The Orlando Magic are making some major changes to the organization behind the scenes. Evan Fournier peeled back the curtain on the latest Fournier for Real.
When Jeff Weltman took over as the president of basketball operations, he promised there would be changes throughout the organization. Not merely with the team and the direction it was heading, he was undertaking a much bigger basketball enterprise.
Indeed CEO Alex Martins promised early on in the year last year the Orlando Magic as an organization would be investing more in its basketball operations than it had ever done before.
A lot of that investment happened behind the scenes. Some of it leaked out to the public. Weltman opted to revamp the team’s entire medical and training staff for the most part. Evan Fournier hinted in an interview with a TV show in France of just how severe the changes were within the franchise.
Many of them appear to have been for the better. But really only the players would know the differences in the approaches.
Most fans would not see or notices these changes. They were all behind the scenes ranging from how tables are arranged in the team’s dining room to changes to the team’s meeting room. Director of player development and quality control Becky Bonner has had a big role in changing these things as she continues to understudy with every aspect of the franchise.
There are very few looks behind the scenes and areas where the Magic actually do their work. A lot of that happens behind the closed doors — triple protected with fingerprint ID.
But Evan Fournier is here to give a look at the areas where the team works.
In the fifth episode of his behind the scenes Web series Fournier for Real, Fournier took camera crews through the Amway Center’s practice facility and the areas where he works, also talking to the team behind the team supporting the Magic.
It is not a deep look into the daily work. But a solid quick look behind the scenes with the support staff that helps the Magic be their best.
The Magic’s catalog of socks is something to behold. So too is the “professional” way Magic players have to … um… check their fluids.
But Fournier is right in that sense. The design of the training facilities and the way things are set up are designed to have the team prepared and focused on the task at hand. There are a lot of tools at the players’ disposal when they arrive to work every day.
Fournier never takes any of that for granted. Working for a NBA team and being and playing in a NBA arena is an awe-inspiring experience. One Fournier says he hopes never gets old or becomes too routine.
The Magic have had a lot of success throughout their 30-year history. But this time has brought with it a lot of struggles. Lottery luck has not gone their way and they have had to build the franchise up from the ground up. That has not been easy to do.
And part of that rebuild now includes rebuilding the franchise’s very foundations. That is what Fournier was showing off behind the scenes at the Amway Center. And it really only scratches the surface of what life is like as a Magic player.
Fournier has done a good job providing a look behind the scenes in his preparation for the season and his life throughout this web series. It is worth a look. And fans should definitely look forward to the next episode.