Orlando Magic Daily
Fansided

An early list of Orlando Magic coaching candidates

By Philip Rossman-Reich

Apr 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the third quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Michael Malone, Sacramento Kings
Dec 9, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings head coach Michael Malone in the second half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Lakers won 98-95. won Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

Mike Malone

Regular Season
Season Tm W L W/L% Finish
2013-14 SAC 28 54 .341 4
2014-15 SAC 11 13 .458 4
Career 39 67 .368

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 4/21/2015.

Three years ago, the Orlando Magic interviewed several candidates for their vacant head coaching job. Jacque Vaughn got the job. But Mike Malone was one of the candidates the team passed up.

Some would say that was a mistake, even then.

Malone is available again and the Magic are likely looking at him again. It makes you wonder what the hang up was three years ago.

It very well might have been an unwillingness to sit through losses for two years as the Magic rebuilt their stockpile of talent. It very well might have been a reluctance to let management pull the strings early on in the rebuild. Now might be a better time for a coach like Malone, who was seen as a strong assistant under Mark Jackson ready for the lead chair.

There was nothing to dissuade that after a strong start this year. In fact, it was his dispute with management that probably cost him his job.

Maybe that is a bigger deal than previously suggested, as Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders writes:

"Malone had interviewed for the Magic job before they hired Vaughn, and there is a sense that his style might not be as attractive as some of the others. There is no doubting that Malone was a solid hire for the Kings, but there is a sense that his process might not work elsewhere."

Again, maybe things have changed around in the Magic’s thinking that make him a better option now than he was then. Or maybe the issues in Sacramento were a little deeper than just a crazy analytics-driven owner wanting to impose something crazy on his team.

To be sure, the issues in Sacramento will be brought up.

So too should the success he had in Sacramento this season before things went haywire.

The Kings started the year 5-1 and were 9-5 before DeMarcus Cousins got sick and had to miss extended time. Even with all the turmoil, Malone was fired while the team was 11-13. Tyron Corbin won seven times in 28 games and George Karl won 11 times in 30 games. Malone still had the better record of all the Kings’ coaches this year.

Before Malone gets thrown onto the scrap heap of also-ran coaches on the coaching carousel, he seems keen to get a second chance in the lead chair somewhere. It may not be this summer — although expect a few Playoff teams to have their jobs open (outside of the Bulls).

It will be interesting to see how the Magic and others view Malone this second time around.

Next: Alvin Gentry