An investigation into who voted for Orlando Magic’s Jeff Weltman as executive of the year

Rob Pelinka, Los Angeles Lakers

It is not clear when voting took place for the Executive of the Year Award. But if any of the voting happened after the season resumed, Jeff Weltman certainly is getting some appreciation for his work helping get the season restarted.

Being a general manager or lead executive is not merely about what happens on the court.

Weltman’s role as president of basketball operations includes managing the team’s roster and on-court product but also the team’s infrastructure and basketball staff. They also have their hands in helping out with the business side and coordinating with the team’s business interests.

This year, Weltman took on a new role too. He was part of the committee that planned the logistics for the NBA’s campus and the resumption of its season.

The Orlando Magic themselves were instrumental in getting the bubble to happen. NBA commissioner Adam Silver thanked Magic CEO Alex Martins for helping coordinate the move into Disney and figuring out how to make this thing happen.

The NBA Finals are nearing their conclusion and both Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers and Pat Riley of the Miai Heat are certainly thankful for the opportunity to finish this season off. We just know Riley is not voting for a division rival for this award.

Weltman and the Magic certainly will get an assist for whoever wins this title.

But even though Weltman might have had a hand in determining this year’s champion, he is still working to get the Magic their first championship. And there is still clearly work to do.

It would have been silly to name Weltman as Executive of the Year this year. While he has done some good things to build this franchise back up, there is a lot of work to do. His draft picks still have to prove themselves and so far his biggest free-agent signing in Al-Farouq Aminu struggled before injury.

Weltman has one vote of confidence somewhere in the league. But the Magic will still need a lot more to get where they want to be.