The Orlando Magic have their coach. Jamahl Mosley was officially introduced as the team’s new head coach Monday. He spoke a bit about his overall philosophy both on the court and in developing players off the court.
It is clear what the Magic’s priority is in this hiring. They know they have a young team and they need to develop them and progress them into a winning team. Mosley has a strong player development reputation and that is ultimately what attracted them and him to the job.
Mosley talked a lot throughout his introductory press conference about his desire to get to know his players as people beyond what they do on the court. He also talked a bit about his playing philosophies, hoping to have his team play with energy on both ends of the floor. He wants the team to play with pace on offense and be disruptive on defense.
The Magic will have to wait until the season begins — or at least until Summer League in August — to see what this looks like in practice beyond generic statements at a press conference.
If anything, Mosley’s appeal became clear throughout the press conference. His responses, while sometimes predictably evasive, were usually clear, direct and to the point. Mosley does not seem like someone who is going to waste anyone’s time. He is going to let everyone know clearly what he expects all with the calm demeanor of someone they can trust.
There is a lot of work for Mosley to get to though very quickly with his new team. Now that he is officially on board and has his employee ID badge, Mosley has to get a lot of things done in a short amount of time.
The NBA Draft is July 29 and Summer League begins the week after in Las Vegas. Orlando is going to have to be ready to start building and developing by then.
Immediately, Mosley has work to do though as he takes over the Magic. And the biggest thing he has to do is find an assistant staff that complements, supports and adds to his message.
Jamahl Mosley’s first task is a big one. He has to hire and build a staff that can help the Orlando Magic and himself grow as a coach.
This is the most consequential decision facing the young coach. It is the biggest question about the future that even the media were asking for.
It is not a question that he quite has an answer for yet. He said during his introductory press conference that he would be discussing the assistant coaching hires with Jeff Weltman and others very soon. But that was not something for the introductory press conference.
On an episode of Orlando Magic Pod Squad recorded Monday though, Mosley went into more detail on what he is looking for in his assistant staff:
"“Teachers, I think that’s the biggest thing. You talk about this roster, and you’re going to need people who know how to teach and what they’re teaching. You need development guys that can help these guys get better. You need energy and enthusiasm. For me, it’s about the positive side of it. Do they teach from a positive standpoint? Do they lift these guys up? Because these guys are going to need to be lifted up in certain moments. You need people that can encourage. And then just workers. Guys who are just in love with the gym and getting guys better. I think that’s the key.”"
The main thing he says he is looking for is good communicators and teachers. That should go part and parcel with the kind of team the Magic have.
Orlando Magic
They are extremely young and need some guidance through the NBA and to get better. Practices will be just as important as games as Mosley tries to set a tone of constant and consistent work each day. That is part of what happens when you are building a team up brick by brick.
Undoubtedly though, this will be a transition to the lead chair.
During Mosley’s introductory press conference, he was asked about delegating some responsibility to assistant coaches. That is something he understands he is going to have to do more of now that he is in the lead chair.
Mosley needs to find coaches who complement and have the same approach as he has to player development. He also needs to find some balance. It would benefit to have a coach with some experience as a head coach too to help Mosley transition to that role.
Finding a good staff is probably the biggest priority.
During the first rebuild, Jacque Vaughn proved he was a bit overmatched and unprepared for the lead job. But the Magic did not set him up for success either. The team hired a bunch of similarly inexperienced assistant coaches.
They are all still really accomplished — James Borrego is the coach for the Charlotte Hornets, We s Unseld Jr. is an assistant with the Denver Nuggets and was among the finalists for both the Orlando Magic and Washington Wizards’ lead jobs and Brett Gunning was on Mike D’Antoni’s staff with the Houston Rockets — but they were also very inexperienced when they arrived in Orlando.
This cannot simply be a proving ground for inexperienced coaches. They need to fit Mosley’s idea for an assistant staff but they also need to have the experience to help him learn too. It is a narrow needle to thread.
Mosley also admitted you are how you come into this league. It is going to be tough to keep Mosley off the court working with players. He will add to his own staff in that way.
straight to work with Coach @TheRealMoBamba x #MagicTogether pic.twitter.com/8A5AyIfki3
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) July 14, 2021
Not even becoming a head coach will probably take this kind of court work away from Mosley. Especially during the offseason when he can get one-on-one time with players free from the need to prepare for games.
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Surely, Mosley will be getting in touch with players who have stayed in town to do workout sessions like this and get to know them as people.
That was one of Mosley’s promises during his press conference. He wants to get to know all the players individually and as people. He did not feel comfortable introducing himself in quick texts. He wants that personal touch. That is how he builds relationships.
It also feels possible Mosley could get started with the team as its Summer League head coach. A lot of first-time head coaches use Summer League as their own sort of practice to get used to managing teams. Mosley served as the Dallas Mavericks’ Summer League coach the last three seasons.
But for this team that could be a different situation.
The team has three second-year players in Cole Anthony, R.J. Hampton and Chuma Okeke along with potentially two or three rookies who are likely to play in Summer League this year. This could be a jump start for him to work with and know some key players for his team next year.
Mosley is also likely to get involved in the draft process too. He said on Pod Squad that he is excited to be more involved in the process.
At least until he has an assistant staff in place, he likely will help conduct any future draft workouts. Most of those workouts are more about seeing whether players will accept coaching and Mosley’s input on any tape he has watched or experience working with those players will be valuable information in that process for Weltman and the front office.
The focus for Mosley should remain on building a staff that matches and fits his needs so that he can hit the ground running for the team.