NBA Draft
Orlando Magic Select Dario Saric at No. 12
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
The Magic were one of a few teams that entered the draft with at least two first-round picks and chose to take Dario Saric out of Croatia with their second first-round pick at number 12. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported just after the pick that the Magic will send the rights of Saric to the Philadelphia 76ers for number 10 pick Elfrid Payton.
The addition of Payton to the Magic fills the team’s need at the point guard position. The Magic used rookie Victor Oladipo at point guard last season and the results were mixed. With Payton coming to the Magic, Oladipo can go back to his natural position at shooting guard. The trade could also signal the end for Jameer Nelson, whose contract is only partially guaranteed.
Payton out of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette was a player early in the draft process that was projected to go in the late first-round, possibly in the second-round. In recent weeks, Payton’s stock has risen significantly to be taken with the 10th pick. Payton was said to have been performing extremely well in his workouts in recent weeks, as Payton believed it was because of his improved shooting performance that got him into the lottery of just about every mock draft. The Magic appear to have acquired an extremely confident player in Payton as he said he believed that he was the best point guard in the draft.
