The 2021 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, and this could be arguably the most important draft in the 32-year history of the Orlando Magic. The Magic have two draft picks in the Top 10 at Nos. 5 and 8 as well as the third pick of the second round at No. 33. It could be make-or-break time for the Magic, and the future of the franchise rests in the balance.
With that in mind, we look at the Magic’s history of draft picks, and today the focus is on the worst five draft picks ever by Orlando.
1. Fran Vazquez, Spain, 2005, No. 11 pick
Forward, 6-foot-10, 240 pounds
Vazquez is the easy choice as the Magic’s worst draft pick ever, and it seems the distinction was not even the Magic’s fault. This rests strictly with Vazquez himself. The Magic drafted Vazquez and he indicated that he intended the sign with the team. The Magic thought he would and had no signals otherwise. His American-based agent Marc Cornstein thought he would play for the Magic. Vazquez even showed up in Orlando the day after the draft to be introduced to the media and have pictures taken with a Magic jersey. Then came the bombshell. Vazquez decided he would stay home and continue to play professionally with his Spanish team. Despite rumors he might eventually play for the Magic, he never did, retiring last year at age 37. His NBA potential remained just that, but he did retire as the all-time leader for blocked shots in the EuroLeague.
2. Geert Hammink, Netherlands (LSU), 1993, No. 26
Center, 7-foot, 260 pounds
Hammink was reportedly drafted by the Magic as a favor to Shaquille O’Neal, who played with Hammink at LSU. O’Neal was drafted the year before Hammink and went on to lead the Magic to the 1995 NBA Finals — without Hammink. The Dutch player appeared in just five games over three seasons for the Magic and overall played just 8 games in a three-year NBA career that also included stints with Golden State and Toronto. He averaged 6.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 112 college games, including a big senior year in which he averaged 15.7 points and 10.5 rebounds.
3. Reece Gaines, Louisville, 2003, No. 15
Point guard, 6-foot-6, 205 pounds
For a point guard who played 71 NBA games, his numbers certainly did not add up to that of a floor general. He averaged 0.7 assists per game during a career that lasted just three seasons, only one of which was spent with the Magic, for whom he started just one of 38 games. Gaines did have a decent college career at Louisville, averaging 18 points and five assists a game, but he was a bust in the NBA.
4. Stanley Roberts (LSU) and Bison Dele (Maryland/Arizona), 1991
We’ll count these two as one. Both Roberts and Dele were first-round picks in the same draft — Dele No. 10 and Roberts No. 23 — and both were 7-foot centers. Neither amounted to much with the Magic. Dele, who had been known as Brian Williams, and Roberts had subpar NBA careers. Dele played 413 games and averaged 11 points and six rebounds, and Roberts played 300 games, averaging 8.5 points and three rebounds.
Dele started only two of his 69 games with the Magic over two seasons, and Roberts 34 of 55 games in Orlando. They both had decent first-year numbers at about 10 points per game and Roberts averaged six rebounds, but it was all downhill from there. The Magic struck out on those two and then Shaq made them expendable in 1992.
In 2002, Dele disappeared following a boating excursion in the South Pacific with his girlfriend and the boat’s skipper. Dele’s brother Miles Daboard is believed to have murdered the other three, although the bodies were never recovered. Daboard was the only one to return to shore from the Voyage. Daboard died in late 2002 after slipping into a coma, the result of an alleged self-induced insulin overdose.
5. Daniel Orton, Kentucky, 2010, No. 29
Forward, 6-foot-10, 255 pounds
Orton was a bust almost from Day 1. He played just 16 games for the Magic, starting two, and averaged 2.8 points and 2.4 rebounds. The Magic got rid of him after that first year and he spent two more seasons in the league before heading for Asia. Orton was a bit of a hothead and got in a few in-game altercations during games in China. He currently is on the roster of the Japanese team Kumamoto Volters. Orton has been with 20 different teams since leaving the NBA in 2013.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Chris Hays covers the Orlando Magic for the Sentinel. He can be reached at CHays@orlandosentinel.com.
