk to Scouts there are a lot of players that could go from pick six overall to pick 25 overall and there’s a wide bucket so I think more so than any draft in in recent memory it’s really hard to nail down who the magic might pick because uh there’s just a a plethora of players I think when I did the most recent uh collection of media mock drafts the player whose name came up the most was Jared McCain and the Duke who’s a who’s a fine shooter um but it’ll be interesting to see if the magic overlooked defensive limitations of certain guys and opt to go in that direction because that’s something that has been a steadfast thing in the past is they’ve you know really emphasized defense and then scoring play playmaking uh secondary with some of those picks so it’ll be interesting to see how the team Falls when looking in that regard it’s interesting another Duke guy in the mix and we’ve done well with the Duke guy hasn’t gone bad hasn’t gone bad so that is a positive but you know I was when I was reading your article you you kind of mentioned how like everyone will come out with who they think the magic will uh will pick but it’s always a very slim selection of who’s actually right what do you think it is about just the way that the magic operate that you know they’re able to kind of keep people on their toes when it’s like when when it comes down to the pcks look you know with some teams there’s a lot of information coming out whether it be you know from assistant GMS who trying to climb up their way to to GM Etc but for the magic they keep things close to the vest and uh none none is more evident than when the team had a the number one overall selection and when I went and looked back in 2022 when the team obviously selected Pao only two of the 14 mock drafts had the team correctly picking Pao and when you look at number one picks throughout history usually they’re accurate usually by a week before the draft everybody knows who’s who’s going number one and only two had it and to be completely clear about that one you know I had a feeling that the team might go Pao so I was really searching for poo mock drafts and so I was like trying to pull and I think even one of those was a prior mock draft that I I went not with the latest edition but with an earlier one just to have some Pao in there so you know it just shows how secretive the magic can be and and how close to the vest they can be that even when they had the number one overall pick in 2022 only two of the 14 had it correctly P that’s so funny that you know this organization can keep that so close and I remember being there on draft night too and when they picked poo people were kind of like what like who who is this kid but you see obviously how well they’ve done with Paulo and how well they are able to just help him grow into what he has become today and I’m looking forward to the upcoming season for him when you look at how well we did this season what are the needs for the magic going into this upcoming season well look it’s no secret uh if the playoff series against the Cavaliers taught us anything it’s that shooting is important now where that shooting comes from can be debated we saw players on the Magic’s roster Jaylen Suggs heavily evident of it uh developed shooting through internal growth I expect fron Bogner to have a much better shooting season this upcoming year than he did this prior one you know Pao will continue to grow as a shooter Jaylen can continue to make strides I think Anthony black with the work he’s put in this off season and then look jet Howard uh who the team drafted last year with a lottery pick spent most of his time in the G league with the ocola magic he’ll be uh he’ll be expected to make contributions but I’m gonna have to run Jeff’s coming yes and then maybe I’ll join you later I will all right well thank you and we will get ready to see President of basketball operations Chef wman speak about the pre-draft class and we are looking forward to what he has to say so you guys tune in to that Prof terrible I minut a what’s up guys here we go you guys went good good there guys good Jeff can you come up yes sir than Jeff obviously you can’t talk about free agency until you know later this month but for the Orlando Magic’s name to be popping up so much in rumors some with you know high-profile names just what does it say about the the growth that this team made to to be in that type of place uh well you know look um the first thing is uh a lot of that is speculative at this point you know obviously I won’t discuss um what we’re planning but um you know the media at this time of year is going go in a thousand different directions so we don’t really um uh allow ourselves to get drawn into the the kind of narrative we do what we have to do um I’ll say this it’s not for us to say the job that we’re doing you know we know what we’re what we’re doing internally and we hope that the rest of the League picks up on that I’ve told you guys that I believe uh in in going around the league and hearing uh the the various uh uh uh um constituents around the league like what they’re saying about us it it makes me feel good about what we’re doing um but that said you know look we just do our work and uh we hope that good things follow you know that you know this is a a busy offseason how how does the draft you know being in a different position you know drafting a teams rather than you know up near the top but how how does the draft play into some of the decisions that that you’ll be making over the next couple months well obviously um the most important thing is the draft comes first so it’ll be informative in that respect if nothing else uh obvious obiously you know you’re right Philip 18 is different than whatever you’ve been picking more recently and so you have to kind of recalibrate your expectations to that um but I think we’re looking at some good players at 18 and uh our guys have been working really hard on the draft and um you know it’s starts obviously it started about this time last year and um you know this is the culmination of all their efforts they do great jobs we do a lot of background work you know that the person is as important to us as the player and um so we’re excited about the draft but picking 18 is different you know than picking um in the lottery Jeff how do you evaluate the overall Talent level in this dra you know it’s such an interesting question I think that drafts get uh regarded by their upside so like are the top three guys Superstar potential players and you know that sort of stuff so this draft’s been batted around a little bit I think for that you know uh I think most drafts are pretty similar if you if you kind of step back and say how many many rotation players did it yield uh how many starters did it yield most drafts are pretty similar um you you’re going to have your outliers you know once in a while um but I think this draft is a kind of like more typical draft I think um there are players in here we just got to find them you know that’s our job je what’s the I mean it’s a great question you know we pride ourselves on on um the development of young players I think we do that well it’s something that we spend a lot of time on planning and orchestrating and mapping out a design for each guy here and um you know we’ve got a lot of guys whose whose careers we have to navigate and so adding another one um is something that we’ve discussed you know how does that work uh the better your team is and hopefully we can um maintain the level that we got to last year um you start to recalibrate what that looks like you know when you’re not drafting in the lottery and and um um uh how how you develop players may be um uh uh looked at a little differently you know when I was in Toronto we had um you know a perennial playoff team and we had a lot of really good young players on the bench you know who are learning how to win you know so it’s a different mindset of bringing in a player to a winning team um as as compared to what we’ve been through the rebuild and uh I just hope that we can maintain that level because we’re trying to do both I think it’s a really important question and we’re trying to do both we’re trying to win win and develop young players it’s it’s uh uh uh something that we spend a lot of time on so with that being carine from hey Caroline hello do you all dra the best availer or do you draft bed off uh you know you you’d love to have the luxury to draft off needs I think uh the further down in the draft the the more um the Slimmer the odds are of finding players who you who you believe will have meaningful NBA careers so you’re always dealing with those kind of like levers and and you know if they if it lines up that that the player that that addresses your needs is also the player that you think will have a meaningful career then that’s pretty good work you know where we’re picking this year um but I think by and large you have to um lean towards the player that you think um you know will will be able to you know sustain a good NBA career you’ve seen the league become like much more skill based something that this team with this draft you see a lot more of those kind of players who are you know maybe more advanced in their skill work than they might than they might be for a player of their position you know are you seeing more kind of international influence in the in the game at all um you know that’s a great question and it really that really kind of digs more into you know youth basketball in the United States these days and and and the way the guys are coming up I do think we’re seeing the guys today are way more skilled than they were 10 years years ago the game is morphed you know uh in a lot of ways and um I think it’s really interesting to follow NBA Trends about you know physicality and and and and everything else and obviously it started with with you know the the uh uh popularization of the three and analytics kind of generating you know what’s an important shot um and we’re at a place now where you know the league is more skill based it is it is more you know uh skill Centric so um as a result players get trained from an early age to grow into that so yeah I do think these drafts these days are more we’re looking at more skilled players than we were a while ago I don’t I wouldn’t say like this year more than last year but as a trend for sure is is that an area that you I know maybe the reputation is that European players coming more come in more skilled and kind of train to play all five positions whereas American players are kind of catching up do you see American players maybe catching up catching up up not know it’s another draft where you know the top picks are expected to be International International prospects again yeah you’re kind of like scratching at something that’s that’s actually like a conversation that a lot of NBA people are having right now which is um you know I think everybody’s looking at at uh uh uh youth basketball right now you know and there are very um different models you know that that that you can pursue and um you know in the United States you know through the Advent of a and everything you know our guys just play a ton of basketball from an early age so some of that is really good and and they they they they they get a lot of reps and they get to work on their games and some of it is um you know are they training skills over just kind of like playing more so that’s uh that’s something that I think um you know regardless of how we look at this draft is kind of like a separate conversation that is generating a lot of um you know interest right now kind of at our levels so I mean it’s a good question I think it’s something that we need to continue to analyze and and you know um measure as we go forward because the league is changing and how does that how do we recalibrate that towards the youth programs this thing was obviously built through the draft has it reached a point though where free agency is as important if not more important to take the next step um I mean wow I don’t know how to answer that’s a great question I don’t know what’s more important I think it’s always important to get your draft picks right if you can and you’re it’s a chance to add a good young player who will continue on the legacy of what you’re trying to build you know on the court off the court in the locker room and the beauty of the draft is you get to bring somebody in who um becomes um uh what the Orlando Magic are about from day one and so hopefully if that person and player can grow into that and become a meaningful player for your team it’s worth its weight in gold you know but obviously the free agent Market is um is a completely different animal and um I can tell you that like we’re spending a lot of time now preparing on these parallel paths for the draft on Wednesday free agency on July 1st um and so uh you know we’ll have to see where that takes us you know uh strategies are one thing and then executing them you know is a completely different thing um but I think they’re both really important uh but see the point of your question I think have we kind of turned the corner like are we ready to add veteran guys is that kind of like what you’re yeah so um I would say this you know I told you guys before like we’re not going to lose the Northstar of our team you know um that said um I want to I want to like really emphasize this there’s no one in this building no one players coaches staff that’s patting themselves on the back right now we haven’t done anything yet we’ve got to work to get back to where we were last year and it’s going to be hard to do that and so our guys are putting in a lot of good quality work already and um we do if we have an opportunity to add veteran players who are like-minded to what we’re trying to do who understand the overall scheme of where we’re trying to take the team and add to our talent base add to our experience level but can blend in then yeah we’ll pursue that Jeff you said in your first remark we have a plan and then you just said parallel paths without giving any details I mean you guys are prepared to go in any direction over the next three or four days yeah I mean obviously when I say parallel paths I mean that we’re preparing for the draft which is Wednesday and you know simultaneously we’re having discussions on you know what free AG agency could look like July 1 and so um you know obviously they’re both wildly unpredictable and you have to kind of uh uh prioritize um what your what your uh hopes would be and you have to be ready to quickly pivot because they both happen like that and so you know a lot of that is just in the in the preparation of it you know so we’re being very deliberate we’re spending a lot of time on those things and you know hopefully they uh stand Us in good stead when the time hits but you just never know how the things are going to unfold on on the day of you know je day after the NBA Finals your team around League start negotiating talking with their own agents obviously you can’t share things publicly but how are those negotiations gone well I won’t characterize any of our negotiations as as always I would never do that um I can just tell you that um we have great relationships with um the Agents of uh the players you’re referring to and we’re in constant communication not just after the season we’re we talk all the time you know it’s really important to um keep those relationships um alive and healthy and and we always try to do that um obviously um you know it’s very important for us to have those conversations um and those are very important players for our team um but I wouldn’t characterize anything beyond that how does jets work a year spending so much of it in the with and whatnot that being somewhat successful how does that impact this graft if at all yeah no look I I mean I think we we think jet could be a very important part of our team he’s put in great great work this summer he looks terrific um we like I said to you guys last time I know he’s kind of out of sight out of mind but we look at his rookie year as having been wildly successful you know the guy accomplished all of the goals that we set out for him it just happened to be in aola Not Orlando but he comes back in um you know a different kid a different player a different Prospect and um obviously like we’re hopeful that he becomes uh you know someone that that that um uh integrates into our team you know successfully uh I would never project timelines on that but we all you know uh um try to clear a path for guys when we can and so you know yeah that’s part of the draft discussion but again at 18 and with the team that made the playoffs um I think we have to kind of like recalibrate the way we think about the draft a little bit it’s not quite the same as it’s been in years past how does the strategy or approach change you have Wednesday THS yeah ask me on Thursday night I have no idea I mean it’s it’s actually kind of interesting isn’t it uh you know I don’t think that um I mean we blow through the draft and there is a little bit of an exhale after the first round but then the second round comes in such rapid fire that uh you know some teams that haven’t prepared for it maybe um can kind of you know uh um maybe take their eye off the ball a little bit I don’t really think that happens a whole lot and I’m I’m curious to see if having a day to pause and catch your breath and circle back to agents you know because a lot of this is like what are agents willing to do with their players in the second round and we don’t always get to have those conversations as the as the picks are going every other minute and and you know teams are calling you and trying to jocke you around this this uh is going to allow us to kind of Hit the pause button catch our breath have a lot of conversations and kind of like go into day two probably a little more you know I guess prepared uh but um I really don’t know what the impact is going to have you know and it’s a second round you know it’s not I I don’t think it’s um going to be treated with the same weight as the first round and especially you know we’re at 47 this year so it’s not like where we’ve been drafting in years past um so but it’ll be interesting to find out I’m we’re kind of all looking forward to it Jeff when you look at how championship teams are built I’m sure you compare yourself to other teams in the league the Celtics of course just won the championship they drafted their star players and then added pieces is there any do you look at teams like that and say hey this is how they were built maybe we could emulate them or yeah we study that stuff all the time um uh there are so many different ways to you know kind of get the job done and so much of it is dependent upon you know your your top guys you know um and then uh the the the other layers kind of factor in one of them being you know the new CBA is going to change the world a little bit you know so um yeah we we we pay a lot of attention to that stuff and and there are kind of um you know maybe some commonalities but I also think that we have to be understanding how the world is like shifting you know in player acquisition in the new CBA in um the the the maybe the length of contracts and um um even we’ve seen such a dramatic shift in in the last few years between free agency and the kind of trade market and that hybrid hybrid Market that we’ve talked about before you know so yeah like we do study that a lot Mike but obviously the other part of it is we’re on our own path and we don’t listen to the outside noise here and we’re trying to you know we our goal is to win a championship and and with that you know we have to approach that on an opportunity by opportunity basis and feed that into the context of our team so we do pay attention to that we we talk about that but but ultimately we have to kind of follow our own Road mapap thank you everyone good stuff guys appreciate you guys are you s

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