Scott Skiles’ relationship with Tobias Harris made murky by “false narrative”
The Magic became that team to sift through things. It certainly helped that Skiles had a friend in the Magic’s front office in Matt Lloyd, who worked for the Bulls during Skiles’ tenure in Chicago.
Skiles’ reputation is that of a taskmaster. He demands a lot from his teams. His introductory press conference talked about a desire to not just be a Playoff team, but to be a winning team.
He remains accountable to these goals and demands his players do all they can to achieve them too. That can sometimes cause friction.
“I won’t deny that there have been a handful of times when I may have butted heads with a guy,” Skiles said. “I’m never looking for confrontation, but I’m not afraid of it. The highest percentage of players who have played for me enjoyed working with me and I enjoyed working with them. I believe in those things. If I see someone who literally does not care about winning, I would have to address it. I feel like I don’t need to apologize for that.”
Those stories of Skiles’ intensity do seem to drive his narrative. It has led many to be skeptical of his approach to this young team. It has also been seen as a strength to light a fire and add urgency to a young team not used to winning.
Of course, that narrative has also created the ticking bomb whose fuse gets lit the moment you hire him. Skiles wears his players thin and in his previous stops, they get tired of him after about two or three years. This has been the biggest criticism of his coaching career.
Next: Moving Forward