Ever since the NBA off-season officially began for the Orlando Magic, the number one goal for the team has been presumably to trade superstar center Dwight Howard and then begin an extensive rebuilding process. With Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy being fired and GM Otis Smith agreeing to part ways, the NBA franchise in Orlando was at the beginning of a new era with the team willing to start from scratch once again.
Unfortunately, the blockbuster trade to send Howard elsewhere has been incredibly difficult to pull off. Howard will almost certainly be traded before next season, but it doesn’t appear to be as easy as once predicted with the Magic apparently not satisfied with what they’ll receive in return.
In the meantime, the search for a new head coach in Orlando might be coming to an end with the team supposedly narrowing down candidates to three according to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
“Magic general manager Rob Hennigan conducted first-round interviews with six candidates and whittled the field down to three: Philadelphia 76ers associate head coach Michael Curry, Phoenix Suns player development coach Lindsey Hunter and Vaughn.”
As of right now, San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Jacque Vaughn appears to be the front-runner to become the new coach of the Magic. Vaughn met with GM Rob Hennigan this past Friday to talk about the position.
Even though Vaughn is considered the favorite to land the job, Orlando has been down this road before with Jerry Sloan and Brian Shaw also thought to be on the verge of being hired by the Magic. Both candidates were crossed off the list for the Magic shortly after being dubbed favorites for the job.
So despite the fact that the Magic are intent on trading Howard before next season, hiring a new head coach may have become the top priority for the team moving forward. There’s little doubt at this point in time that Howard is on his way out of Orlando and with that being said it’s important that they bring in some leadership on the sidelines to mentor the incoming rookies and establish some chemistry with the coaching staff.
Talks of a blockbuster trade sending Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers are ongoing with news recently breaking that a deal may get done in the first few weeks of August. It would be safe to say that a new head coach will be hired before Howard is finally traded.
