Scott Skiles’ relationship with Tobias Harris made murky by “false narrative”

The narrative has been Tobias Harris and Scott Skiles did not get along in Milwaukee. Skiles was telling a much different story that muddles the narrative.

As the Orlando Magic’s interest in Scott Skiles grew by the day — really since the Magic fired Jacque Vaughn in February — one nagging question remained: What would hiring Scott Skiles mean for Tobias Harris?

The stories between the two were pretty nasty.

In 70 games with the Bucks in his first two seasons, Harris played in just 11.5 minutes per game scoring 4.9 points per game and shooting 46.5 percent from the floor. The Bucks traded for Harris on Draft night, acquiring him from the Bobcats, so the Bucks saw something in him.

Harris could not find the court and his frustration began. He was hurt at the beginning of the season and his defense was not up to snuff. The Bucks moved on trading him to the Magic for J.J. Redick. The Playoffs were paramount and Harris got caught in the middle, according to Skiles.

“We were supposed to be built to win. And Mike Dunleavy was a better offesnvie player at that point and Luc Mbah a Moute was a better defensive player and Tobias got caught in between a little bit.” –Scott Skiles

“What we were trying to do in Milwaukee at that point was not necessarily our number one priority was to develop the guys,” Skiles said. “It was to win. That was the edict. We were supposed to be built to win. And Mike Dunleavy was a better offensive player at that point and Luc Mbah a Moute was a better defensive player and Tobias got caught in between a little bit. But nobody even during that season when Tobias was not playing as much as he would like, I never said to any person in the organization that I still didn’t love Tobias. He was 19 years old.”

That is the harm of a rookie being on a winning team and struggling to find his way. He needed the freedom Orlando could give him. He got minutes and made the most of them.

Next: Moving on and maturing

Moving on and Maturing

As for the relationship? Both sides appear to be fine with each other. In fact,t hey report no problems between the two.

“It’s been brought to my attention that something was printed that somehow we did not have a good relationship,” Skiles said. “We have a great relationship. I’m positive Tobias would say that as well. I was instrumental in drafting him. Tobias is a verry very good person and a very very good player. That combination isn’t always easy to find.”

Skiles obviously had a reason to like Harris to begin with. Whatever issues they might have had might have been confined to that one season and that one situation. Or they might be willing to put on a brave face for now. Harris is a restricted free agent and will have his opportunity to go elsewhere (although the Magic will have the right to match).

The situation with Harris does raise the issue with that has dogged Skiles throughout his coaching career.

Skiles had to take time to go on the offensive and battle the “false narrative” about his coaching tenures. That narrative really seemed to have him on the sideline from any new head coaching vacancies despite his successes and track record as a guy who gets teams to the Playoffs.

“I’m not really the type of guy when jobs are open goes out and stalk them,” Skiles said. “I’m not real aggressive with that. I felt that at some point, someday before too long, somebody might actually roll up their sleeves and talk to people who actually worked with me rather than sort of believing what I believe is a bit of a false narrative about me.”

Next: Skiles' attitude part of the package

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

Moving Forward

For Harris, his experience was a strange one. He was a 19-year-old player of potential on a team that needed to win. He needed a situation like Orlando’s — one where winning was not necessarily the goal — to flourish. His time with Skiles this time around, should the Magic match and bring Harris back in restricted free agency, will be different.

To be sure, Skiles will put the focus back on winning and play players who can contribute to that goal.

“A lot of times an organization will talk about patience, but sometimes all of you [the media] make that very difficult,” Skiles said. “Patience means we have to play everybody all the time. What you have to do is develop them. Under the umbrella of developing guys is a bunch of things. Accountability is one of them. You are short changing guys if you think you can’t challenge them and they will rise to the challenge. Tobias is a guy that I know does that.”

Indeed, the Magic and their fans have learned in the past two and a half seasons that Harris is a guy who works hard, says the right things and does all he can to contribute to winning. His game still needs development, but he portrays the right attitude to accomplish this goal.

Maybe reuniting with Skiles and receiving the accountability he was not ready for early in his career now will transform him and push him to a new level.

That part of the relationship is generally what the Magic are hoping will happen throughout the roster.

Next: Orlando Magic would be wise to keep Maurice Harkless