Magic may hire Scott Skiles as coach
Here’s the Orlando Sentinel reporting on the Magic, who are in need of a new head coach:
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If Skiles has maintained that kind of magnetic pull with longtime fans, well, great. Mostly, they should just hope his legendary toughness, intensity and basketball I.Q. as a gritty, sawed-off point guard can be passed down to his next-generation players.
Skiles isn’t big on reliving the old days, anyway. He and the Magic realize this mission is about the present, not the past, on both their parts.
The Magic’s front office believes it has enough talent now to close in on a playoff berth — even if a 25-57 record last season offered little proof — and it expects Skiles to get them there, ASAP.
But eventually he can only take them as far as the personnel allows, meaning GM Rob Hennigan must find Skiles a star or two through trades and/or free agency.
In Year 4 of the Dwight Howard rebuild, the Magic are looking for their coach to make a difference. They’ll replace test pilots Jacque Vaughn and James Borrego with an entirely different bench boss: a no-nonsense, no-excuse veteran who has the license to demand more from players.
