After remaining out of the first round of the NBA draft on Tuesday night, the Magic made multiple trades throughout the second round on Wednesday before ultimately landing on South Florida forward Izaiyah Nelson.
Entering the night with only the No. 46 pick, Orlando sent that pick, which was used to select Tennessee forward Felix Okpara, to the Washington Wizards in exchange for the Nos. 51 and 60 draft picks, a league source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel.
Shortly after, the Magic then sent the No. 60 pick to the Milwaukee Bucks for cash, the Sentinel confirmed.
Orlando used the No. 51 pick to select Nelson, the American Athletic Conference’s player of the year, the defensive player of the year and the newcomer of the year. The Magic intend to keep Nelson, a league source said.
A 6-foot-9 forward from Marietta, Ga., Nelson led USF to AAC regular-season and tournament titles and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
He averaged 15.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks for the Bulls, who tied the program record with 25 wins this past season. Nelson recorded 18 double-doubles, which were the ninth-most in the nation and tied for the second-most in program history.
Nelson spent the first three years of his college career at Arkansas State before he transferred to USF, where he led the AAC in rebounding and field-goal percentage (56.1%). He played high school basketball at Marietta High School in Georgia.
Orlando entered the draft with only one second-round pick available after the team traded its 2026 first-round selection to the Grizzlies as part of a blockbuster deal last summer to acquire guard Desmond Bane.
With the draft behind them, the Magic will fully shift their focus toward free agency and the rest of the offseason.
Tuesday is the first day teams can begin negotiating with free agents from other clubs.
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com