It is time to start anew. The Orlando Magic have fired general manager Rob Hennigan after five seasons. Who are some possible names that could replace him?
The search for a new general manager has begun.
The Orlando Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan not even 24 hours after Orlando’s final game of the 2016-2017 season.
As soon as Hennigan was hired, the entire NBA knew the Magic were headed into rebuilding mode and started to ship out their stars, including center Dwight Howard.
Five years later, the team has no identity and is desperate for success.Under Hennigan, the Magic accumulated a 132-278 record and never sniffed the playoffs.
Whoever decides to take this job is going to have their hands full as they try to sort out the mess that this organization has made.
Immediately after the announcement of Hennigan’s departure, plenty of names have been tossed around social media with who the Magic might be interested in bringing in.
The list ranges from former players, young front office executives looking to make a name for themselves and front office veterans looking for one more chance to build a winning team.
Team CEO Alex Martins said the team will be deliberate in its search. He said the team will be looking for someone who can develop a culture of winning and finding the right mix of talent with the player son the roster. Martins said he was confident the Magic have everything they need to win.
And win quickly.
The Magic have not formulated a full list, it appears. Martins said the team had made the decision to fire Hennigan shortly after Wednesday’s season finale after weeks of serious deliberation on the matter.
But to be sure, it will be a thorough search. It will not be something the Magic will rush into. And they will consider some general manager candidates working for teams currently in the Playoffs. That leaves a lot of time to sort through a short list and begin conducting interviews and making a final decision on who will lead the franchise.
Grant Hill
The former Magic All-Star has been rumored to be a candidate for the Orlando Magic general manager search. Although Hill will likely be hired as the President of Basketball Operations, he would still have the final say over the roster decisions.
First of all, there is no evidence that suggests Hill even wants the job at this point. He owns a small part of the Atlanta Hawks and would have to sell his shares if he were to accept a job with an NBA team.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports the Magic have interest in bringing Hill on, but he seems happy in his current role with the Hawks and Turner Sports, where he calls the Final Four and NCAA Basketball games.
Orlando has interest in Grant Hill as its new face of basketball ops, but league sources say Hill has no plans to leave Atlanta ownership.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 13, 2017
Regarded as one of Orlando’s best players, Hill would definitely draw major headlines. The Magic fan base would get behind this move and allow the team to get some positive press.
As an executive, Hill has next to no experience. Although he is a very intelligent person, it is anyone’s guess how well he could handle an NBA team. He would need a strong staff around him.
For fans feeling nostalgic and going with a former player, Hill seems like the perfect fit.
Matt Lloyd
After Rob Hennigan’s dismissal, the Magic announced assistant general manager Matt Lloyd will be promoted to interim general manager.
Orlando has appointed Matt Lloyd as the interim GM, league source tells @TheVertical. He will be a candidate for the permanent job.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 13, 2017
According to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Magic will interview Lloyd for the full-time job. Alex Martins later confirmed the Magic’s intention to interview Lloyd and consider him for the position once interviewing begins.
Lloyd will handle the Magic’s pre-draft preparations and day-to-day work until the team hires a new general manager.
It may not seem likely the man who worked under Hennigan will get the job, but it is still a name to keep an eye on.
Lloyd has years of experience in the front office. He spent the last five years as an assistant general manager for the Magic and the previous 13 years working for the Chicago Bulls as a scout and assistant general manager. Lloyd was promoted from within the Bulls organization, which is where he started his career in the NBA as a video room employee in1994.
He has seen every aspect of a NBA front office for several years.
The Magic went with an up-and-comer in Hennigan with their last general manager, it might be a small shock to see the team do it again. Although Lloyd will have significantly more experience than Hennigan should he take this job. It seems Lloyd is on the short list of assistant general managers who are ready for the lead chair.
Pat Garrity
According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel, former Magic forward Pat Garrity would be a likely candidate for general manager.
Garrity has spent the last three seasons with the Detroit Pistons front office and was promoted to assistant general manager in 2016. Garrity has been working with a familiar face in Stan Van Gundy and has obvious ties with Orlando, having played with the team from 2000-08.
After retiring from the NBA, Garrity got his MBA from Duke and was working for a consulting firm before he joined Van Gundy with the Pistons.
With his promotion to assistant general manager, Garrity has knowledge when it comes to the NBA salary cap. If his strength is in that department, the Magic could see that as a major plus with the ever-changing cap numbers in today’s NBA.
If Orlando is looking to keep head coach Frank Vogel, hiring a candidate that is rising fast like Garrity may be the right move. Without much reputation, the Magic may have the leverage to keep Vogel as compared to a front office executive who has had more success.
The one question about Garrity will be his relationship with the former Orlando brass. He has worked closely with former Magic general manager Otis Smith and Van Gundy and the Magic may not want to travel down that road again.
On the other hand, the Magic might want to try to revive the success they had almost a decade ago.
Garrity has the relationships, the basketball pedigree and cap knowledge to be a serious candidate in this general manager search.
Doc Rivers
This is where things get interesting.
Although Rivers is under contract with the LA Clippers, the team is a first-round exit away from imploding. Or so it would seem.
The Clippers seem to have a lot of pressure to perform in this year’s Playoffs or else the team could look to restart. Both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul will be free agents this summer. It seems like a perfect time to make some changes.
If Rivers looks for greener pastures or the Clippers decide to move in a new direction, he could find a reunion waiting in Orlando.
Back in the early 2000s, Rivers spent five seasons as the head coach of the Magic and had a 171-168 record including three playoff appearances.
If the Magic are going to interview Rivers, it is going to be interesting to see if Rivers wants to be back on the sideline. Orlando seems content with having Vogel continue to coach this team — Martins all but said wanting to work with Vogel would be a requirement in the general manager search. If Rivers wants to have the same role he has had in Los Angeles, there may be a major shakeup in Central Florida.
Orlando Magic
From a coaching standpoint, Rivers has had plenty of success. His teams are in the playoffs every year and he has an NBA Championship ring to boot.
The majority of the criticism for Rivers is his front office decisions. As the Clippers general manager, many feel his moves have hurt the team. With three bona fide stars in Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul, the Clippers struggle to win games in the playoffs every year. They have never reached the conference finals and it feels like they are in a do-or-die moment this postseason.
Of course, if the Magic bring in Rivers he is going to demand control of the front office too. Leaving the Magic to decide whether or not that is in their best interest.
The Magic, for now, are determining what model for the front office they want to use. But they do not seem to believe in having a person hold both the coach and general manager titles.
Michael Zarren
One of the “hot” names on the front office executive market is Boston Celtics assistant general manager Michael Zarren.
After learning from Danny Ainge in Boston, Zarren has impressed other general managers around the league. Including Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
Mike Zarren is really, really good at his job.
— Sam Hinkie (@samhinkie) January 4, 2017
Wouldn't underestimate him in his next one. https://t.co/EXCHRYYJ2v pic.twitter.com/2h9SheaAUD
If Zarren does get hired this offseason, it will be his first time in charge of a team. With so much buzz around him, there may be more appealing offers than what Orlando currently has.
There is also no guarantee Zarren would leave Boston. Many people around the league believe he will succeed Ainge whenever Ainge retires. Aside from that, Zarren is also a lifelong Celtics fan. It may be a perfect fit for him to stay.
Still, it is probably smart to make a call and see if Zarren will accept the challenge of bringing Orlando back to relevancy.
Like Morey, Zarren loves analytics — the Draft Wheel was his idea. He is a part of the new-age thinking of the NBA and it has certainly worked. With the Celtics recent success, it will be interesting to see if Zarren was truly the mastermind behind the scenes.
Travis Schlenk
Like Zarren, Travis Schlenk is on the verge of becoming a general manager. He is currently in his 12th season with the Golden State Warriors. This season is his fifth as the assistant general manager.
Schlenk should be ready to finally be the man in charge, especially with the Warriors’ resounding success.
In his piece for the Orlando Sentinel, Josh Robbins also stated Schlenk would be a likely candidate for the GM job.
Schlenk is known for his scouting expertise. Looking at the roster, it is clear to see why. Of course, he did not find Kevin Durant, but the rest of the roster was built with his help.
Players like Draymond Green and even Klay Thompson to a lesser extent were not supposed to be stars, but Schlenk may have seen that.
Take a look at the Warriors bench, Shaun Livingston and JaVale McGee have fit extremely well. It is not just the stars that make Golden State successful, it is the under-the-radar moves that have put them over the top.
Schlenk played a role in building that.
Returning to Orlando would be like coming home for Schlenk. He started his NBA career in Orlando during the 1998 season. He has worked everywhere in basketball — starting in the video room, becoming a scout and even working as an assistant coach for some time.
Teams like to poach the trees of championship-caliber teams. It seems like Schlenk is next in line to follow this pattern.
Sam Hinkie
The “Tank Commander” in Orlando?
Although injuries have hurt the Philadelphia 76ers , their future looks extremely bright. Joel Embiid looks like a star and Ben Simmons is poised for a tremendous 2018 rookie season.
It took some time, but Hinkie did a phenomenal job trading his assets for picks and banking on the future. Philadelphia could do even more with the chance to get the Los Angeles Lakers’ pick in this year’s draft and a pick swap with the Sacramento Kings. Philadelphia is gaining the fruits of Hinkie’s labor.
If the Magic were to go down another rebuilding path, Hinkie is probably the man to turn to.
The only problem is, will the fan base want to see anymore losing? Will Hinkie change his process and become more flexible? The 76ers started their rebuild years ago and they still have top-five lottery odds this season.
If the ownership is willing to be patient, hiring Hinkie might pay off. But that would be a huge risk.
Next: It was time for Orlando Magic to move on from Rob Hennigan
Of late, Hinkie has garnered a fan club, especially with Embiid’s recent success. It may be a popular move to bring in Hinkie, but that is a huge investment for a team that has not made the playoffs since 2012.