PG: Elfrid Payton/Luke Ridnour
SG: Victor Oladipo/Evan Fournier/Ben Gordon
SF: Maurice Harkless/Devyn Marble
PF: Aaron Gordon/Andrew Nicholson
C: Nikola Vucevic/Dewayne Dedmon
2015 Free Agents
F Tobias Harris (RFA)
C Kyle O'Quinn (RFA)
SG Willie Green
2015 Draft Picks
1-5
2-21(51) via Chicago
Team Needs
Despite the defensive potential of Payton, Oladipo, Harkless, and Gordon, Orlando's defense was terrible last season, due in large part to the struggles of Vucevic on that end. Unfortunately, those aforementioned four players also didn't play so great offensively, while Vucevic excelled on that end. That imbalance just didn't work for Orlando, as they ended up with the forth worst offense and sixth worst defense. The question for Orlando is, how to fix this? Is it just a matter of patience, let their young players develop some offense or defense? Are the one key piece away from making it all work together? Or is this just a poorly constructed team that needs to make some moves to shake things up? I would suspect that the solution is a combination of the first two, but that doesn't mean it is going to work out.
Potential Fits
The next question is how to use this draft to help your team take the next step. Kentucky center Willie Cauley-Stein could really be a boon to the defense but is an awkward fit offensively next to Vucevic. Croatian wing Mario Hezonja would give them more offensive versatility and should hurt their defense too much, while fellow wings Justise Winslow would improve their perimeter defense, they might not be the kind of offensive players you'd want to thrust into a big offensive role just yet. Emmanuel Mudiay would possibly be available, but Payton's presence likely takes him out of the running for him. Kristaps Porzingis would help both offense and defense... in another year or two. In the second round, they are picking so late that they could really go in any direction. Also, because they have so many players already on their roster, a stash prospect is likely to be strongly considered.
Mock
5. Mario Hezonja, G/F, Barcelona
51. Nedim Buza, SF, Spars Sarejevo
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