The Orlando Magic have big decisions to make this summer. They start with coach Frank Vogel. And the noise is getting louder. The decision is not easy.
The Orlando Magic are in the final countdown. There are 10 games left in the season. The long slog through the 82-game season is nearing its end.
The team will have its opportunities to win — starting with Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Suns — and it will have plenty of losses on the way too. The team has lost a lot of its meaning.
And soon, the real work will begin. The Magic’s offseason will see the team inevitably make changes. It has to come. There is no denying this.
The roster undoubtedly needs a change. The Magic have failed to win more than 35 games in the last six years. And they had just one season with 30 or more wins. That is nothing to write home about. And that includes a franchise-long six-year Playoff absence.
The team is about ready to fix them. But how?
The roster will have its changes. But the first decision likely will come with its head coach. And the rumors are starting to get louder. Marc Stein of the New York Times has all but reported coach Frank Vogel is out after the season ends.
That decision will likely come shortly after the season ends. But the decision is not an easy one. Far from it.
The Magic have seen coaching change for several years now. The biggest problem of their rebuild has been the lack of stability on the bench. The team’s inability to get a consistent messenger or a consistent message has stunted growth and development.
Yet… the results have not been there. Vogel has taken a virtually similar roster and seen them underperform. Yes, injuries have played a role in the end. But the results have not been encouraging.
The Magic have looked lifeless and fallen into the same traps that sent the team spiraling down before. And this management group led by president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman was not the one that hired him. It seems likely if the Magic are truly going to start from scratch, they will start from scratch with a new coach.
There are plenty of reasons to keep Vogel just like there are plenty of reasons to let him go. And the Magic will have to weigh them all.
The issues are all getting laid on the table. And that is what I did on this week’s Orlando Magic Daily Facebook Live:
On This Episode:
- How the Orlando Magic overcame a poor effort in the first half to defeat the Phoenix Suns
- The Orlando Magic’s second unit is bad
- Nikola Vucevic got his numbers Saturday… but the numbers feel emptier than ever
- How do sign and trade deals work?
- Frank Vogel as coach of the Orlando Magic and why he should remain the coach
- Why the Orlando Magic should make their decision based on their faith in Vogel’s development culture
- Is Trae Young the answer for the Orlando Magic at point guard?
- Who would replace Frank Vogel as head coach? Mark Jackson?
- Would the Los Angeles Lakers let Luke Walton go?
Next: Orlando Magic relent, see the heart of their problems
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