The Orlando Magic started their offseason by making the expected move to fire Jamahl Mosley and begin the search for a new coach.
The Magic had found itself stuck in the first round and unable to get out. Even with a 3-1 lead against the Detroit Pistons and all the expectations the team entered this season with.
Orlando is under a lot of pressure. The team is about to spend a lot of money and be in the first apron. The Magic cannot afford to lose in teh first round anymore. The team is looking to take the next steps.
Changing coaches was the inevitable result for the season the team had. Jamahl Mosley served his purpose helping guide the team from the rebuild into the Playoffs.
The question is who will the Magic choose to get them to the next level.
The candidates who have emerged already are not exactly inspiring a ton of confidence. They all have flaws and have had their failings in their NBA careers. The question is who is the best fit for the Magic and clicks with the front office and has the best ideas to unlock this team.
This is a decision the Magic must get right.
The early favorite has been former Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan.
That has not been a name that has gotten Magic fans excited. He does not have the reputation of getting teams deep into the Playoffs. He has been more of a floor raiser, coaching teams that stayed in the Play-In conversation when they probably should not have.
Players similarly seem to be a bit leery about Donovan's credentials.
In The Athletic's anonymous player poll, five of the 100 players polled named Donovan as the least impressive coach. Jamahl Mosley received three votes.
That 22 of the 30 teams received at least one vote probably speaks to how players think about coaches and the impact of coaches. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman would disagree. He said Monday that no move affects a team more than a new coach, aside from acquiring a star player.
But that is the risk. Donovan has never had a team with this many expectations. And that is the question many around the league have, including players.
Donovan had two lengthy runs with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls, but only won a playoff series in his first year with the Thunder in 2016. In his time in Chicago, he was generally considered a quality coach who built a good foundation and made the most of a team lacking in top-end talent -- for a franchise that refused to bottom out when it hit a dead end.
The Magic would be one of the more talented teams Donovan has coached.
It still does not speak well for Donovan, who has the uphill climb to convince the Magic that he is the one to get them not just to the second round but to the NBA Finals and a championship.
There may not be a perfect option out there for the Magic. But they will have to sort through what is there.
A new favorite?
The Orlando Magic are almost certainly still in the beginning stages of their coaching search.
Jeff Weltman said when he spoke to the media Monday that his management group would be getting together to begin refining their list and that some candidates had already reached out to them.
They are almost certainly in Chicago with the rest of the league for the NBA Draft Combine. It would make sense for them to start lining up interviews this week.
Billy Donovan and Tom Thibodeau have been the names most mentioned in association with the job. But something strange happened Saturday morning.
San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney suddenly spiked on the prediction markets and was briefly a heavy favorite to be the Magic's next coach. Donovan is now the market favorite once again, but Sweeney's name is not going away.
Some of this certainly started with Thursday's report from Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, reporting that Sweeney might have interest from the Magic. Sean Sweeney is largely believed to be the favorite to land the Chicago Bulls job or end up with the New Orleans Pelicans, where Jamahl Mosley is expected to gain heavy consideration.
Sean Sweeney has been a 13-year assistant coach and has gained a reputation for working with stars like Giannis Antetokunmpo (with the Milwaukee Bucks from 2015-18) and Luka Doncic (replacing Jamahl Mosley from 2022-25). He is the Spurs' associate head coach now and has worked with Victor Wembanyama directly.
It still seems unlikely the Magic would go with an assistant coach with the pressure the team has to win immediately. They do not have the time to wait for a new coach to cut his teeth and make up the learning curve of being a head coach.
But Orlando almost certainly will interview Sweeney and see if he is the right fit.
A big name off the board
One of the big fish that was potentially on the board in the coaching search was Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr.
It was unclear whether he would return to San Francisco and, if he did not return, whether he would look for a job elsewhere in the league. In any case, the potential for the Golden State Warriors job to open would threaten the Orlando Magic's status as the best available job.
That got put to rest Saturday night.
Shams Charania, Anthony Slater and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reported that Steve Kerr agreed to a two-year contract to return to the Warriors.
That ends that potential pipe dream. And the Magic can focus on their search on the available candidates.
Orlando may wait to see who shakes out after the second round ends. But the team should be narrowing its search and conducting its first round of interviews this week while they are at the NBA Draft Combine.
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