Matt Lloyd did the GM job, now he needs a part of finishing it

The Orlando Magic started the offseason with Matt Lloyd as the interim GM. With a new front office in place, Lloyd should be part of finishing the job.

The Orlando Magic were in a state of flux to begin this offseason and needed a rock to keep everything else calm. This would be an important offseason for the team.

They would need change and it would start with the top pick they would get — it ended up sixth. Add the three other picks the team would get and the emphasis this offseason would clearly fall onto the draft for a good chunk of the team’s improvement. Orlando does not have the free agency funds to make a big splash that way.

More importantly, the Magic had to begin all these plans without a front office clearly in place. The team fired Rob Hennigan the day after the season and entered the draft process with a transitionary front office led by Hennigan’s assistant general manager, Matt Lloyd.

Lloyd began the initial phases of the Magic’s draft preparation and free agency, with coach Frank Vogel consulting as part of the process. Lloyd was doing the job and getting the Magic’s offseason started, without thought of what the end result for him would be.

"“I really don’t want to spend time trying to get the job because I think that would take away from doing the job,” Lloyd told Orlando Magic Daily before the NBA Draft Lottery. “I’ve just kind of stepped in and looked at it from the perspective of every day I show up and get ready for the draft. what’s our strategy for free agency? And I have to execute. It’s kind of a conundrum because it’s a situation where I have been thrown into this role. I want to show up every day and do it as opposed to trying to get it. The results will play out how they play out.”"

With the Magic now hiring Jeff Weltman as its president of basketball operations and beginning to shape and form a new basketball operations office, it has left Matt Lloyd a bit adrift. The team hired John Hammond as its general manager, a job many pegged Lloyd a serious contender for no matter whom the team hired as its basketball operations head.

For this Magic team, though, Lloyd provides an important connective tissue between the past and the present. Not all of the former operations department can — or should — be wiped away.

Certainly, Weltman needs to get his own people and people he trusts in to help him run his organization. It is his show after all.

But as Weltman noted during his press conference, his job at this early stage of his tenure is to listen and learn about the roster he is inheriting. He will lean heavily on Vogel for his opinions and his insight into the team. But he should also lean heavily on Lloyd and his expertise about this team.

Lloyd can explain, at least, what the Magic’s development plan or projections for the players on the current roster and the initial draft and free agency prep. He has done much of the legwork for the early part of the summer. Weltman is the one playing catch up to the Magic’s situation.

For this reason, it makes sense and the Magic should do what they can to keep Lloyd in some role with the team. What that role is, how much it pays, the title and all of that is up to Lloyd whether he wants to stay. But like with the coach, some continuity would prove valuable to the team as it prepares for this critical summer.

But like with the coach, some continuity would prove valuable to the team as it prepares for this critical summer.

Orlando Magic

More than that, Lloyd seems like he ran a good ship to get the Magic prepared to this point where it can begin handing off the baton to new leadership. He set the stage up well for Weltman to dive in.

"“We talk every day. The relationship is getting stronger every day,” Vogel told Orlando Magic Daily. “He’s doing a great job manning the ship while we have uncertainty in our front office. He is really tying everyone together. That’s something that you want in a leader. He is as thorough as they come in terms of this process with the Draft. Just looking at our whole roster situation, free agency, the trade market and what other teams situations look like. We’ve had a lot of meetings about that type of stuff. He has been really inclusive.”"

That is certainly a quality that Weltman is looking for in his new collaborative environment. Everyone around the league seems to believe Lloyd will get his shot in the lead chair someday. And everyone also seems to agree he would find work very quickly somewhere in the league if the Magic let him go.

Weltman said he wanted to hire personnel who are smarter than him and the best basketball minds he can find. There seems to be a valuable voice already in his front office. Someone who knows this team well and has led the team’s efforts to improve it already.

Certainly, Weltman’s voice will take precedence. It is his decisions ultimately. But Lloyd should have a seat at the table. At least while there are still remnants of the old roster on the team. And at least while Weltman is learning about this team and transitioning into his new role. Lloyd has plenty to contribute and add to the conversation still.

Lloyd provides a perfect bridge from the old to the new.

"“It’s just been exciting. It’s been fun,” Lloyd told Orlando Magic Daily. “My appreciation for the organization trusting me to execute during this period is through the roof. Alex [Martins] has been great. He has empowered me to make decisions and make recommendations he is going to act upon. The role is different. The execution has been different. But the transition has been relatively smooth. Our preparation in terms of the pre-draft camp, in terms of these workouts, everyone has executed at a high level. Our staff deserves a lot of credit.”"

The Magic have had to work since the season ended with no assumption about the future. They have had to work to prepare whoever came next to hit the ground running.

Next: An early look at the Orlando Magic's 2017 free agency

To make sure Weltman has all the tools and information he needs to get things going with this team, Lloyd’s voice should be present in the room. He needs to be there to put in his input to finish what he started to begin this offseason.