Instant Reactions to the Orlando Magic 2025 Draft Picks

Instant Reactions to the Orlando Magic 2025 Draft Picks

live from Orlando Florida you’re listening to the Orlando Magic HQ podcast the voice of Magic fans join us every week for a unique fan perspective on all of the latest Magic news and updates the show starts now what’s up Magic fans welcome back to another episode of the Orlando Magic HQ podcast brought to you by the Believe Podcast Network and B online we’re your hosts Al myself Anthony today is June 26 and we’re recording this right after the second round of the NBA drafts conclusion al Magic bringing in two rookies to this team uh I know you and I we’ve had discussions i wasn’t 100% sold that we were going to keep the picks i didn’t think that we would be adding uh another new player to this team uh especially with you know you take a look at the outlooks of Jay Howard and and Tristan Dilva even if we looked at the draft last season I didn’t think it was a good idea to bring in a rookie uh just because and who knew if there was even enough space for them to be able to see the floor but the Magic ultimately uh making the decision to not just draft one but draft two uh trading up some second round picks to move up in the second round and bring in a player that you know they they obviously really liked and uh feel uh is a player that had Magic DNA and then uh Magic uh looking at Jace Richardson with the 25th pick so first question you Al Magic they uh obviously the the fan base they were looking at a player like Walter Clayton um who unfortunately was not available for us at the 25 uh you know we’ve had conversations about Danny Wolf and and other players but Magic going with Jacece Richardson uh what were your thoughts what were your feelings uh Magic getting a lot of praise from the national media high grades all across the board i think the only one that I saw that was a lower grade was CBS Sports at about a B minus I believe they gave us but across the board ESPN the Ringer Yahoo um a lot of A’s going around so uh obviously the national media really likes this fit for the Magic and there’s a lot of excitement from the fan base so what are what are your quick thoughts and your initial reaction when you heard Jace Richardson’s name uh when the Magic selected at 25 i mean I first things first I think uh shock was the beginning kind of feeling that I had with the Magic choosing to draft two players i think we talked about it plenty in the last few episodes really didn’t think the Magic were going to pick two rookies um I actually expect them to trade uh all the picks and get an upgrade maybe via trade um a veteran that can kind of help us now since we are in this mindset of winning now um so that was my first reaction like wait time out the draft just ended we actually walked away with two rookies a bit of shock there but looking back at it to your point uh Jayce Richardson it’s it’s a kid that’s going to help us right away he’s a kid that is a great shooter a great scorer a lefty uh Jason Richardson’s son so how can you how can you not like that but a kid that everyone’s saying all the experts are saying is a perfect fit for the Orlando Magic uh both on the court and off the court um he brings a lot of what we need playmaking um shot creation great shooter the only downside is the height uh so that was the issue for him during the draft combine he measured I think six feet uh without shoes um that was a red flag for a lot of teams like how is he going to be able to defend at the NBA level although he plays hard on defense is the height going to be a problem and that kind of scares some teams um he was projected to go as high as I think 15 12 in that range and then drop to us at 25 so listen I’ll take him for sure it reminds me a little bit of the Cole Anthony pick although stats wise he looks a lot better on paper than Cole Anthony did coming out of college um again he brings what we need offense offense offense so from that perspective I’m all in i’m bought in on the pick um but what about you what was your reaction to him falling to us and then actually us making that selection and choosing to draft him in the first round yeah so I for me this is going to be one of those um wait and see right uh there’s a lot of people that are extremely high on Jace Richardson for me personally it’s it’s wait and see i don’t I have no idea how much we’re we’re really going to expect from Jace Richardson uh we are obviously having some conversations with people from our Patreon uh who believe that he’s going to be a big part of our rotation um I can see that happening but again wait and see magic are in a win now mode um so the the biggest thing for me so my reaction was neither it I wasn’t moved by it i wasn’t excited but also was not not excited i wasn’t jumping out of my seat um obviously the more that we do research because it’s like this every year right the minute that we draft a player we do research on the player and then we instantly fall in love with the guy right tristan D Silva last year was a player that we really wanted and was a name that we mentioned um so obviously there was some excitement there um but Jace Richardson my only drawback is is the size um but there’s a lot of undersized players in the NBA that do find a lot of a lot of success so it’s it’s not that it’s an issue it’s just a little it’s a little different from the identity that we’ve been accustomed uh to the magic um aiming towards right co anthony to me in my opinion never fit the identity mold um but was still definitely a big part of the team when you talk about just kind of heart and hustle and he definitely brought that now that Co-Anthony isn’t a part of this team uh Jace Richardson looks like he is the the back filler uh of what Co-Anthony was supposed to be and I think that that’s the part that is exciting because um we know that Co-Anthony could have brought a whole lot of value to this team and uh the production just wasn’t there jace Richardson is falling in line as the type of individual that um will be able to bring that type of production it was exciting to see an interview that he had with Paul George Jacece Richardson being a part of um the PG Elite um uh camp that he had and him talking about how like a lot of people don’t really realize that Jace Richardson is a point guard and can do a lot of the playmaking um attributes that a point guard would do and the fact that he was asked to be um off ball more um at uh Michigan State it it kind of you know took away from people’s thoughts of him being a point guard um so if you’re able to bring somebody like Jace Richardson that can can set the table can help with the playmaking can help with the shooting can help with um the production on the offensive end it is definitely something to be excited about uh when you hear Jace Richardson uh and you hear that you know uh people complaining about uh him being undersized and and this is the the funny part we spent way too much time today talking about how tall this player is without shoes when really none of these players are ever going to play or step on the floor barefooted right so um obviously he’s not going to be on the floor as a six-footer he’s going to be on the floor a little bit taller but um just your overall outlook uh do you do you foresee Jace Richardson playing um or or cutting a a rotation with this team or do you do you think that it’s going to take a couple years i I can see it next season of course you know injuries are going to happen so at some point I think he’ll get a chance to play i don’t think he is going to be a guy that we’re going to rely on you know on the season opener on you know opening night no but I think again as injuries happen AB goes down Jaylen Su goes down whatever it might be you have to go to that deep bench he’ll be getting some minutes think about this season right tristan D Silva is a guy that we were like we don’t think he’ll play much like he’s ready but I don’t I don’t see him playing very much and he was a part of the rotation for the most part of the season especially the first like 50 games because of injuries um so I can see that happening with him uh again he he fills a void again scoring attacking the basket shooting so he’ll get a chance he’ll get a chance to compete for a spot uh think about J Howard you know he’s a guy who if he’s still on the roster come training camp that’s the competition that he’ll go against it’s Jay Richardson it’s Caleb Houston if he’s still on the roster by then um so I think he’ll get a fair shot uh but Jeff Wman did say yesterday he’s a rookie coming to a team that’s trying to win he’s going to have to earn every single minute out there so I do like the fact that the expectation is you’re not going to come here and have a role on day one you’re going to have to earn it so if in training camp if in you know practice he can shoot he can shoot well show that he can score at the NBA level I can see him getting minutes the defensive aspect the fact that he’s small I’m not concerned about that we have a team of Giants for that reason right yep um all I can say is this we talk about the comparison of him and Cole Anthony if he can be consistent that was Cole Anony’s downfall it wasn’t that he couldn’t score at the NBA level it wasn’t that he couldn’t play it wasn’t that he wasn’t a good athlete or player at his height it was the fact that he would have a night where he would score 20 25 30 winners a game but then he would disappear for three weeks so we couldn’t rely on him and that was ultimately why he got traded if he can come here and and Jayce I’m talking about right now if he can come here and average 10 12 15 points you know 3 years from now and be consistent at that level guess what that is what we wanted Colin Anthony to be that’s what we paid him to be in Orlando for as our sixman ideally that unfortunately didn’t pan out so he’ll get a chance again I don’t think day one um more moves to come but I will say man coming coming out of this this draft and and hearing guys like u Kevin Oconor say this is a dream dream fit for the Orlando Magic seeing so many A+ A minus high B grades for the Orlando Magic in in a in a draft um and then looking at the fact that he shot 42% from three-point range i mean you you you can’t deny the fact that he’s going to be a good pick for the Banic in the long run um so props to Jeff uh he said he targeted him with the 16th pick which we traded in the in the Bane trade and he he fell to us so we got our guy and that’s always a good thing to hear yeah so and I’m I’m glad that you brought that up because uh it’s awesome to hear that this was a player that they were looking at utilizing the 16th pick with so the fact that he was available uh I’m sure was huge for the Magic Front Office but um it makes me also wonder if Walter Clayton Jr was available at 25 we obviously know that that he wasn’t but if he was available right would they still have gone with with Jace Richardson right it’s it’s it’s always one of those uh was he really our guy obviously this was a player that the Magic um shown interest in and and uh you know hearing the um his press conference small press conference afterwards and hearing him speak he obviously sounds uh like a Orlando Magic guy he seems high character uh he talked about um how he remembers uh being in Orlando um remembers his dad talking highly about the organization um and how excited he is to get acclimated and and start you know getting to work but it makes me wonder is if Walter Clayton was available if that would have been the route that they would have went with right but ultimately we will we will never know um Jacece Richardson will be wearing number 11 scary i I feel like it it gives me a little PTSD uh he’ll be wearing number 11 for the Orlando Magic um and you know people are are talking about Jace Richardson might just be the the biggest sleeper in the draft like don’t don’t be surprised if uh you know we’re we’re getting more production than what we’re expecting from him and I do like the fact that this adds additional pressure to um Jay Howard to Anthony Black to uh you know our our our young guys that they’re going to have to make sure that they don’t let this this Jace Richardson kind of um you know push them off to the side and and you know take away their minutes because there’s only so many minutes that we’re able to put on for these guys i don’t expect the Orlando Magic to go out there and and keep playing 12 players a night like at some point they’re gonna have to bring down that rotation a bit and I think that there’s going to be some some really healthy competition and you know if if if iron sharpens iron this is this is easily the best way to do it and uh from the highlights that we’ve seen from u uh the scouting reports that we’ve read there’s a lot to be excited about and you know I think that the concerns that everybody has in terms of his size uh will will easily be forgotten i think so too man i think again it’s it’s just a matter of time we got to see what he looks like the good thing is we got summer league around the corner and he’s going to be in summer league so we’ll get a little preview of what he looks like and the cool thing is I think uh Tristan Dilva is going to be in our roster as well he might play one to two games um so seeing him out there do we see Jay Howard again we don’t know we’ll see what what happens there but every game I think that it should be fun to see again Jay’s out there with TDS with potentially J Howard as well um but I think again I like the pick i can’t I can’t say that I’m upset by it i was actually pretty excited and I always in my mind thought if if Wal Walter is not there at 25 he would be my guy that he was my backup plan so the fact that again Walter wasn’t there it wasn’t really a choice he didn’t go to Miami thankfully guess what make this pick and just run with it yeah so uh the Orlando Magic announcing that they will be hosting a press conference uh Friday at 12:00 p.m so it’s going to be awesome to be able to uh continue to hear a little bit more uh from Jace Richardson and then the Magic second round um of the NBA draft uh the Magic moving up and acquiring the 32nd pick from Boston trading away number 46 number 47 from this year and the 2026 second rounder most favorable of Detroit Milwaukee Orlando and the 2027 second round most favorable of Orlando and Boston so Magic giving up a lot to move up to the 32nd pick um in drafting Noah Penda from France this was a player that um Jeff Woman came out and said that they had an opportunity to be able to bring him in uh for a workout got a chance to get to know him get to know him on the court off the court um and it’s a player that um has uh magic DNA so uh not the best shooter right but this is somebody that is a big body 6’8 245 pounds can put the ball on the floor um can play defense defend multiple positions um and it’s a player that the front office seemed really high on so um question to you is when you heard Penda’s name or you heard the Magic moving up um to be able to select this player uh did that make you feel good that the Magic consolidating that draft pick and being aggressive giving up that many second round picks uh obviously to to move up is is not uh you know it’s it’s a tough decision to make but the Magic again getting aggressive and getting a player that they really wanted so I think that that’s the the part I want to really focus on is the fact that this is a guy they really wanted and again Jeff came out afterwards and said we had targeted him with a 25th pick so according to what Jeff is telling us he got two guys that he expected to draft a 16 and a 25 so had they not made the decimal brain Bane trade these were the guys he wanted to draft according to him so the fact that we were able to get them at 25 and now 31 again it’s a win in my eyes this is the perfect in Jeff We pick why do I say that i don’t know the kid i’ll be honest with you that was my reaction like who who I was super excited when I saw them being aggressive and move up because we for years have been asking the Magic hey move up in the draft move up in the draft get somebody cheap in the second round get your guy and they haven’t done that they trade the picks for cash they trade the pick for future seconds we’re like what is going on for once make the move well guess what they made it this year the problem is we don’t know who this guy is this guy is like based on what I did thank you Chad GPT thank you Google thank you YouTube found out great defender really big body you know 68 and a half 69 250 almost great defender spotty shooter not not very consistent but he made the All-Star game uh in the French first tier league that’s again the the best league in France was an all-star he made the I think the rookie all-star game he might have won the MVP I believe so by that I mean someone who comes from a great league that that that’s produced a lot of NBA talent to make the all-star game there to be a young guy and play well in that league the future must be bright we know France is produced a lot of NBA players recently um he may be again the next big guy to come out of France we don’t know much about him but based on what experts are saying he’s a guy that projects to be a solid player at least defensively in the NBA um a winner so if that is the case it basically says we’re drafted an older guy who may be ready to contribute immediately at the NBA level play solid defense what does it sound like to you it’s the perfect magic player i think this was this was Jeff’s compromise we’ll draft a short offensive minded guy but let me get my guy in second round who’s you know long arms defensive minded um the only confusing part is I thought we’re over with those days of like the 3 and D guys the lengthy dudes i thought we’re going to go more for an offensive minded like the best shooter available in the second round maybe that was my hope unfortunately we didn’t but again I’m going to trust Jeff in this one um I talked about it plenty in p in our in our in our chat there that we have um and I said it like not my favorite pick but again I’m going to trust Jeff because he did say that this was guy that they targeted at the 25th pick and people are saying that he should have been a first round pick i mean the top 2018 range he dropped to us so again let’s see how it pans out but what about you what was your reaction when you heard the news yeah same i I wasn’t familiar with the player at all um not mad of the draft pick again I I would prefer that the Magic get aggressive and and go move up to be able to get a player that that they want right uh I thought it was pretty neat that this was a a draft pick that uh Boston was looking to draft uh Fleming with but he was obviously taking 31st so Boston making a quick pivot um and the Magic were able to take advantage of that opportunity so uh when he was drafted um hearing Jay Bas say uh you know this is a player that um uh will be on an NBA roster like he he will play for the NBA team and this isn’t a stash this isn’t someone that we’re going to throw in the GLeague um we might potentially throw him in the G-League but uh this is someone that’s expected to be on the roster i thought was interesting because you you think about him you think about uh Jay Richardson these are all cheap contracts so what what do the Magic have up their sleeves again adding two additional rookies to an already young team is not necessarily the uh the recipe of success that I was expecting when it comes to winning now but again cheap contracts uh Magic obviously getting aggressive with bringing in Desmond Bane we have free agency right around the corner um what will the Magic do it it makes me more excited to see how it is that they plan on rounding this team up um rounding this roster up and it’s it’s going to it’s going to be exciting man so uh whether it’s it’s in Orlando or in Ocola uh you know these are these are players that are are high IQ high quality high character um and it’s it’s a lot to be excited for so I like the pick i like that we’re aggressive for him i like that the front office liked them and yeah this is going to be one of those things that we chalk up and say that we’re we’re gonna have to trust Jeff Wellman on this one yeah and I will say that the cool thing is that they did announce already that he will be on the roster like he’s coming over from France uh apparently some teams wanted him to stash him in France a year or two more and apparently the Magic are not doing that so he will be on the roster he’s being introduced to the media tomorrow so that means that he will be on the roster and I don’t think this will be a two-way contract this will be an actual NBA contract so intriguing to say the least to see how he’s going to fit in with the team um but let me ask you same question as we asked about Chase Richardson do you think that he will have a role on this team next season or is he more of a guy that hey we don’t have a pick in the first round next year because we traded it this is kind of our first round pick next year that we’re just going to put in our roster since now and kind of start developing him in in our locker room in our training facilities since now yeah i mean listen I’ve never been a fan of the way that we utilize our two-way i I feel like uh you know that’s an opportunity for us to really develop specific players and uh obviously this might be a player that we don’t put in the two-way but I like that they we have young players that they’re looking to to build up you talk about you know a lot of these other teams have gotten really lucky with their picks in the second round and these are are key players that have um you know contributed a lot to this team you look at the Draymond Greens you look at the Nicoolola Joic you look at all these and I’m not not saying that this this is a player that’s going to be that but if he’s able to bring in something to be able to help this team and you got him from the second round like th this was the whole point that this was one of the benefits that we were supposed to get from Jeff Welman and John Hammond they were supposed to be the ones that are able to find u you know the needle in the haststack and this is looking like um an opportunity for us to really judge them and see if they’re they’re really strong with their scouting uh you know they they talked about going international and seeing um seeing this player you know in in his environment and watching him live so um I I’m excited to hear that that conversation that press conference tomorrow i think we’re going to be able to learn a lot more um it was just reported not too long ago that he’s going to be wearing number 93 interesting in a in a magic uniform so that’s going to be interesting uh to see that number out on the floor and you know again another another u player that we’re going to look and we’re just going to have to wait and see we’re going to have to wait and see what he’s able to provide yeah exciting stuff man at least again the magic keeps surprising us i think when we talked about acquiring Desmond Bane came out of nowhere like again I personally the more I think about it like really like he’s really our player now like that came out of the left field did not expect that move thank you Jeff for for making it happen and now the draft we expected to make moves not really draft any rookies if anything won and yet here we are we were aggressive we we drafted the guy we wanted at at 25 they the guy we wanted at 31 so again the Magic keep impressing us and making decisions that again we were not expecting and guess what that’s what we’ve been wanting from this team all along this front office to to make moves to make us a a contender a winner in the East um the fun part is Monday free agency free agency is going to start so we’ll see what happens between now and Monday any trades that may develop otherwise we may see another guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy guy or two get picked up in free agency so fun times ahead that’s for sure yeah it’s so funny when any anytime that we draft a second second round player I always tell myself uh you know in this instance you know Noah drafted uh number 32 but if the 31 players before him uh were born just a year earlier or a year later we’d have another number one pick right is that is that the way that that works maybe probably pretty much yeah so Magic still over the next seven years we still own nine second round picks and four first round so um man even though we’re giving up you know so many first round picks for the Desmond trade and and obviously this transaction where we’re giving up a lot of second picks like we still have a lot of uh future assets at our disposal so man Jace Richardson Noah Penda um addition of more young guys being added uh to this team and just when you thought that you know we’re going to have a little bit of a break in the off season no we we end up adding two uh young guys who are going to be part of the the uh summer league and uh the Magic they’re they’re going to be active man so uh appreciate everyone for listening give us your thoughts and comments of the NBA draft um your thoughts on Jace Richardson your thoughts on Noah Penda would love to get some feedback and on that note is a wrap i appreciate everyone for listening and we’ll catch you guys on the next one for all the latest magic news and updates visit orlandomagichq.com and follow us on Instagram at Orlando Magic HQ and on Twitter at OMagic HQ also remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel and subscribe and leave a five-star review on your favorite listening platform

In this episode of the Orlando Magic HQ podcast, Anthony and Al discuss the recent NBA draft, focusing on the Orlando Magic’s selections of Jace Richardson and Noah Penda.

They share their initial reactions, analyze the fit of these players within the team’s current roster, and speculate on the future dynamics of the team as they prepare for the upcoming season.

00:00 NBA Draft Reactions and Rookie Selections
13:28 Analyzing Jace Richardson’s Fit and Potential
18:33 Noah Penda: The Magic’s Second Round Pick
23:09 Looking Ahead: Free Agency and Future Prospects

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