Wojnarowski: Scott Skiles Frontrunner for Orlando Magic Coaching Job
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports the Magic are favoring former player Scott Skiles for the team’s coaching vacancy.
Despite widespread feeling the Orlando Magic were waiting on the Tom Thibodeau situation to sort itself out, the Orlando Magic appear to be favoring former Magic player Scott Skiles.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Scott Skiles is now the front runner for the Orlando Magic coaching vacancy. Magic general manager Rob Hennigan has looked at other candidates, but Skiles seems to be the guy the Magic are leaning towards at this point.
Skiles is fiery. He motivates players. And he was also a very good point guard, though he played on early Magic teams that were not all that great. He has had success as a coach.
But one thing that may be most interesting about this according to Wojnarowski is that he did not have a good relationship with restricted free agent Tobias Harris.
Harris’ situation has been dicey at best. No one knows how much he is worth, exactly. The answer may not really matter if Skiles gets the job. He would not want Harris necessarily, which would make it ever so easy to justify not shelling out big bucks to retain the offensively-minded swingman.
Skiles boasts slightly better than a .500 record on his coaching resume (443-433), but he has guided teams to the playoffs. Once in the postseason, he has not driven the team far, however. He is just 18-24 in the playoffs.
But isn’t making the playoffs kind of priority No. 1 right now?
Magic fans are gradually becoming less and less patient, and Skiles has the demeanor to put the whip to the horses. The Magic need that. There were too many nights the team came out flat, something Skiles never did himself during his career. He expects the same from his players.
Co-editor Phillip Rossman-Reich has cited Skiles as being the kind of coach who simply burns guys out after three or four seasons.
He has been good at getting teams to the playoffs, but he has not stuck around long enough to get any of his former teams (Phoenix, Chicago and Milwaukee) deeper into the postseason.
If making the playoffs is of the utmost importance, however, this is the hire that makes the most sense probably.
While James Borrego exhibited a strong understanding of the game of basketball, he did not seem particularly well suited to mentoring younger players. Nor did his predecessor Jacque Vaughn, which was supposed to be his strongest attribute as a coach.
Skiles circumvents both those shortcomings. He was a highly intelligent player whose effort and grit made up for his lack of natural athleticism. He may wear some guys out in practice and in the games, but players will respect him. He will not allow it any other way.
And, as stated, that means this could be the end of the rope for Harris. With the Magic having landed the No. 5 overall pick in the 2015 draft, Justise Winslow has the potential to make Harris pretty expendable.
And, because of this report, one has to wonder if the Magic simply have no intention of waiting on Thibodeau, or even if the team may already know he’s stuck in Chicago.
For all that matters, Skiles could be the man, given the strong credibility of Wojnarowski and his sources.