Orlando Magic Select Dario Saric at No. 12

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 10^th 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.