By John Denton
May 18, 2016
ORLANDO – Coming out of Tuesday’s Draft Lottery with the No. 11 pick, the Orlando Magic are charged with preparing for the June 23 NBA Draft while simultaneously finding the next head coach to lead the team.
On the positive side, it’s a double-duty process that the Magic have become intently familiar with over the past four years.
For a third time since May of 2012, GM Rob Hennigan is juggling the responsibility of hiring a coach and preparing the franchise for the NBA Draft. The Magic are in this position after Scott Skiles stunned the organization last week with his abrupt resignation as head coach following just one season along the sidelines in Orlando.
Hennigan, Orlando’s GM the past four years, hired Jacque Vaughn in 2012 and Skiles last May less than a month before the 2015 NBA Draft. Including former interim coach James Borrego – a candidate now for the Magic’s open position – Orlando is poised to name its fourth coach in four years – all while readying for the draft in the coming month.
“It’s a challenge because it’s more workload, but it’s our job to figure these things out,” Hennigan said. “We feel like we prepare enough throughout the year (for the NBA Draft) and we have a great staff. We’ll divvy up the responsibilities and do the best that we can.”
Hennigan said on Tuesday night in New York that the team has spoken to current Magic assistant coach Adrian Griffin about possibly becoming Orlando’s next head coach. Former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel has also interviewed with the Magic, according to a report in Yahoo’s “The Vertical.”
Griffin was Skiles’ top assistant this past season and he ran two practices during the season when Skiles fell ill in January. Griffin, 41, has a close relationship with many of the Magic’s players and he is widely considered throughout the NBA to be head coaching material because of his professional experience as a player, assistant and developmental coach.
Promoting Griffin might give the Magic some of the stability that it has lacked in recent years as it has changed coaches three times in the past 16 months.
“Stability is very important, and I think that’s something that oftentimes has an intangible impact on a team,” Hennigan said last week following Skiles’ resignation. “So, certainly I will be taking that into account.”
Unlike in the previous two hires, time could be of the essence for the Magic what with them competing with three other teams for many of the same head coaching candidates. New York, Houston and Memphis are also without head coaches, and Vogel has reportedly already interviewed with all four teams.
The Magic could potentially have the most to offer a prospective coaching candidate. In addition to having stable ownership and a tradition of winning, Orlando possesses a strong core of young talent, the No. 11 pick in the upcoming draft and possibly as much as $45 million in salary cap space with which to woo free agents to Central Florida.
Orlando is one of just five NBA teams to have improved its win total each of the past three seasons, joining Golden State, Cleveland, Toronto and Detroit. The Magic were 35-47 this past season – a 10-win improvement over the 2014-15 season. That record easily could have been much better had the Magic fared better in games decided by five points or less (8-15) and in games decided by three points or less (6-10).
“I think we have a great situation here,” Hennigan said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. We’ve got a young team and guys who are willing to work. We have guys who want to be pushed, want to be coached. And we think the future is bright here, we really do.
“We won 10 more games than we did the year before – that’s not an insignificant improvement,” Hennigan continued. “Our goal is to make the playoffs. Our goal is to make the playoffs immediately, and that’s what we’re geared to do. But I see our situation as incredibly attractive.”
It could become even more attractive if the Magic can add another difference-making piece with the No. 11 pick in the June 23rd NBA Draft. While several talented players have come out of the No. 11 draft position – Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, seven-time NBA champion Robert Horry, former Magic guard J.J. Redick and current Golden State star Klay Thompson to name a few – the Magic could shop the pick around the NBA in an attempt to acquire another player with more NBA experience.
Nine teams do not own a first-round pick – Washington, Miami, New York, Brooklyn, Cleveland, Houston, Dallas, Portland and Oklahoma City. Four teams (Boston, Philadelphia, Denver and Phoenix) have three first-round picks, while one team (Toronto) has two selections in the first round.
In addition to monitoring the Magic, Hennigan and his staff were busy scouting college and international players the past six months. Hennigan said the deep talent base in the draft gives the Magic options with which to use with their picks at No. 11, 41 and 47.
“I think it’s a good draft,” Hennigan said. “There are always good players to be found in every draft. Our scouting staff does a good job and a tireless job trying to identify the players who we feel fit our team. We’re going to continue to get to work and we’ll be ready for the draft.”
Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.
