ORLANDO — Beginning on NBA Draft night, 2016 would be a year of bad decisions for the Orlando Magic and a history lesson about the All-Stars who got away.
The hindsight is bearable now. The Magic are riding a streak of good choices. Seven of their past nine draft picks were significant contributors to this past season's playoff team.Magic trade Victor Oladipo, Eryan İlyasova, draft rights to Domantas SabonisSabonis, one of the best college players in the nation, was considered an uncertainty. He lacked the defensive credentials of Utah’s Jakob Pöltl, who was a more traditional shot blocker and was drafted ninth.
Ersan İlyasova, a 28-year-old power forward who was a career 10-point-per-game scorer and shot a reliable 37 percent from the arc; The hope was that, outside the shadows of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Ibaka could become more of a focal point. In Oklahoma City, he had averaged 13 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks.
Ross would spend seven seasons in Orlando as a core piece coming off the bench and averaging 12.7 points per game.Rob Hennigan, the architect of these personnel moves, was fired after that season. In his five years as general manager, Orlando posted a 132–278 record — the worst five-year stretch in team history.Magic trade draft rights to No.