Just when it seemed like there might be a slow news day in the world of the NBA coaching carousel, Scott Skiles abruptly announced his resignation as head coach of the Orlando Magic. The reactions are that of awe and generally nonplused, so what should we make of this surprising development?
It was in 1994 that the Orlando Magic moved on from Scott Skiles, the hard-nosed guard who had begun to butt heads with Shaquille O’Neal and stood (partially) in the way of Penny Hardaway.
In 2016, Scott Skiles again parts ways with the Orlando franchise. This time, he made the decision himself, for his best interest. It is also in the best interest of the Magic, their players, and their future.
The Skiles announcement on Thursday morning was abrupt and unexpected. At least, it happened sooner than everyone expected. Hiring Skiles was seen as a potentially high-upside movement. The idea is to have an established coach and ex-player in the league take control of a young team and help form them into a future contender in the Eastern Conference.
The blueprint for Skiles was always centered on hard work and defense. Orlando has all the pieces to make something happen – guards Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo, forwards Mario Hezonja and Aaron Gordon, and center Nikola Vucevic.
There are a lot of murmurs about why this happened and nothing particularly forthright has been produced by the Orlando camp or from Skiles, beyond a statement made by Skiles in which he proclaimed, “I and I alone” came to the decision to resign. Couple that with reports that Skiles was at the draft combine in Chicago just yesterday and the fact that the Skiles news was broken by the man himself and not transmitted via Woj Bomb and it seems credible.
When sorting through the pieces there are a couple signs that probably signaled the end was coming. Chief among them was the Tobias Harris trade. I wasn’t a fan of this trade when it happened, for Orlando at least, and it seems that Skiles similarly resented it. Even on this primary point of dissention, it is presumed that Skiles was aware of the situation leading up to the trade. So it probably wasn’t just that one thing.
How did Skiles feel about Payton? Not so good. While the organization backed Payton as a piece of the Magic future, Skiles didn’t seem to have the same belief. As a former NBA guard, Skiles probably felt like he had a good read on the young man and just wasn’t drinking the Kool Aid. My evaluation of Payton? Too early to say, but definitely a talented young man, even if he isn’t a perennial all-star in the making.
Once you get past Payton, what about all the other young players? A common theme in Chicago under Tom Thibodeau was the trust in his core group of players, established veterans. Who did Thibs not trust and subsequently not give playing time to? Rookies, young players who needed some development. Sure, we all know that they drafted Marques Teague over Draymond Green. Maybe the Bulls front office meddled a bit too much. The point remains because Skiles isn’t entirely disparate from Thibodeau in his trust and valuation of young players and rookies. Think I’m making this up? What did this season look like for the No. 5 overall draft pick, Hezonja? Even with Harris traded, Hezonja was never a favorite son of Skiles.
It’s not so simple, though. Orlando management wants a winner; they want to be back in the playoffs. Payton needs at least one more season to develop. What is Gordon going to be: Derrick Coleman Lite or Blake Griffin Part Two? Is the already skilled Oladipo going to take another step forward? The Magic are depending on it. How about Vucevic? The big resembles Enes Kanter in many ways, but how do you get maximum offensive value and still get the defense to start adding up.
And the defense wasn’t adding up, which is something that sticks out about Skiles in general, but specifically during this one-year stint in Orlando. There are various theories about his actual defensive coaching ability and whether or not he was more or less a benefactor of coaching a team that featured a top-tier defender during his career in a suit. Defensive excellence was a phantom that no Skiles spell was going to manifest for the Magic in 2015-16, where they ended up 16th in defensive rating and 17th in adjusted defensive rating which accounts for per-100 possessions statistics.
Given there are so many questions, which probably turned into reasons for Skiles to lose his belief in the Magic, where should they turn from here? While it probably would have served Orlando better had Skiles decided it was time to go about two weeks ago instead of now, there are still a number of viable coaching options for the team.
The hot name on the market is the guy I wrote about last week, Frank Vogel. He took over a meager Indiana Pacers squad and helped Paul George turn into a top talent in the league while moving from the fringes to conference contender. It is also well documented that he is a fantastic defensive coach, something that the Magic presumably value highly. If any of the young players on the Orlando roster have that Paul George type of greatness waiting to emerge, Vogel could be the man to get it done.
But we are talking about a boatload of young talent, not a team with just one potential breakout star and a supporting cast. And while defense can be the focal point, they could also benefit from finding an offensive identity that will maximize Payton, elevate Oladipo, develop Hezonja and define Gordon. David Blatt was ready to do that in Cleveland before Coach LeBron showed up with his Kevin Love signature travel bags. Blatt may or may not be a legitimate coaching option for the NBA right now, but you have to assume that someone is going to give him a chance. And he has earned it. Talk about life in the crucible, spending the first season-plus of his coaching career in the league trying to manage the personalities of LeBron, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson, and J.R. Smith with championship expectations? Orlando is probably more his speed.
My pick? I’ll take Patrick Ewing. He’s a candid interview, a legendary former player and has been plying his trade as an assistant or associate coach for over a decade now. His resume includes stops in Houston and ORLANDO, before joining up with the Charlotte Hornets. Have you noticed the big turnaround in Charlotte this season, led by their head coach Steve Clifford? Ewing has been a part of their success to be sure and he has been getting more and more interviews for head coaching vacancies recently. And that Orlando link? Almost too good of a fit. I say give Ewing a chance.
Of course, they could wait a few weeks and see if Kurt Rambis is available.
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