The Magic took 23-year old, 6’6″, 210 pound SG DeAndre Liggins out of Kentucky with the 53rd overall pick of the 2011 NBA Draft.  Liggins played in 38 games for Kentucky last year and he averaged 31.6 minutes, 8.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  He played in 100 games in his three years in college and he averaged 21.9 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.  Liggins is a defensive minded shooting guard.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took 21-year old power forward Justin Harper out of Richmond with the 32nd overall pick of the NBA Draft last night.  He is 6’10″, 225 pounds and he’s a lot style wise to ex-Magic forward Rashard Lewis.  The Magic sent the Cavs two future second round picks for Harper.  Harper played in 37 games for Richmond last year and he averaged 31.8 minutes, 17.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocked shots per game.  He played in 137 games in his four years in college and he averaged 22.9 minutes, 10.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

The Orlando Magic need to add rebounding and defense in the NBA Draft on Thursday Night.  It won’t be easy as the Magic only has 1 pick (#53 overall) in the draft.  The Magic are likely homing in on three players with their pick.  C Keith Benson (Oakland), PF/C Rick Jackson (Syracuse) and C Gary McGhee (Pittsburgh).  Benson is a shot blocking demon but he won’t likely make it to the Magic in the second round.  Rick Jackson is more of a power forward than a center, but he would be a solid pick for the Magic because he’s a good offensive player and rebounder.  Gary McGhee is an old school tough guy whose game doesn’t venture far from the basket.  The Magic aren’t getting greedy, they just want of these guys to be available with the 53rd overall pick on Thursday.

The Orlando Magic have selected forward Stanley Robinson with the 59th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Robinson played in 34 games (all starts) for Connecticut and he averaged 14.5 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.2 blocked shots per game. He played in 126 games (103 starts) in his college career and he averaged 9.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 blocked shot per game. You can never have too many big men so I like this pick for the Magic.

UPDATE: (10/21/2010) – The Magic have released Robinson.

The Magic have selected 19-year old center Daniel Orton with the 29th overall pick of the NBA Draft. Orton is 6’10″, 255 pounds and still growing. He played in 38 games (0 starts) at Kentucky last season and he averaged 3.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Orton has a nice upside and the Magic will be able to bring him along slowly as he learns from Dwight Howard.

The Magic will have most of last year’s team back in 2010-11. With that in mind the Magic will likely take the best player available when they pick 29th and 59th in tomorrow’s NBA Draft. I think shooting guard or small forward would be the place to go in the first round as Matt Barnes has opted out of his contract and he has become a free agent. I also don’t think the Magic are happy with Vince Carter’s performance in his first year with the team. Regardless the Magic is in good shape heading into tomorrow night’s NBA Draft.

The Magic figured that they wanted to draft a player that was polished and could help them soon. That’s just what they got in shooting guard Courtney Lee from Western Kentucky. Lee has nice size at 6’5″, 200 pounds and he’s a very mature 22 years old. Lee played in 127 games (all starts) at Western Kentucky and he averaged 17.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game. He also shot 40.1% from three point range so he might be able to help stretch the defense when he is on the court. This was a good pick for the Magic.

The Orlando Magic have acquired Milovan Rakovic from the Dallas Mavericks for forward Reyshawn Terry.  Rakovic definately has more upside than Terry does, but it won’t matter if he doesn’t come to the United State.  Rakovic is a 6’10″ center from Serbia.  He’s a fundamentally sound player as most Europeans are.  He played in 54 games in Serbia and he averaged 11.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocked shots per game.  Rakovic takes a lot of high % shots and that’s why he hit 63.9% of his shots from the floor, but he only made 69.4% of his free throws.