For the first time in a long time, there was no need to put a happy face on the Magic's draft, no need to dredge up its history of failed picks.

Versatile Louisville point guard Reece Gaines is everything Orlando wanted with the 15th overall pick in Thursday night's NBA draft and then some.

"I've always been a leader," Gaines said Friday at the team's RDV Sportsplex headquarters. "But at each level I've been at I had to earn the right to be a leader. You don't just walk into a room and say "I'm a leader.'

"Hopefully I'll earn the right to be a leader here."

Here is where Magic general manager John Gabriel said he wanted Gaines all along. But he was not sure Gaines would make it to No. 15.

Seattle picked twice ahead of Orlando, at No. 12 and 14, and also was in dire need of a point guard. The Magic tried to trade up, reaching as high as the Wizards' pick at No. 10. But the team did not have much to give and found no takers for what little it offered. Gabriel was in constant contact with Gaines' agent, Andy Miller, trying to work out a deal.

When the Sonics took Kansas forward Nick Collison with the 12th pick, Gabriel feared the worst.

"I thought he was gone," Gabriel said. "Andy and I talked all day, every hour, about how we could go up to get (Gaines.)"