Where does Scott Skiles rank among NBA coaches?
Fansided ranked the NBA coaches ahead of the season. While Scott Skiles certainly seems to bring more respect on the bench, he isn’t a top coach.
The Orlando Magic are ready to make a turn.
If anything is an indication of that it was the Magic’s decision for head coach. As much as many Magic fans wanted a long-term solution at head coach, someone who could grow with the team and accomplish what Jacque Vaughn could not, they went with the safe and experienced choice.
That would be former Magic point guard and former Bulls, Suns and Bucks coach Scott Skiles.
The hiring was met with some mixed reactions for sure. There was certainly a vocal minority who wanted a coach who might last beyond a few years and the simple goal of making the Playoffs. Skiles is certainly a “stepping stone” coach.
That might be unfair to say to a coach who has yet to coach a game with this team — or even start a training camp. No one is quite sure what the future holds.
Skiles though has a track record — and a pretty consistent one at that. The expectation is that history will continue to repeat itself with Skiles. That gets the Magic where they want for sure, but not ultimately where they want to be.
For the last three years, the Magic had one of the worst coaches in the league by most people’s estimation. Jacque Vaughn was brought in to help develop players and keep confidence up. Winning was not his goal. When it became the team’s objective and measure he floundered.
Skiles is almost certainly a better coach. But, he is still not considered a great coach among current NBA coaches.
Luke Dahlgren of Fansided ranked the coaches in the NBA. While the Magic’s hiring of Skiles was certainly an upgrade, there are a lot of talented coaches well ahead of Skiles. He has Skiles 24th overall in the league:
"If the Orlando Magic want to add a coach that will propel them to legitimate contention, well … then Scott Skiles is the perfect coach to get them a seventh seed.Skiles is exactly the coach that the Magic need right now. He is a stepping stone between rebuilding and contention: he provides mid-level production.The worst situation for an NBA team to be in is to be stuck in perpetual mediocrity; just look at the Brooklyn Nets. The Magic are currently designed to be as good as the Nets for a much shorter period."
It seems Dahlgren thinks about as much of Skiles as many of us do already. Skiles gets the Magic to a level they need to get, but he is far from a final answer. And there are a lot of more promising and better coaches out there.
Skiles is probably in that middle tier. And there are a lot of coaches there. In his opinion, Skiles is better than some pretty established coaches — including Wizards coach Randy Wittman who has a chance to build something really special with Washington this year.
It is hard to say if Vaughn would not be behind No. 29 Derek Fisher or No. 30 Byron Scott.
Skiles for now is a really good fit for the Magic. It is not about comparing him to other coaches in the league or anything like that. It is about him achieving his goals for the Magic and getting the Magic to that next level.
Once the Magic reach that level, they might then worry about how he compares to other coaches in the league and whether he can get the team beyond that stage.