Fun. That’s the most important part of all of this.
Frank Vogel was introduced as the Orlando Magic’s 12th coach in franchise history Monday, and that’s what he talked about.
“We’re going to win and we’re going to have fun winning,” he told the assembled media.
“We’re going to win and we’re going to have fun winning.” – @OrlandoMagic coach Frank Vogel https://t.co/hQxEY9RBOf
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 23, 2016
While everyone loves to pour over fancy inbound plays or deft rotation management, in the end, winning in sports usually comes down to that simple, three-letter word: F.U.N.
For all the reasons Vogel wasn’t right for the Indiana Pacers, who did not renew his contract in a passive-aggressive way only a teenager could appreciate, he’s perfect for Orlando.
“Fun” probably wouldn’t describe the last several hires in Orlando, from just newly departed Scott Skiles, a task master, to Stan Van Gundy, the ultimate taskmaster. Jacque Vaughn was sandwiched in between those two.
Fun is what wins, though, and when people are having fun, they work harder, try harder, are more engaged in their jobs, and by default almost, success happens. As we all know, success sort of breeds more fun, and it breeds it like a pack of rabbits.
Orlando has been morbidly bad, moving to just simply bad, over the last four seasons. The Magic never finished better than 11th in the conference (having been 11th this past season). Their last playoff appearance came via a drubbing by, of all groups, the Frank Vogel-led Indiana Pacers. We’ve come full circle.
See, back then, the Pacers were having that fun Vogel talks about. Vogel knows how to create that environment, and somewhere along the line the Pacers simply lost the desire, the fun, and ultimately, the wins to keep that marriage out of divorce court.
The Magic have an impressionable young team, a roster led by two players under 25 currently that also has the benefit of around $55 million to play with in free agency this off season. General Manager Rob Hennigan (insert Seinfeld Hennigan’s Scotch reference) has stated that the team will be aggressive, but disciplined, which is pretty much what GM’s read off a card. It’s the “would you like fries with that” of front office talk.
The roster looks a lot like the Charlotte Hornets at times, one with a bunch of draft picks not bad enough to be considered busts but not necessarily good enough to be sure superstars. They’ll have to deal with the contract of restricted free agent Evan Fournier, but aside from that, they’re mostly squeaky clean in terms of contract issues.
Vogel comes into a situation where he can help mold the roster with that kind of loot sitting around, and Hennigan is a GM that will probably be a lot less like Larry Bird, who, you could feel at times, chaffed Vogel by maybe getting involved in personnel decisions from an on-court perspective.
Orlando works for Vogel because they’re a lot of things the Pacers were before they got really good and had expectations slapped on them and subsequent personalty conflicts. They’re up-and-coming. Not taking anything for granted. Ready for a taste of success.
This is a project team of young talent with some of it that could be pretty damn good, specifically Victor Oladipo. Vogel will much more have a chance to mold this roster in the image of his personal liking than he ever did with the Pacers, better or worse.
Sometimes, things just simply don’t work out, and they lead to better opportunities that don’t even look like better opportunities the moment they happen. Sometimes, all you really need is a little fun, and everything else will follow.
The Magic will win, and apparently, they’ll have fun doing it. Which means they’ll do a lot more of it, much needed for one of the more tortured franchises in sports.
