Orlando Magic

Who Should the Magic Hire as Coach During the Offseason?

Published

11 years ago

April 15, 2015

Another season. Another lottery year. What was expected to be the year we made a run for the playoffs turned into the (final, hopefully) year we draft a lottery-talent player. Executives, coaches, and analysts are perplexed at the Orlando Magic’s record, as the amount of talent on the roster is not indicative of a 25-56 record. What our young core needs is a coach who stresses disciplined offensive and defensive sets. They need a coach who will hold them accountable and correct their mistakes promptly. Who should the Magic target?

James Borrego
Ever since taking the role of Head Coach after Jacque Vaughn’s departure, Borrego has gone 10-19 with this team. During his tenure, he has tried to establish a culture of defense. While, as a unit, the team has not played defense well, most of their individual defense has shown promise and taken strides. Should the Magic give Borrego a chance to instill offense into the team in the offseason and give him a month or two of next season to prove himself worthy of the job? Yes and no. If coaches like Tom Thibodeau or Billy Donovan come to the market, it would be hard not to consider hiring them. If there are no great coaches on the market, I would not mind giving Borrego a chance at redemption.

Michael Malone
Malone is one of the more interesting candidates the Magic should consider to hire. After getting the Kings to a promising start this season, he was fired by the organization, much to the surprise of NBA fans around the world, after the team went on a losing streak with their star player, Demarcus Cousins, out with injury. Defense is his specialty, and he gets along with players (including Cousins). He would be a great fit to the defensive culture the Magic is trying to create.

Scott Skiles
Skiles is one of the more seasoned veteran coaches in the NBA. In his tenure as a coach for more than a decade, he has amassed a W/L record of 443-433. He disciplines his players on a high level, maybe too high. It may not be a coincidence that his W/L records for the teams he has coached has regressed season by season. Could it be because of his team aging? Or could it be because of his players tuning him out? If it is the latter, that would be a major red flag to his hiring. Regardless, Skiles is a person who is highly revered by the Magic organization, as he once played for the team.

Ettore Messina and Chip Engelland
Both are current assistant coaches to Popovich. Ettore is an international coaching legend. Chip has been with Pop for over a decade. What’s not to like?

Billy Donovan
It was the summer of 2007. Magic fans were elated that the UF coach who had just coached his team to back-to-back championships had agreed to become the coach for the Orlando Magic, ushering in an age of dominance. To their dismay, Donovan had fallen back on the agreement, opting to go back to the University of Florida to coach. Now, should Billy D show any interest in coaching in the NBA, I would be all for it. He is a brilliant playmaker and most importantly, he knows how to ignite his players. Recently, he became the second youngest player to hit the 500 career-win mark. Also, he has a connection with Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon, as both were on his Gold-medal winning U19 team. Will he leave Florida this year upon a buyout from an NBA team? That question is up for grabs. As a current Gator, I doubt he will leave this year. He recently rehired a former UF assistant coach and has been making other moves to set up the Gators for a revival after a disappointing season this year. He could leave in two or three more years, but him leaving in a couple months seems unlikely.

Tom Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau: the defensive specialist who helped turnaround a good Chicago Bulls team into a perennial contender. Unfortunately, his team has been plagued with injury, most notably that of Derrick Rose. Rumor has it the Bulls front office is not happy with him. If they end up firing him this offseason after a possible early playoff exit, is he a good fit for our team? Reports say he would be interested in coaching Anthony Davis and the Pelicans, should a job open up there. He would also be interested in the young, defensive-minded nucleus the Magic provide. We could really use a defensive mastermind to maximize all the talent we have. Players who have played under him have put up career numbers across the board. However, do those career numbers exist because he Thibodeau plays his starters for a large amount of minutes? Is this dramatic increase in minutes the reason why his players get injured so often? If those instances are just coincidences, he should be considered. If not, those are some serious red flags to consider.

Since the Magic roster is filled with promising talent, attracting an exceptional coach should not be difficult. The front office should examine any red flags with any of the coaches before making the ultimate decision to hire them, as expectations for the team will be high next season.

NBA

Magic Beat Raptors for Second Win in a Row

Published

3 years ago

December 9, 2022

Mike Brodsky

ORLANDO, Fla. (Florida National News) – The Orlando Magic (7-20) continued their winning ways against the Toronto Raptors (13-13), defeating them 113-109 , just two days after a come-from-behind overtime victory against the Los Angeles Clippers. This two game winning streak puts an end to the Magic’s previous nine game losing streak.

The Magic started strong, taking a 37-25 lead into the second quarter, led by 10 first quarter points from Franz Wagner. But the Raptors caught up to the Magic midway through the second quarter led by Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. But at halftime, the Magic held a slight lead, 67-63.

The Magic extended their lead to 94-87 with remarkably impressive scoring from Franz Wagner who added 14 points in the third quarter alone. In the fourth quarter, the Raptors tied it up 108-108 with about two minutes remaining after two free throws by OG Anunoby. Paolo Banchero made one of two subsequent free throws, and Moe Wagner drew the charge from Gary Trent Jr. to negate his two point basket. Fred Van Vleet later added a free throw to tie the game at 109-109. A Franz Wagner tip layup put the Magic up 111-109. A missed shot by Fred Van Vleet sealed the Raptors loss. Banchero’s two free throws put the Magic ahead 113-109 at the end of the game.

Franz Wagner led the scoring for the Magic with 34 points, while Paolo Banchero scored 23. Mo Bamba finished with 13 rebounds. Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz ended with 5 assists.

Several Magic players remain injured and were unable to play, including Wendell Carter Jr. (plantar fascia strain), Gary Harris (strained right hamstring), Chuma Okeke (left knee soreness), Jalen Suggs (right ankle soreness) and Jonathan Isaac (left knee recovery). Isaac has started his rehab program, playing in full contact 5 on 5 practice games with the Lakeland G League affiliate, and hopes to return to the court soon for Orlando.

The Magic face the Raptors at Amway once again on Sunday, 12/11 at 6:00 p.m. Be sure to follow www.FloridaSportsChannel.com and www.FloridaNationalNews.com for more.

NBA

Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic Beat Memphis Grizzlies 109-105 in Preseason Home Opener

Published

4 years ago

October 11, 2022

Mellissa Thomas

Orlando Magic #1 draft pick Paolo Banchero (in white) blocks a shot during the Orlando Magic's preseason home opener against the Memphis Grizzlies at Amway Center Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Photo: J. Willie David III/Florida National News.

ORLANDO, Fla. (FNN) – The Orlando Magic returned home to Amway Center to host the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night; the teams’ second match with each other this preseason. Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley made a point to rotate many his key players through in just the first quarter. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins also mentioned he would take a similar route in a pregame interview, saying he planned to run 11 players in Tuesday night’s game.

First Half

As anticipated, Orlando Magic first round draft pick Paolo Banchero got busy putting up points, leading in the first quarter with nine. Banchero continued to lead the Magic in scoring in the first half with 13 points while Franz Wagner led in rebounds with eight and Wendell Carter Jr. carried the weight in assists with six. Banchero also led in free throws at 100 percent, nailing all five.

Though the Magic led in the points, the truth is the Grizzlies actually made great shot opportunities for themselves, but many of the shots just didn’t land. Not for lack of trying: Ja Morant was 2 for 11 on field goals and clocked seven points, Dillon Brooks went 2 for 6 and clocked six points, and Desmond Bane, who led the Grizzlies with 17 points in the first half, went 6 for 9 on field goals.

The Magic led in points in the paint with 20 compared to the Grizzlies’ 18 and in second chance points with five to the Grizzlies’ two. Memphis did lead in fast break points, though, with 13 to Orlando’s eight.

For the Magic, Terrence Ross was second in scoring with eight points in the first half. Orlando’s other draft pick rookie, Caleb Houstan, contributed five points in the first half. Bol Bol humbly contributed two. Cole Anthony, Wendell Carter Jr. and Franz Wagner each contributed seven points.

By halftime, the Magic had a seven-point lead, 54-47.

Second Half

Either the Grizzlies came alive in the second half or the Magic slowed down, but the Grizzlies were much more successful in scoring. Desmond Bane put up six more points in the third quarter as did Santi Aldama. Banchero and (Franz) Wagner maxed out at three additional points in the third. The Grizzlies closed the scoring gap and went into the fourth with only a six-point deficit, 77-71.

The Grizzlies clawed through the fourth quarter, narrowing Orlando’s lead to just one point with only four minutes left in the game. However, the Magic managed get more points on the board and widen the gap again by five points in the final two minutes. The rest of the game was a bit of a nail biter for Magic fans, seeing the lead shrink and grow between two and five points with fouls and free throws for Terrence Ross for the Magic and Ja Morant for the Grizzlies.

For the Magic, Wendell Carter Jr. topped in scoring with 18 points and 8 assists, with Paolo Banchero and Terrence Ross backing him up each with 17 points.

All in all, the Magic won 109-105. They have one more home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday, October 14 at 7pm ET, before getting back on the road.

____________________________________

Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News.

Orlando

Orlando Magic Sign Kevon Harris to Two-Way Contract

Published

4 years ago

July 25, 2022

Willie David

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Magic have signed free agent guard Kevon Harris (KEE-von) to a two-way contract, President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Harris (6’6”, 216, 6/24/97) played in 24 games (23 starts) last season with Raptors 905 of the NBA G League, averaging 15.1 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 3.6 apg. and 1.17 stlpg. in 30.2 minpg. Most recently, he played and started in all five games with Minnesota during the NBA 2K23 Summer League 2022, averaging 15.8 ppg., 2.8 rpg., 2.0 apg. and 1.00 stlpg. in 27.1 minpg.

Not drafted by an NBA franchise, Harris has played in 31 career NBA G League regular season games (23 starts), all with Raptors 905, averaging 12.4 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 2.9 apg. in 25.5 minpg.

Harris played in 127 career games (104 starts) during four seasons at Stephen F. Austin (2016-20), averaging 14.4 ppg., 5.3 rpg., 1.6 apg. and 1.05 stlpg. in 28.0 minpg., while shooting .397 (188-474) from three-point range. As a senior (2019-20), he played and started in 31 games, averaging 17.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg., 2.1 apg. and 1.52 stlpg. in 29.3 minpg., while shooting .413 (59-143) from three-point range. Harris was named First Team All-Southland Conference and the 2019-20 Southland Conference Player of the Year. He also earned Second Team All-Southland Conference twice (2017-18, 2018-19).

Harris will wear #7 with the Orlando Magic.

Per NBA rules, teams are permitted to have a maximum of two players under two-way contracts in addition to the players under standard NBA contracts. A two-way player is also eligible to provide services to Orlando’s G League affiliate, the Lakeland Magic.