3 things Jamahl Mosley brings to the Orlando Magic as head coach

The Orlando Magic’s coaching search is nearing its end.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN and Josh Robbins of The Athletic both reported Thursday the Magic are nearing an agreement to hire Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Jamahl Mosley as the team’s next head coach.

While the hire is not official as of Saturday morning, it feels as good as done. Otherwise, it would not have leaked in the way it would.

Everyone is talking about Mosley as if he is the next head coach of the team even if there are still details to iron out in the contract. And everyone seems like they believe this is a good hire for the team.

Jamahl Mosley started his career working for George Karl with the Denver Nuggets. Karl had nothing but good things to say online when fans asked him about the coach the Magic are bringing in:

Mosley has been knocking on the door to be a coach for a while. His name may not have been super present in some of the coaching searches, but Mosley has been someone people around the league have long respected.

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The Magic certainly saw something they liked in him. But it is always very difficult to figure out whether assistant coaches can translate to the main chair. The two jobs of an assistant and a head coach are very different with a lot of different responsibilities.

What might be most important with a first-time head coach like Mosley is his ability to put together a strong assistant coaching staff who can both support and supplement his message from the top but also help with the transition to the lead chair.

It is no coincidence that a lot of first-time head coaches seek out former head coaches to be lead assistants. They at least need some experience with them.

Mosley is not that inexperienced. He has worked for successful coaches like George Karl, Byron Scott and Rick Carlisle in his 14 years as an assistant coach.

This is not the Magic hiring someone fresh off the street. Fans thinking this is Jacque Vaughn all over again, the Magic hired Vaughn after only two years as an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs.

But the Magic are hiring Mosley for his skills as a coach. And while that is hard to decipher completely from the outside and without the interview process revealing them. There are only bits and pieces.

As Mosley has become a more serious candidate for the Magic’s head coaching position, we have learned a lot more about him and his approach to the game. It has become very clear why the Magic have targeted him and why he fits what the Magic are trying to accomplish at this early stage of the rebuild.

We are still meeting and learning about Mosley, but these skills are a good place to start.

1. Player development & communication

The place that everyone starts with Jamahl Mosley is his player development, communication and relationships.

Whenever anyone associated with the Dallas Mavericks or covers the team talks about Mosley, the first thing they will say is he was very tight with Luka Doncic. Mosley gets some credit for helping with Doncic’s acclimation to the NBA (no one was stopping that kind of talent).

But this has been a key to Mosley’s coaching identity. He is someone who got on the floor with players to work on them. His whole approach to coaching grew from his desire to help young players get better.

He started his coaching career as a player development coach with the Denver Nuggets before he moved up to the bench. And that is something that has carried with him throughout his coaching career.

It should be noted, Mosley was selected to be an assistant coach working with the U.S. Select Team during the preparations for the Olympics this past week. Working with young players is key to his identity as a coach.

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The general consensus is Mosley is someone who will work his players hard but is not afraid to put an arm around their shoulder. The biggest thing people say about Mosley, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic, is that he is intense, but is going to smile.

He wants his teams to be energetic and to have fun. Mosley will be serious and have things he wants to get accomplished and he has the ability to communicate what he wants. If fun is a tool to do that, then all the better.

For a young team like the Magic, they need a coach who is going to be able to reach them and help them grow and develop. That is where Mosley’s strengths are. It is easy to see why he shot up the list of potential Magic coaches.

2. Defensive identity

There is plenty of criticism for the Orlando Magic’s focus on seeking another defensive-minded coach. The league is shifting toward offense and the Magic have not had an offense in the top half of the league since Dwight Howard left.

The Magic need some offense for sure and plenty of offensive-minded players too. That is something the team will integrate. But even looking at the roster, the Magic’s strength is still its defense.

But Mosley appears like he will bring a different kind of defensive mentality. In the article from Fred Katz of The Athletic where he spoke with colleagues of several top candidates, Jamahl Mosley’s colleague noted he wanted an aggressive and assertive defensive style.

Mosley has been the defensive coordinator for the Mavericks for the last three years. But Dallas has had a poor defense in that time period — ranking 18th, 18th and 21st in defensive rating in that time.

However, everyone still views Mosley as a solid defensive coach. Some of that is for sure because the Mavericks did not have the personnel to be a top defense. But observers would note, the Mavericks still played very hard and played a high-pressure style. That might very well be part of Mosley’s coaching DNA.

Mosley had a five-year professional career in some far-flung places in the world — most notably in Australia. He cut his teeth even at college at Colorado as a defender and energy guy. This is who he is.

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The Magic have long played a more conservative defensive strategy. A lot of that is because they had Nikola Vucevic as their starting center. There is a chance now, especially with someone like Jonathan Isaac back in the mix defensively, the Magic will be increasing the aggression of their coverages.

That would be welcome as it could create turnovers and a chance to get out in transition more, something Magic fans have long called for the team to do. The personnel may now fit that kind of playing style.

Mosley is going to bring some new energy to the team. He is not a conservative coach from the Pat Riley/Jeff Van Gundy tree like Steve Clifford.

3. Accountability

There is a misnomer about Steve Clifford.

Everyone knew the former Orlando Magic coach was demanding. And they often take a coach who is demanding as someone who is not good at relating to players. Just as they sometimes take players who are good at relating to players as unwilling to bring accountability.

The best coaches do both.

Clifford held his players accountable and demanded a lot from them. But he was also good at communicating to players what his expectations were and being in their corner. His gruff exterior comes in the heat of battle. At practices, Clifford was supportive by all accounts.

Jamahl Mosley has the reputation of being a great players’ coach. Players love him and swear by him. It was clear how much Mosley meant to the Dallas Mavericks after he led the team to a win over the New York Knicks in Rick Carlisle’s absence:

This kind of appreciation is really hard-earned. Because being a player’s coach does not happen without some accountability.

A coach can be nice to all the players, but at the end of the day the best players want to get better and they want to win. They can see through coaches who are interested in being friends and not interested in helping them get better.

Players, the ones that matter at least, want to be held accountable. The trick for any coach is to get that message across.

George Karl earlier in the post compared Jamahl Mosley to Monty Williams. It is easy to see how Williams’ approach works — the Phoenix Suns are in the Finals. The viral video of Monty Williams coaching up Deandre Ayton during Game 2 is the perfect example of how a player’s coaches create accountability.

Mosley reportedly has much the same approach. He is going to get in the gym and work with players and be encouraging. But he is only going to show that love if players put in the work.

He has to earn that trust for sure. But everyone has to be accountable to each other. That seems to be key to Mosley’s approach.

Teach that accountability is key to young teams especially as they learn how to win in the league.

There is still a lot to learn about Mosley and how the Magic plan to grow and develop under him once the hire is made official. He clearly brings a lot to the table.