On Thursday, the Orlando Magic parted ways with head coach Jacque Vaughn following Wednesday night’s 110-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs — the 10th straight for Orlando. The firing comes as little surprise as it was reported that the team had been leaning that direction for the last week, but now it is official.
In more than two seasons with Orlando, Vaughn’s Magic compiled a record of just 58-158. Vaughn was hired by team general manager Rob Hennigan, who had developed a relationship with the former NBA guard in San Antonio. Vaughn had replaced Stan Van Gundy, the most successful head coach in Magic history.
Vaughn was hired during an obvious rebuilding period, but Orlando failed to make significant improvement on Vaughn’s watch. After winning just 20 games in his first season with the team, Orlando went 23-59 last season and are on a pace to finish with just 24 wins this season.
While no one disputes that Orlando is a team with a very young roster, it hardly seems like one that lacks talent. Though he was snubbed from the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Nikola Vucevic is one of the best young centers in the league, averaging nearly 20 points and better than 11 rebounds this season while shooting nearly 54 percent from the floor.
At the guard and forward positions, Orlando is loaded with young offensive talent in forward Tobias Harris and guards Victor Oladipo, rookie Elfrid Payton, and Evan Fournier. Oladipo has brought excitement to the franchise since being selected second overall in the 2013 NBA Draft while Harris and Fournier have matured quicker than most imagined when they were acquired in trades heavily scrutinized by the fan base.
Harris was acquired in a deal two years ago that sent fan favorite J.J. Redick to Milwaukee and Fournier was acquired this offseason in exchange for last year’s leading scorer, Arron Afflalo.
Perhaps the biggest problem during Vaughn’s tenure has been on the defensive end. During Orlando’s current losing streak, the Magic have given up at least 103 points in every game and have done so in 12 straight overall. If defense is about effort, it was clear that Magic weren’t giving much for their head coach.
Assistant James Borrego will take over as the team’s interim head coach, but Borrego is likely a short term hire. While the season is a wash, what Borrego can do is enhance his own resume’ over the next 30 games and make Orlando a very attractive destination for the next head coach.
While the Jacque Vaughn experiment did not work out in Orlando, Hennigan – the team’s GM – has put a number of strong pieces in place for the future and the coaching market this offseason has a number of strong young coaching candidates including former Golden State head coach Mark Jackson and Michael Malone, who had the dismal Sacramento Kings off to an overachieving 11-13 start before being fired early on this season.
Few expected the Orlando Magic to be among the NBA’s elite this season, but with three lottery picks in two seasons and a promising and maturing roster, being unable to compete in one of the worst Eastern Conferences of all-time was simply inexcusable. Despite having one of the league’s newest and most state-of-the-art buildings in the Amway Center, the Magic ranked in the bottom third of the league in attendance and are a conference-worst 5-17 on their home floor this season.
With a beautiful building in sunny Central Florida and a roster full of potential, the right head man may be the biggest piece missing in regards to making the Magic relevant again in the dismal Eastern Conference. For Hennigan, finding that guy may be necessary in keeping him from meeting a fate similar to Vaughn’s in the City Beautiful.
