Rob Hennigan

Josh Cohen

ORLANDO – The plan for this past weekend was for Frank Vogel to take his wife and daughters to Disney World, and in time, the Orlando Magic head coach – who grew up years ago just blocks away from the ocean in New Jersey – hopes to take in some of the beauty of Florida’s beaches for the first time since moving to the Sunshine State.

No offense to the family or Florida’s hundreds of beach towns, but Vogel would prefer pouring over game film or competing in a tense, win-or-else NBA playoff game to some mid-April vacation time now.

Competing in the playoffs and savoring the white-hot glare of the postseason is something that Vogel grew accustomed to doing five times in his 5½ seasons as head coach of the Indiana Pacers. Out of the postseason following a highly disappointing 29-53 first season with the Magic, Vogel said the failures over the past seven months will drive him throughout what figures to be a busy offseason.

``I do believe in balance in life and I do want to get away from it and let it go a little bit, but it’s going to sit with me all summer,’’ Vogel said candidly last week upon the Magic’s season wrapping up. ``When I get back to work, I’m going to be very driven to do all of this studying and evaluation of our team to get this thing back going the right direction.’’

Vogel’s offseason responsibilities with the Magic increased a bit last week when the franchise fired GM Rob Hennigan and Assistant GM Scott Perry following a fifth consecutive losing season. Assistant GM Matt Lloyd, a Magic employee the past five seasons, will serve as the interim GM and he will work hand-in-hand with Vogel to help the franchise prepare for the June 22 NBA Draft. Vogel, who has been promised that he will return as head coach regardless of who is chosen as the Magic’s next GM, will also join CEO Alex Martins in the search for the team’s next leader of the Basketball Operations department.

Vogel doesn’t mind the extra work to fill time that he’s usually spending competing in the playoffs. Though he just completed his first season in Orlando, he understands the urgency needed to get the Magic back in the playoffs. The franchise has been out of the postseason five straight years – the longest such drought in team history – and Vogel wants to do whatever necessary this summer to get things back on track.

``I’ve never been a big `summer projects’ guy, but I think I am now this summer,’’ Vogel said. ``We’re going to be doing a lot of that stuff with research, evaluation and re-watching a lot of our games. We’re going to take the fundamentals of a lot of the things that we’re trying to get done on the defensive end, offensively and with the running game (and evaluate them).

``It’s a new style of play (for the Magic), it’s a new era of basketball and the game is almost unrecognizable in some ways when you watch it compared to what people were seeing five, six or seven years ago,’’ Vogel continued. ``There’s a lot of studying to be done – something that I’m excited about doing, quite frankly. I obsess about this stuff. We’ve made strides in terms of who we are (as a team) and who I am as a coach (over the final two months of the season). I look forward to getting this team back on top, I really do.’’

Vogel started this past season thinking the Magic had the potential get back amongst the top teams in the Eastern Conference, especially after the franchise went out and acquired defensive-minded big men Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo in the offseason. Vogel, who built his reputation in the NBA as a defensive guru, said he was fully complicit in the addition of those players because he thought their versatility defensively could make the Magic dominant on that end of the floor.

Instead, a Magic team trying to alternately play 7-footer Nikola Vucevic, Biyombo and Ibaka looked like an 18-wheel big rig trying to keep pace in a league full of Ferraris. The sweeping trend in today’s NBA is to go small at nearly every position and depend more on speed and shooting as opposed to size and muscle.

Warning signs were there for the Magic that the plan wouldn’t work all throughout the preseason and a 6-11 start to the season. However, Vogel stuck with playing the bigger lineups for months in hopes that eventually Orlando’s sagging defense and choppy chemistry would come around. When those things never matured, Ibaka – the player Orlando surrendered three assets for back in June – was dealt to Toronto for shooting guard Terrence Ross. The problem, however, was that the Magic were 21-37 and far out of the playoffs chase by the time they switched styles and got Ross on the floor.

Does the benefit of hindsight make Vogel wish now that he had pulled the plug on the big lineups sooner? Does he wish now that he had pushed for a trade sooner so as to possibly salvage the season?

``I really don’t, to be honest with you. I think you have to explore your roster and how you’ve built your roster, you have to see if it can be successful,’’ Vogel said. ``You have to give that enough time to see if that works. You pull the plug too soon and then the other way (playing with a smaller, faster lineup) doesn’t work, then you look like you are just searching for things and that doesn’t give a message of strength to your team. And I also believe in playing your best players and Serge, Vooch and Biz were among our best players. That’s another reason why we stuck with keeping those guys out there.’’

Sticking it with it proved to be a major problem for the Magic when things tended to go bad in the middle of games. Not only did Orlando lose by a franchise record 47 points late in the season in Chicago, they dropped eight games by 30-or-more points and another eight from 20-29 points.

Those failures ultimately cost Hennigan, the Magic’s GM the past five years, his job. And they cost Vogel – a coach who prides himself on being able to motivate and reach players even in the worst of situations – several nights of sleep. It bothered the veteran coach immensely that he could never reach the team fully and do something to prevent the season from spiraling out of control.

``Not the group all together, but there was a handful of times that I felt I wasn’t reaching a couple of guys and it brought all of them back,’’ Vogel admitted. ``But it’s a difficult thing when you lose as much as we did and you have the expectations that we had. It’s almost impossible to not lose a game here or there and (lose players). That’s not any different of any team that I’ve coached. I pride myself in keeping everybody pulling them back (from frustration) and keeping them together and in it. I do believe that we finished that way with everybody bought in, engaged and playing together.’’

Several of the Magic’s players said the way that Vogel kept encouraging them and kept pushing the team – even after it had been eliminated from playoff contention – should speak volumes about the coach’s fight and strong character. Many mentioned that their hope for the future is strong because the prospect of having Vogel as the head coach going forward.

``I know that Frank doesn’t like to lose at all and we have that in common,’’ said Magic forward Aaron Gordon, one of the players who benefitted the most from Vogel’s midseason style change to one that is speedier and more uptempo. ``(Vogel) feels that he had greatness within him and I have the same feeling.’’

Added point guard Elfrid Payton: ``He’s a competitor and he wants to win just as bad as we do. Even when things were bad he was still coming in and pushing us and working with us and that’s something that I really respect about him.’’

Despite a rocky first season in Orlando, Vogel clearly has the respect of his team. The coach has always seen himself as someone who forms partnerships with players – rather than simply bossing them around like a drill sergeant – in order to coax the best out of them. Vogel believes strongly in the young talent that the Magic have in place and thinks the best is yet to come. With a tweak or two here or there, Vogel is hopeful that this time next year he’ll be getting the Magic ready for a long playoff run instead of visiting Disney World or hitting the beaches.

``They’re still very young and if you look league-wide most of the ones winning aren’t doing it with young guys. The book is still out, but I still have a great deal of belief in these guys and what they can be,’’ Vogel said with conviction. ``They haven’t reached that (elite) level yet, but they’ve shown flashes of it, so we know it’s there and we just have to put it all together and add the right mix that is needed.

``I do still believe in the young core that is here. Not just Elfrid, Aaron and Mario (Hezonja), but Terrence, Evan (Fournier) and Vooch – those guys are still young guys, too,’’ Vogel continued. ``This group is about to enter its prime and that’s how we have to look at this. You have a group that is about to enter its prime and those are the groups that go on year-after-year playoff runs where they are in it every year and they have a chance (to win a title).’’

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando Magic. All opinions expressed by John Denton are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Orlando Magic or their Basketball Operations staff, partners or sponsors.

frank-vogel-confident-team-will-get-back-on-track-next-season

Frank Vogel Confident Team Will Get Back on Track Next Season

ORLANDO – Undoubtedly, the DeVos family ownership group and CEO Alex Martins will have the final say on who the Orlando Magic ultimately select as their new General Manager.

But those who will work the closest with the new GM on a day-to-day basis – head coach Frank Vogel and Magic players expected to return next season – have opinions on what they think makes for a great dynamic between GM and coach and GM and players. After all, it is those relationships and interactions that could go the farthest in helping the Magic make major strides in the very near future.

Vogel, for one, is hopeful that the Magic – which fired GM Rob Hennigan and Assistant GM Scott Perry on Thursday – will pick a leader of the Basketball Operations department who understands that the franchise isn’t that far away from being successful and wants to win right away.

``I think our mindset is to win now and I’m hopeful that whoever we bring in here shares that approach,’’ Vogel said a day after the Magic wrapped up a 29-53 regular season. ``I think our fans have endured enough losing and it’s time to get this thing into the playoffs as quickly as we can. That’s my mindset.’’

The Magic had the mindset that five years was long enough to build the franchise into a playoff contender and when that didn’t happen it cost Hennigan and Perry their jobs. Orlando is 132-178 over the past five years – the second-worst mark in the NBA over that time period. Also, after appearing in the postseason six straight years from 2007-12, Orlando has been out of the playoffs each of the last five years – the longest such drought in franchise history.

Matt Lloyd, who has 13 years of NBA experience with the Chicago Bulls and five more with the Magic, was chosen to take over as the Interim GM. Lloyd, who helped to scout and draft many of the players on the Magic’s current roster, will also be a candidate for the full-time GM job.

The NBA Draft Lottery will be held on May 15 and the NBA Draft is June 22, but Martins said the Magic won’t be rushed into picking a new GM because of the importance of the position.

``The factor that is going to dictate (the pace of the search) is that there are some individuals that we’re interested in who (have teams that) are playing in the NBA playoffs and we’re not going to be able to talk to them until their teams are eliminated,’’ Martins said. ``And I think it’s in our best interests to identify the right individual and talk to those who are involved in the playoffs. That’s what is going to dictate the majority of the timeframe.

``In terms of being prepared for the draft, I have no concerns about that whatsoever because I have a very high amount of confidence in Matt Lloyd and his team to prepare us for the draft,’’ Martins continued. ``He’ll have everything lined up and prepared for when we do hire a GM, including if it is him. … Frank (Vogel) will be a big part of that (NBA Draft) preparation as well and he’ll work closely with Matt over the next several weeks in leading the Basketball Operations staff.’’

Martins stressed that whomever the Magic hire as GM will have to be accepting of Vogel as the team’s head coach going forward. Martins feels that Vogel’s track record of success as a head coach and his driven personality will be exceptionally strong selling points in attracting premier GM candidates.

Vogel, who has worked as a head coach, assistant coach, scout and video coordinator in his 17 years at the NBA level, said he has no ambition of a dual role where he is both the head coach and GM. While some in the NBA have had success holding both jobs simultaneously, Vogel feels its better to have different people in those jobs because the difference in responsibilities and perspectives.

``(Being GM) is tough because a lot of times you make the right moves or moves that make sense at the time and for whatever reason they don’t work out,’’ Vogel said. ``You can put the best players in the world together and players don’t click with others. That happens in pro sports all the time and (team-building) is not an easy job, but it’s definitely doable.

``I’m not pushing for that (GM job) because I’m a basketball coach,’’ Vogel continued. ``It’s a difficult thing to do both because you have to separate your emotions. A lot of times, the coach wants to trade a different player every other game and obviously you can’t do that. I like the coach/GM dynamic of them viewing things from afar, them studying the league differently than I do and them taking an entire year studying the NBA Draft versus a coach finishing the year and trying to cram it all in. There’s an important separation there.’’

With NBA GMs there are usually two schools of thought as it relates to handling the day-to-day ebbs and flows of a team. Some GMs are extremely hands on in their approach, wanting to be present for as many practices, games, bus rides and events so that they see the highs and lows for themselves while also building strong relationships with players and coaches. Other GMs prefer to keep their distance so as to not crowd coaches. Also, they prefer to not have tight relationships with players. With that approach, GMs prefer to depend more on the analytical data than their gut instincts – a style that allows them to remove emotion from the equation.

Asked which style he prefers, Vogel joked: ``Not too hot, not too cold, just right – the Goldilocks’ answer, right? In all honesty, my perfect situation is someone who is there every day and we talk about everything every day. They give me ideas and I give them ideas.’’

Magic franchise fixtures Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier said the working relationship between players and GMs can be critical in the success of a team. Players want to be heard because they are the ones out on the court, and Vucevic and Fournier are hopeful that the Magic lean toward a GM with strong communication and leadership skills with their next hire.

``I think it’s important to have a good relationship with the people that you work with and I felt like I had a good relationship with Rob,’’ said Vucevic, who is the longest-tenured player on the Magic at five years. ``We spoke whenever something needed to be talked about and we’d catch up on things. With teammates, you don’t have to be great friends off the court, but on the court it’s important to have a great working relationship. The same goes with coaches and front office (and players) and needing that good relationship if things aren’t going the right way.’’

Added Fournier, who has played with the Magic for three seasons after spending his first years in the NBA in Denver: ``My first General Manager, Masai (Ujiri), we didn’t see him a lot and we’d never hear from him. Rob wasn’t the opposite, but he was more present. It really depends on the individual (as GM). Really, it’s a weird relationship (between player and GM) because it’s business, but at the same time you have to have a trust in one another. The most important thing is being honest and telling each other the truth. Players and GMs both want to win, so you have to work together to achieve the same goal. But, for me, the perfect relationship (with a GM) would be having trust in one another, but knowing that it’s business and don’t have any emotions.’’

Vogel said he will make suggestions to ownership and to Martins a few NBA executives who he thinks will make strong candidates for the Magic. He also has a good idea of some of the traits that he hopes the next GM will possess, such as strong communication skills, a track record of team-building knowledge and a desire to embrace a teamwork approach.

And Vogel is a strong believer that the difference-making abilities of a new GM could help the Magic get over the hump and into the playoffs as soon as next season.
  ``One of the reasons that I took this job is that I believe we have the resources here to get that (GM) job done at a high level,’’ Vogel said. ``The ownership that we have is one of the best in the league, the warm weather (in Orlando), this great (Amway Center) building here, the owners are willing to spend money, no state taxes (in Florida) and they’ve had success here in the past.

``I do believe that (winning and losing) is cyclical,’’ Vogel continued. ``You see it all throughout sports that a team gets down for a few years, the draft picks come around, they get a little bit older, the talent replenishes and you make the proper adjustments and you’re back on the map. I believe that’s the direction we’re going. We will be back on the map and contending in the Eastern Conference very soon.’’

magic-begin-search-for-new-general-manager

Magic Begin Search for New General Manager

ORLANDO – Upon making the decision to fire GM Rob Hennigan and change the Orlando Magic’s Basketball Operations leadership department – moves that came on the heels of a fifth-straight losing season – CEO Alex Martins wanted to make one thing explicitly clear on Thursday.

The Magic aren’t facing yet another long-term, drawn-out and massive rebuild, Martins stressed at a news conference to announce the firings of Hennigan and Assistant GM Scott Perry.

Because the franchise already has strong and committed ownership, because it has a solid coach in Frank Vogel and a promising core in place and because there will be multiple avenues available to re-stock the talent this summer, the Magic could potentially be missing only a difference-making GM in their pursuit of a playoff berth in the very near future, Martins said with conviction.

``I don’t believe this is a total rebuild; we’ve got a lot of the pieces and the foundation is already in place,’’ Martins said. ``It’s about taking it to the next step, utilizing the foundation that we have, utilizing the assets that we’re going to have this summer and utilizing the expertise we’re going to have in roster-building (with a new GM). I don’t think we’re that far away.

``Without having gone through the interview process yet, I’m not going to sit here and tell you that we’re one year away or two years away – I don’t know that yet,’’ the CEO continued. ``It will play itself out as we identify who is going to lead us. But I believe in Frank (Vogel), who knows how to win, and we’re going to find an individual to lead our Basketball Operations that knows how to win. I don’t think we’re that far away, I really don’t.’’

At 29-53 this season and a franchise-worst 132-278 (.322 win percentage) over the past five seasons – none of which ended in playoff appearances – Martins felt the Magic were still far enough away to end Hennigan’s five-year run as GM. Far too many errors in the NBA Draft, whiffs in free agency, botched trades and stagnant player development convinced Martins that the Magic needed someone else making the calls on personnel decisions. He acted accordingly by firing Hennigan and Perry, while naming Matt Lloyd – an assistant GM the past five years in Orlando and someone with 13 years of prior NBA experience with the Chicago Bulls – as the team’s Interim GM.

``Some things didn’t fall (Hennigan’s) way, some of the decisions didn’t work out and maybe over a longer time horizon it would have turned for him,’’ Martins said. ``But this business is about results and, in my estimation, five years was enough time to get results. Other organizations have proven it during that period of time.’’

Vogel, who just completed his first season with the Magic, has been given every assurance that he will continue to be the head coach regardless of the GM hired going forward. Vogel admitted that he was hurt by Magic failings that led to Hennigan’s departure. Hennigan hurriedly hired Vogel last May after Scott Skiles shockingly resigned his post as the Magic coach following just one season. Vogel wishes the Magic could have had more success this season in order to save the jobs of Hennigan and Perry.

``I’m thankful of them being very supportive of the job that we were trying to do here in light of a very difficult season with a lot of losing,’’ Vogel said. ``They were very inclusive in their nature and our relationship is strong. This is a tough day. They’re both good men and good basketball people.’’

Vogel went along with an offseason plan crafted by Hennigan and Perry to add size, toughness and rim protection to the roster last summer via big men Serge Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo. The problem was that the plan flew directly counter to the NBA’s sweeping trend of smaller, faster personnel and a much heavier reliance on 3-point shooting.

The Magic traded three players – namely standout guard Victor Oladipo – for Ibaka and signed Biyombo to a massive free-agent contract. However, the moves created a logjam along the frontline, forced players such as Aaron Gordon and Evan Fournier out of their natural positions and it made the defense slow and immobile. It was apparent early on that the bigger lineup wasn’t going to work – Orlando lost is first three games and 11 of 17 – but Vogel kept trying to get the best out of his flawed roster.

The Magic ended up using Biyombo, the team’s highest-paid player, off the bench most of the season and traded Ibaka to Toronto on Feb. 14. By then, the season was already a wash and hopes of making the playoffs were long gone.

``It was a conversation of, `Hey, we have the opportunity to get Serge Ibaka. What do you think?’ I liked it and I was supportive of it,’’ recalled Vogel, referring to his conversations with Hennigan and Perry from last June. ``That’s the way I had success in the past (by playing two big men). The league was changing, but I thought that would be a successful (move), but it didn’t turn out that way.’’

Vogel, who will have input into the next GM hire, has no desire to do both jobs. He said he is confident that the Magic will pick someone who he can work closely with because ``I’ve got a lot of trust in Alex Martins and the DeVos family.’’

Vogel, like Martins, is hopeful that Orlando can land a strong leader, a persuasive communicator and someone who understands the nebulous dynamic of team building.
  Vogel is hopeful that the new GM is potentially the final piece in the Magic getting over the hump and into the playoffs a year from now.

``My perfect situation who is there every day and we talk about everything every day,’’ Vogel said. ``They give me ideas and I give them ideas on all of the decisions that we make on a daily basis. A lot of them are clear and a lot of them are not.

``Our mindset is to win now and I’m hopeful of whoever we bring in here shares that approach,’’ Vogel added. ``I think our fans have endured enough losing and it’s time to get this thing into the playoffs as soon as we can.’’

So often in the NBA, when teams fail with veteran decision-makers loaded with experience, they look to mix their approach up by turning to younger minds influenced heavily by analytics. Conversely, when the unproven fail to make a difference, there’s often an overreaction toward finding a replacement that has a proven track record at the NBA level.

Martins said there will be no set requirement that the Magic’s next personnel director has previous NBA GM experience. Finding a person with the traits the team is looking for – team-building knowledge, decisive decision-making abilities and strong leadership skills – will be the deciding factors in who becomes Orlando’s next GM.

The Magic thought they had that person in Hennigan, a young executive who emerged five years ago after rising the corporate ladder with the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder – two franchises known for their ability to find talent and build strong teams.

When Hennigan wasn’t able to consistently find talent for the Magic or build a winner in Orlando, he lost his job. The next GM, Martins said, could be the benefactor of the Magic having most of the pieces in place to win in the near future.

``We took a chance on Rob and he was dealt a difficult hand when he first arrived here,’’ Martins said, referring to franchise center Dwight Howard demanding to be traded. ``Some would say that he didn’t have the benefit of luck in the NBA lottery, which is true, but sometimes you have to make your own luck, which we believe we haven’t done enough of.

``The facts are that we’ve regressed this year and we made the decision that five years with this leadership team was enough to show improvement,’’ continued Martins, pointing out that the Magic had a top-10 payroll this past season and still came up short. ``This organization has seen great success over the years, but this five-year period unfortunately hasn’t seen that same success. We feel as if we’ve fallen behind several of the teams that started this (rebuilding) process at the same time that we did or even after. But we also believe that we can catch up quickly with different leadership and a different approach.’’

magic-gm-change-not-expected-to-result-in-total-rebuild

Magic GM Change Not Expected to Result in Total Rebuild

ORLANDO –  When the Orlando Magic couldn’t change the fact that they are mired in the worst five-year stretch in franchise history and couldn’t end their longest playoff drought ever major changes within the organization were inevitable.

Those changes came on Thursday when Magic CEO Alex Martins announced the firings of General Manager Rob Hennigan and Assistant GM Scott Perry. Too many misjudgments in the past five NBA Drafts, too many miscalculations on trades and free-agent signings and too much coaching upheaval severely damaged the Magic’s chances of making major strides in rebuilding. Those shortcomings fell at the feet of Hennigan and Perry and cost them jobs that they had held since 2012.

``Some things didn’t fall (Hennigan’s) way, some of the decisions didn’t work out and maybe over a longer time horizon it would have turned for him,’’ Martins said. ``But this business is about results and, in my estimation, five years was enough time to get results. Other organizations have proven (the ability to successfully rebuild) during that period of time.

Assistant GM Matt Lloyd, a Magic employee for five years, will serve as the franchise’s interim GM until a full-time successor is chosen. Lloyd, who worked for the Chicago Bulls for 13 years prior to joining the Magic, is expected to be a candidate for the long-term position.

Also, head coach Frank Vogel, who just completed his first season in Orlando, will remain in his position regardless of who the next GM is, Martins said.

The search for a new GM has already begun and Martins and the Magic undoubtedly will be looking for a basketball operations leader with solid communication and team-building skills. Martins stressed that strong characteristics will be more valued than prior GM experience. Still, there figures to be no shortage of candidates for the Magic’s attractive position. Undoubtedly, other elite GM candidates will look to land a Magic job where a solid core of talent with Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton, Bismack Biyombo, Terrence Ross and Mario Hezonja is in place. Also, the Magic will have two first-round picks in the upcoming June NBA Draft and approximately $25 million in salary-cap space with which to use to re-stock the talent on the roster.

``That’s what happens when you don’t win,’’ said Magic guard Evan Fournier, who came to Orlando three years ago following a Hennigan-orchestrated trade with the Denver Nuggets. ``When you don’t win, you’ve got to make moves and the ones that usually go first are coaches or general managers. It’s unfortunate, but that’s how it goes and that’s the business.’’

The dismissals of Hennigan and Perry come on the heels of a disappointing 29-53 season – one where the Magic fully expected to contend for a playoff spot after a flurry of trades and free-agent signings last July. Instead, the Magic’s bevy of new players never meshed under first-year head coach Frank Vogel and the team finished last in the Southeast Division for a fifth consecutive season.

The Magic were left with no choice but to make a move on Hennigan and Perry – the two men charged with rebuilding the Magic into winners following the crippling defection of franchise center Dwight Howard in 2012 – after seeing their last five teams struggle mightily. Orlando has posted a 132-278 record (a .322 winning percentage) since 2012. That’s the second-worst mark in the NBA over the last five seasons with only the Philadelphia 76ers being worse at 109-301 (.266 winning percentage).

Orlando’s last playoff berth came in 2012 – weeks before Hennigan was hired as GM and Perry was brought aboard as Assistant GM. The five-year playoff drought is a first in the 28-season history of the franchise.

``It was a very tough year and we didn’t deliver,’’ said center Nikola Vucevic, one of the first players acquired by Hennigan in August of 2012 and the longest-tenured player on the Magic. ``We didn’t meet the expectations that we had and it shows.’’

It also didn’t help Hennigan’s case that other down-on-their-luck franchises rebuilt their rosters and got back to the playoffs before the Magic could.

Boston hired head coach Brad Stevens in 2013 and over the four past seasons the Celtics have increased their win total from 25 to 40 to 48 to 53 victories, making the playoffs each of the past three years. Portland hired coach Terry Stotts in 2012 and it has been in the playoffs each of the last four seasons. Utah, which bottomed out with 25 wins in 2013-14, capitalized on several big scores in the NBA Draft and is headed to the playoffs after locking up the Northwest Division crown this season. Finally, Milwaukee, winners of just 15 games in 2013-14, is bound for the postseason for a second time in three seasons under head coach Jason Kidd.

Hennigan, who broke into the NBA as a scout and a rising executive with San Antonio and later Oklahoma City, hoped to repeat the lottery luck that helped the Magic land superstars Shaquille O’Neal, Penny Hardaway and Howard in previous years. However, bad ping-pong ball luck certainly played a role in the front office’s lack of success in culling superstar-level talent out of the past five drafts. The Magic fell to fourth in 2014 (and missed out on Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker and Joel Embiid) and remained stuck at fifth in 2015 (and missed out on Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor and Kristaps Porzingis).

Players that Hennigan and his staff drafted or traded for – (19th pick) Andrew Nicholson and (50th pick) Kyle O’Quinn in 2012; (second pick) Victor Oladipo and (51st pick) Romero Osby in 2013; (fourth pick) Aaron Gordon, (10th pick) Elfrid Payton and (56th pick) Devyn Marble in 2014; (fifth pick) Mario Hezonja and (51st pick) Tyler Harvey in 2015; and (41st pick) Stephen Zimmerman in 2016 – either didn’t pan out or have yet to fully blossom into the kind of transformational players needed by struggling teams. Gordon, Payton, Hezonja and Zimmerman are the only Magic-drafted players still on the roster.

Misses on under-the-radar talents in 2012 (Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, Evan Fournier and Khris Middleton), 2013 (Giannis Antetokounmpo, Rudy Gobert, C.J. McCollum and Steven Adams), 2014 (Nikola Jokic, Dario Saric and Zach LaVine) and 2015 (Myles Turner and Devin Booker) proved costly in the Magic’s ability to stockpile talent throughout their roster. To be fair, several other teams also misjudged those players, but those whiffs become more punitive when there’s a dearth of difference-making talent, such as with the Magic.

``You need some luck and you need some moves to hit,’’ Vogel said of the difficulty of rebuilding in today’s NBA. ``Sometimes you make the right move and it doesn’t work out for whatever reason. It’s difficult to create that culture that you want, but your moves have got to hit. You’ve got to hit on some lottery picks and some free-agent acquisitions and hit on some trades. It’s difficult to make all of that happen, but it’s a challenge we’re embracing (going forward).’’

Churning through four head coaches in the past five years certainly didn’t help the Magic’s continuity, either. Hennigan’s first hire, Jacque Vaughn, was 58-158 in 2½ seasons as head coach. Interim James Borrego was not retained at the end of the 2015 season, while Scott Skiles lasted just one season (2015-16) after clashes over personnel. Hennigan acted quickly last May to hire Vogel, who was considered the best coach on the market following his highly successful 5 ½-year run with the Indiana Pacers. This season, however, has tested Vogel’s mettle because of Orlando’s many struggles.

``I liked the team coming in and I thought we had a good chance, but some things didn’t work out that we’ll have to try and fix and do differently going forward,’’ Vogel said on Wednesday prior to Orlando’s season-ending defeat of the Detroit Pistons. ``Gradually we were failing, but we tried our best all the way through. Mathematically we were still alive and we were still trying to compete. We were still trying to build something in terms of a winning culture. There are obviously a lot of reasons why it didn’t work out this year, but I don’t want to get into them all right now. I’m going to take some time away and evaluate the totality of it.’’

Hennigan will most be remembered as the GM who granted the trade request of the disgruntled Howard, dealing him to the Lakers in a four-team, 12-player transaction in August of 2012. However, it was other transactions that ultimately did more long-term damage to the Magic.

Orlando surrendered shooting standouts and fan favorites Ryan Anderson and J.J. Redick in 2012 and ’13 for little in return. The same thing occurred with Tobias Harris and Channing Frye midway through the 2015-16 season, and the Magic have little left to show for those transactions.

More recently, Hennigan made the controversial call on going big with the personnel – even as the rest of the league was trending toward smaller, faster talent. Hennigan traded Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasovsa and rookie Domantas Sabonis for OKC’s Serge Ibaka on draft night even though the power forward was set to become a free agent in July and his statistical effectiveness had been slipping for the previous three seasons.

Free agent Bismack Biyombo to a lucrative, four-year deal even though the center has had just one highly productive season in the NBA.

The additions of Ibaka and Biyombo not only created a logjam with Vucevic, but that overemphasis on size made Orlando’s offense slow and its defense ill-prepared to stop foes that rely heavily on 3-point shooting.

Ibaka was traded to Toronto on Feb. 14 for reserve shooting guard Ross, whose shooting has allowed the Magic to shift to a more modern style of perimeter-based play. The Magic won seven games after getting Ross into the lineup, but that was far too little to help the Magic salvage the season and get back in playoff contention.

The departures of Hennigan and Perry show that the Magic could be about to undergo another major roster overhaul in hopes of getting back in the playoff mix by next season. Whoever the new GM is, several changes in the way that the Magic roster is constructed could occur. That’s something that wasn’t lost on Fournier as the final days of another disappointing regular season wound down.

``I’m fully aware that (Wednesday’s finale) might be my last game with the Magic because you never know what can happen,’’ said Fournier, whose career has blossomed in his three seasons in Orlando. ``When you lose, that’s really when things shake up and teams make a lot of changes. So, yeah, everyone is fully aware (that changes could come).

``I’m not the type of guy who is concerned by that sort of thing,’’ Fournier added. ``At the end of the day, my job is to get better and play basketball and I can’t control those (roster changes). To be honest, I don’t even want to think about it because it’s just a waste of time and a waste of energy. Again, you can’t control it, so why focus on it?’’

magic-dismiss-rob-hennigan-as-general-manager

Magic Dismiss Rob Hennigan as General Manager

ORLANDO –  The Orlando Magic have dismissed Rob Hennigan as general manager, CEO Alex Martins announced today.  In addition, Matt Lloyd has been named interim general manager and will be a candidate for the position permanently.

“We appreciate Rob’s efforts to rebuild the team, but feel we have not made any discernible improvement over the last few years specifically.  It's time for different leadership in basketball operations.  We certainly wish Rob and his family well,” said Martins. “Matt brings solid experience and his appointment as general manager on an interim basis will allow us to seamlessly continue our preparations for the upcoming draft.”

Hennigan was named general manager on June 20, 2012.  Orlando’s record during his tenure was 132-278 (.322), the second-worst in the NBA over that span.

Lloyd was named assistant general manager of the Magic on June 29, 2012.  He came to Orlando after spending 13 years with the Chicago Bulls, his last five as their director of college scouting.  In that position, Lloyd oversaw the scouting and information compilation of prospects for the NBA Draft, along with statistical analysis of pro and amateur players.  He implemented and maintained a database which organized scouting information.

magic-dismiss-rob-hennigan-as-general-manager-2

ORLANDO – At times, NBA general managers are in almost helpless situations during the season regarding the fate of their teams. Sure, they construct the roster in the offseason and occasionally execute trades, but for the most part they must sit back and watch how it all plays out much like fans do.

Orlando GM Rob Hennigan has looked on all season as the Magic have been consistently inconsistent, teasing with some promising highs and baffling with some head-scratching lows. Like the fans, Hennigan is highly frustrated with the lack of progress from a team he gave a major facelift to in the offseason.

Hennigan hired Head Coach Frank Vogel and acquired nine mostly veteran players in the offseason, feeling their history of experience, toughness and defense would help the Magic turn the corner on rebuilding and be a playoff contender.

That has yet to materialize as the Magic went into Tuesday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with a disappointing 18-28 record. If the postseason began today, Orlando would be on the outside of the playoffs looking in for a fifth straight season – something Hennigan finds totally unacceptable.

When OrlandoMagic.com sat down with the Magic GM on Tuesday he stressed that he is frustrated by the team’s inconsistency and prolonged struggles and he promised that he is working to make changes that will get the Magic back in the playoff mix.

“My job is to do the best that we can to put a competitive team together and then let our coaching staff do the best they can with those players,” Hennigan said. “I’m in constant communication with Frank and we’re constantly talking about what we like with the team and the solutions that may exist in free agency or on the trade market. It’s a collaborative effort and we’re confident that we’ll get there.

“We’re going to do everything in our power to be aggressive in trying to improve the team,” Hennigan continued, referring to the Feb. 23 NBA trade deadline. “But at the same time, we’re convinced in the fact that we’re not that far away. We want to stay the course and keep scrapping and clawing to improve.’’

What follows is the entire question-and-answer session with Hennigan, who talks about the Magic’s inconsistencies, the defensive struggles, the promising signs from Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon and his aggressive approach heading into the looming trade deadline.

QUESTION: The franchise was super aggressive in the offseason, going out and hiring Head Coach Frank Vogel and acquiring nine new players. How disappointing is it that the team has been unable to string much together consistently so far?

HENNIGAN: “First and foremost, we’re not where we need to be and we’re disappointed by the performance that we’ve shown. Over the summer when we constructed the team, it was a defense-first approach, so our inconsistencies in that area lead to a lot of frustrations. It’s our job to figure out how we can get back to playing that defensive-minded basketball that we know we’re capable of playing. That’s the starting point for us from now until the rest of the season. It’s about doing everything in our power to rediscover what all of us know that we have on the roster. We just need to do it more consistently. It’s something that certainly is frustrating and we’re doing everything in our power to solve it internally and we’re also looking externally to see if there are ways to improve the team.’’

QUESTION: Specifically with the defense, is it a mystery to you why there is such inconsistency on that end of the floor considering that you have several players who made it to the NBA with their abilities as defenders? What needs to change on that end?

HENNIGAN: ``Team dynamics can be enigmatic at times and this is a real enigma for us because again we’ve shown that we’re capable and we’ve shown in flashes how good that we can be. We just haven’t shown it consistently, and therein lies the challenge for us. We believe in the defensive talent that we have on the team and we believe in Frank and his ability to instill a sound defensive system. We just have to get back to doing what we know that we can do.’’

QUESTION: It’s a microwavable society and everybody wants everything right now. But when you add nine new players and a new coaching staff all at once, do you think there was an underestimation of how much time it would take for the team to build chemistry?

HENNIGAN: ``I think that’s a fair question. Certainly, there are a lot of new pieces on the team and there’s a whole new coaching staff, so that takes time to assimilate and create a comfort level and an understanding of what we’re doing.

“Our biggest frustration and my personal frustration lies in the inconsistency that we’ve shown and the peaks and valleys of play that have come. Our play has been polarizing at times. We’ll look really good for a few games and then bad for a few games. So how do we even out that consistency?

“The thing that we’re frustrated with the most is the lack of effort and intensity that we sometimes show. And that’s where our fans deserve more. It’s on me and it’s on our staff to continue to improve that.’’

QUESTION: You made a couple of bold moves over the summer to trade for Serge Ibaka and sign Bismack Biyombo in free agency. How would you evaluate their performance so far?

HENNIGAN: “I think Serge and Biz have been really good. I think they’ve brought to our team what we thought that they would. I think their work ethic, toughness and competitive spirit have been good and their defensive abilities have been what we thought they would be. However, collectively, it’s been an issue with all of us getting on the same page at times. But those two guys have been really valuable to our team.’’

QUESTION: You have mentioned that it is your job to recruit Serge every day of the season before he becomes a free agent in July. Serge, Jeff Green and a couple of others can be free agents at the end of the season. Must you have conversations with those players and their representatives about their futures prior to the trade deadline in February?

HENNIGAN: “Those types of conversations take place all the time. That’s something that is just part of the job and we’re in constant communication with players and their representatives. That’s just par for the course for us.’’

QUESTION: Coming into the season, your young core of Aaron Gordon, Elfrid Payton and Mario Hezonja were wildcards in a sense because no one knew exactly how much improvement they could make this season. How do you evaluate their performances and growth so far?

HENNIGAN: All three are really, really young and I think sometimes we forget that.

“Elfrid’s play, by and large over the course of the season, has been really encouraging – especially over the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, he’s starting to find a rhythm and a comfort zone for himself. We sort of view Elfrid as the competitive leader and competitive heartbeat for our team and over the last couple of weeks he’s really kicked it into gear and we hope he can sustain that.

“With Aaron, he’s similarly shown a lot of promise this year. Our view on Aaron is that he’s a unique basketball player in that he is position-less. We view him as a forward. Whether we play him at (small forward) or (power forward), that’s something that we’re still reviewing and discussing internally. The experience that he’s having this year with the different types of players that he’s having to defend and having the ball in his hands a little more and his improved shooting – all those things are going to bode well for him regardless of whether we keep him at (small forward) or (power forward). So, his development curve is very encouraging.

“With Mario, he’s been the one player who is really frustrated with how the season has gone. Quite frankly, we expected more from Mario this season, but in fairness to him he’s a young player who is still trying to figure out the NBA game. We’re confident that he will, but his production hasn’t been where we all expected it to be. But that’s OK because he’s fighting, he’s terrific in practice and in trying to absorb what we’re trying to do. He’ll continue to get good playing time here the rest of the season.’’

QUESTION: A lot of people in the NBA say that they don’t truly know a person until they go through a season together. What have you learned about Frank Vogel and how beneficial has it been to have his encouraging, but firm approach on the bench for the team?

HENNIGAN: “Frank’s been a great addition to our organization and we’re very lucky to have him. I think all of us need to give Frank some patience while he figures out this team. There are a lot of new pieces on this team and dynamics that he is navigating as the head coach. But overall his spirit, his attitude and his desire to really work collaboratively – not just with me but with everyone in the organization – is really refreshing and it’s going to bode well for our organization. He’s been terrific.’’

QUESTION: With the Feb. 23 trade deadline less than a month away, how aggressive do you have to be to find a way to improve the roster? Does a trade need to be made to send a jolt through the squad?

HENNIGAN: “We need to be very aggressive in exploring ways to improve the team and we will be. Like I said in the beginning of this conversation, we’re not where we want to be and we’re extremely disappointed with how the season has gone. I take full responsibility and blame for that. It’s my job to seek out ways to improve the team. We’ll be active and aggressive in doing that.’’

QUESTION: You have pieces on your roster that are very skilled and are attractive around the NBA. How much does that help you in potentially making a deal to improve your team?

HENNIGAN: “We’re in a position where we can make deals if we so choose. We have a lot of valuable assets on the team, good young players and a nice mix of various skill sets, so we certainly have the assets to make deals if we so choose.’’

QUESTION: Many of the cries from fans are to “do something’’ when the trade deadline rolls around. How many times do you have to say ``no’’ in trade scenarios rather than just making a trade for the sake of “doing something?’’

HENNIGAN: “We’re constantly exploring the trade market and are having conversations with teams, really, since late-November and early-December. It’s a continuous dialogue through the trade deadline. So, trades can be complex with the structure and, as they say, `it takes two to tango.’ So it has to make sense for both sides and oftentimes that can make it a challenge. But certainly our group is committed to push the envelope to see how we can improve the team.’’

QUESTION: Seemingly every night now there is a new record being set with how many 3-pointers teams are hoisting. Does the greater emphasis on the 3-point shot change how you  approach building the roster – both offensively and defensively? And does your roster have enough shooting going forward with where the NBA is headed?

HENNIGAN: “You have to certainly pay attention to those types of trends. Certainly, as we look to add to the team and make the team better, anytime that you can add shot-making and 3-point shooting the better you are. It’s our belief that, yes, we need to look at ways to improve our ability to make perimeter shots and 3-point shots. But we believe that the answer is in creating a roster that has balance and one that can do a little bit of everything and can defend big lineups and small lineups. We’ll always pursue that balance, but the evolution of the 3-point shot is a game-changer that we need to keep pace with.’’

QUESTION: The Magic have had some incredible highs and some frustrating lows thus far, but after 46 games do you still think this team has a run in it? Can you play consistently enough over the final 36 games to get back into the playoff hunt?

HENNIGAN: “We believe so, we really do. We’re confident that the potential and the capabilities that we’ve shown are real. We just have to tap back into that consistently. We need to string some wins together to build some confidence. I know our guys are confident and hungry and our coaches are committed to making a nice push the rest of the way. We’ve got an uphill climb and we all know that and we’re not naïve to that. But we think it’s possible and we’re committed to getting there.’’

QUESTION: You personally, you are 4 ½ years into this mission of rebuilding the Magic into a sustainable winner. How much does it drive you, consume you and make you want it even more after what the franchise has endured?

HENNIGAN: “It keeps me up every night, I’d say. It’s been a challenging process for us, and we’ve certainly had some bumps in the road. We’re not where we need to be, but we really do believe that we’re not that far away. We do need to make a few tweaks to continue to improve the team. But we’ve seen our potential and we see the potential that we have moving forward and we’re excited about that. But I certainly need to do a better job of accelerating our growth as a team.’’

qa-with-magic-gm-rob-hennigan

Q&A with Magic GM Rob Hennigan

Dan Savage

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic made an extremely aggressive move on draft night, dealing Victor Oladipo, Ersan Ilyasova and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis in order to acquire Serge Ibaka from the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan hopped on ESPN Afternoons with Scott Anez on Friday to talk about the trade, Ibaka’s potential impact, fan reaction, free agency and more.

Scott: You had me all over the map yesterday. He’s going to take (Denzel) Valentine. He’s going to take (Skal) Labissiere. He’s going to move up to take Buddy Hield. He’s going to take Kris Dunn. You flummoxed me, so I commend you for that boss man. Way to go pal.

Rob: Well, thank you Scott. I love the energy and the vigor this afternoon.

Scott: I got to tell you. Now for the folks who are just tuning in, what happened last night was this, you trade the (Domantas) Sabonis pick at 11, along with Victor Oladipo, who I know you hate giving up and I do too, Ersan Ilyasova for Serge Ibaka of OKC. From 30,000 feet, if you will, generalize for me, why make this deal, Rob?

Rob: Well, for a few reasons, Scott. First and foremost, I think it’s been no secret that we’ve been trying to fortify our interior and really trying to find some athleticism, some toughness, some physicality in the middle. Someone who can protect the paint and be a real presence to help protect the rim for us. We just felt like Serge with his age and his skillset and his experience, he’s a rare player, who can really defend and block shots, but can also stretch the floor. We felt like his fit and what he brings to our team really helps balance the roster. While it was extremely difficult to trade Victor, who means so much to us and the community and really one of the first building blocks of this rebuild, often times to get something really good, you have to give up something really good. If there was any one area of the roster where we felt there was a little bit of a logjam, it’s at the wing and that two guard spot. Because we have Evan (Fournier) and because we have Mario (Hezonja), we just felt like this was a really good opportunity to address a glaring need for us.

Scott: Let’s kind of take it in pieces now that we’ve looked 30,000 feet. First off, Victor. I know, like you said, you have to give up something to get something in this league. With that said, he’s been here three years, he was kind of known as a cornerstone of the rebuild. How difficult was it to give up a Victor Oladipo in this deal, Rob?

Rob: Well, it was extremely difficult, Scott, because Victor stands for everything we want to be about as an organization. His character, his work ethic, he gets it. He’ll be missed. He’ll be missed on the floor; he’ll be missed in the community. It was not easy at all. Like I said, it really came down to how are we going to be able to address the needs we need to address? As we canvassed free agency, we didn’t feel like there was someone like Serge, who could address a lot of the needs we felt like we needed to address immediately to get in the playoffs next year.

Scott: I know you’ve already talked about what Serge Ibaka brings to the table. Not only is it what you have on the floor, is it off the floor in the locker room as well? With him being sort of a dynamic type of guy and a guy who can come in and take a leadership role right away, Rob?

Rob: Absolutely. Yeah, we look at this multipronged. It’s one of those situations where I think Serge’s play on the floor speaks for itself. At the same time, he is a solid, strong voice in the locker room and a presence, someone who’s going to lead by example and I think really help rally our young crew and help sort of set the tone for what we want to be about and really continuing to up the ante on the defensive end of the floor.

Scott: I was on social media all night – and that’s a very scary thing for me, but I did it all night last night, actually had a good time with it, but some Magic fans last night, Rob, thinking that this was too much. Like these three players, Ilyasova and the No. 11 pick and Victor Oladipo, too much to give away for a Serge Ibaka. Your response to that, Rob?

Rob: Well, I think that it’s great that our fans are so passionate and opinionated. I think that’s what makes sports fun and rooting for a team fun. It’s funny, when we have certain players, oftentimes it’s ‘well they’re not good enough’ and then as soon as you trade them all of sudden it’s ‘why did you trade them.’

Scott: (Laughter) That is the truth. That is the truth. That’s exactly right. Yes.

Rob: We get it. We understand it. We’re always going to do what we feel is best for the team. And again, we really feel like not only does Serge address a need for us, but it helps balance our roster out. And we’re really, really high on Evan Fournier and Mario Hezonja given what they can do and how they can fill that void that Victor has left now. We feel good about the trade and I think our fans will too in time.

Scott: Sometimes you can’t win as an NBA GM. What about another thing I hear, about the concerns about Serge Ibaka’s numbers both offensively and defensively slipping over the last year? Are you concerned about that, Rob?

Rob: No, we’re not. Oftentimes, those type of things are relative and we have a lot of confidence and are very sure of the fact that Serge is entering the prime of his career. He has a host of playoff experience – I think he’s played in close to 90 playoff games – and he’s about to turn 27. We think his best basketball years are ahead of him. We’re hoping and expecting that they’re going to be here in Orlando.

Scott: With you having been in the Thunder front office when Ibaka was drafted back in the day, Rob, did that give you a sense of familiarity, perhaps making it easier to pull the trigger on a deal like this?

Rob: Well, it certainly helps when you have a relationship to the player and you have a relationship with the organization you’re making a trade with. So absolutely, it just gives you another layer of – not certainty, because nothing is certain – but you have a real familiarity and understanding of who Serge is, what he’s about, his work ethic and his behavior off the floor and on the floor. So you really have a full picture to rely on rather than trying to do guesswork or get secondhand information. Yeah, it certainly helped.

Scott: Rob, what about Serge Ibaka’s contract? He’s slated to become a free agent after next season. That’s another concern that people have about this deal, that you get a guy who may not be here in a couple of seasons. Do you have any reservations about that oncoming free agency with Ibaka?

Rob: No, no, not really. We think that will take care of itself. What’s important is for Serge to come in here and get settled and situated and help lead us to the playoffs. Yeah, Serge is going to be a free agent next year, so was Victor. It’s one of those deals where we’re comfortable with it and we’re excited about it.

Scott: What does this deal, Rob, do to the lineup now? Because Victor’s now in OKC. Does that make it imperative now that you’re up against it going out and making Evan Fournier a Magic man this offseason. I know he’s a restricted free agent. What does this do for the rest of the lineup now?

Rob: We feel like it adds even more versatility. Serge can play both big positions. We have Aaron Gordon, who can play both the three and the four. So, he may see a little more time at three, but certainly still play some four. You’ve got Evan and Mario, who can play two and three. And of course, we’re going to continue to add in free agency this summer. If anything, we feel like it adds to our versatility and certainly Evan is a huge priority for us this summer. We’ve said that since the season has ended. And yeah, he’ll be back here with us for sure.

Scott: Great segue. Free agency, it starts next week. Will you be active still, even though this deal is done now? Will you be active in free agency, Rob?

Rob: Absolutely, we will, Scott. Absolutely, we will. This is a good start. I think last night was a good start for our offseason. We still have some things we’re going to look to address. And we feel confident we’ll be able to do so. Yeah, absolutely, we’re going to be aggressive.

hennigan-chats-about-trade-free-agency-and-more

Hennigan Chats About Trade, Free Agency and More

Good afternoon everybody… It is good to see everyone. I  wanted to start with a few brief statements to say how excited we are for our organization and team today to be able to welcome Frank as our new head coach. When we started this process in matter of days ago, it was important for us to find the right coach for the roster, and certainly for the organization. We feel very, very fortunate and lucky that a man of Frank’s character and coaching caliber happened to be available as we were looking for a new head coach. We are excited about Frank, we feel that he fits our team to a ‘T.’ We feel the things that he is about as a human being fit our organization. And we really feel good about everything Frank will be able to bring to this community and organization. Frank’s track record speaks for itself, as far as we are concerned. He is someone who has built a team of defense, first and foremost. He has shown over the years that he is someone that is able to mold and cultivate players, two very important things to us as we started this search. We could not be more excited as I said. And with that I would like to welcome the new head coach of the Orlando Magic – Frank Vogel.

Thanks, Rob. Thank you to the DeVos family, Alex Martins and Rob Hennigan for this great opportunity to be the head coach of the Orlando Magic. This team and organization has a great reputation. I have been an admirer and have great respect for what they have accomplished in the past and what they represent as a franchise. As the process played out, it became very clear to me early that this is the perfect place for me to continue my basketball journey. As I look at the overall situation, it also became clear that it is the right landing spot for my family. We are very excited to be here. The city of Orlando has so much to offer. My family and I are very much looking forward to calling ourselves Floridians. I want to commend Rob for putting together a heck of a roster. You have a lot of talent at a high character. That was one of the biggest attractions to this job for me, and wanting to take this job with the young core that he has put together. I think it is a core that will also be attractive to prospective free agents thinking about coming to play for our team. The future is bright for this group. In my mind this team is ready, ready to take the next step. We’ve got a great young core. We have the cap flexibly to add a key veteran or two … or three. And I think our fans should be really excited and have real reason to believe that we are at the beginning of what should be a great era in Magic basketball. We are going to play a similar type of play that we did at Indiana. We will have a defensive identity, which worked for us, but we will also play a style offensively where we adapt to the way today’s NBA game is played on the offensive end. We are going to play with pace. We are going to take advantage of the athleticism that we have on this roster, run the floor. We are also going to space the way that a lot of these teams are playing in today’s NBA. We are going to win. And we are going to have fun winning. I am excited about this group.

Can you get into specifics of players, who you like moving forward?

Frank: I like all of them. They’re my guys now. I like Evan Fournier, in the back of the room there. Victor [Oladipo], who was in the building, working out when I got here today.  I joked with Victor that we never really spent a whole lot of time together, maybe it is the Indiana connection or whatever, but we would always kind of make eye contact during games.  I feel like I have known him for 20 years.  We have good chemistry. I believe in Elfrid [Payton]. I believe in playing with defensive length, which he brings to the table. So establishing our defensive identity, he will be a part of.  Mario is a guy I was a big fan of at the draft last year. He wasn’t available when we chose, but he is a guy that I am excited about what he can become. I love his confidence. I love his athleticism, his ability to shoot the ball. He fits the way we want to play. Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] is a monster inside.  He kills us every time that he played. You can go on and on, down the roster, there is a lot to be excited about with this group. I am excited to get started.

How might your presence here help in the acquisition of free agents? Have you talked to Rob about this? With the limited information you have about Orlando, what do you think will be the lure to get guys to player here?

Frank: The biggest thing that free agents want to hear is ‘are they going to win?’ I believe they are going to win here. We’ve had some success at Indiana, making over a team at a similar point in their development that this team is at right now. We just need one or two veterans to come in, to help us get over the hump. But the number one thing that a free agent wants to hear is ‘are they going to win?’ and the pieces are in place here. We have had regular season success at Indiana, and we have had postseason success in Indiana, with the young core that we have here, I believe that we can take the big step with the right free agents.

How do you your principles in terms versatility and flexibility adjust to the style of play depending on the roster?

Frank: Every style is dictated by the personnel you have on your roster. We had some teams that were built around size and strength, so you have to play to that strength, play to that style of play. We did pick it up, from a play standpoint, dramatically this past season because we changed our personnel a little bit.  There was more a desire to do so. I have a great desire to play up and down, great desire. I feel like we have the athleticism and youth to achieve that, right away. As these guys grow they will get better year after year, but it is predicated on your personnel.

Everybody knows that this is a star-driven league; do you think that there are guys on this roster that can develop into superstars? And do you see a potential Paul George on this roster?

Frank: I do think there are guys that have the ability to take that next step, there are a few different ones. It is not like we’re coming into this situation and you got that one guy, and then we have to say that is the guy that is going to carry us.  Any of these guys that I mentioned earlier have the ability to explode, take the big jump. It will be my job to make sure that I am inspiring them, giving them discipline on the basketball court and showing them the way.

You built your reputation on defense; do you see the pieces in place to build a similar defense here?

Frank: Well, you can always add pieces. But I do feel like we have good athleticism, mobility and strength with this roster. I think length is a big factor in being a great defensive team, and we do have that. We have size at the rim. Obliviously, we are going to look at some other pieces, but I do feel like we have the pieces in place right now to be at least a very good defense.

There were quite a few vacancies right now around the league, you touched on this being the right landing spot for you and your family right now, but can you give us some detail as to why this was really a selling point, why you wanted to be here?

Frank: How long do you have? Everything about this job was appealing to me, starting with the ownership. I’ve got a lot of coaching friends in the business, in basketball and in other sports, that really when you talk about choosing jobs, you want to make sure that you have a strong ownership group and the reputation of the DeVos family is as good as it goods. So it starts there. I think after that you have to look at the interpersonal communications and relationships you’re going to have with your front office, the people you’re going to work with. And Rob and I, from the minute we picked up the phone with each other, I felt like we had a great connection. We have similar backgrounds; we both played Division III, we both lived in Boston around the same time. And we have similar leadership styles. We rely on the group to give great input. We know we don’t know it all. We make group decisions, and we study and we work. And we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We have sort of a ‘have fun but work our butts off’ type of mindset. From the ownership down to the front office, things looked good. The roster, as we talked about before was very, very attractive to me. Very attractive to me. I really see a lot of similarities to this team that I saw in the team we took over in Indiana with Lance Stephenson, Paul George, and Roy Hibbert. You know, still trying to find our way to get over that hump and became a monster in the East and I see that similarity there. I wanted to make sure my family was comfortable. My wife and I grew up in the Northeast but my daughters are sort of small-town girls, from the Midwest. And the similar market size here in Orlando, than what we had in Indiana, was very attractive to us as well. The weather, state taxes, Disney World. Those were probably at the bottom of the list but all still factors. You basically can check off every box, with the pros and cons you’re weighing, with this job versus other teams and I just think this is a great, great fit for me.

When you took over in Indiana your success came quite quickly, how quickly do you expect success to happen right here in Orlando?

Frank: If we don’t get a ring then it’s a failure. That’s the only way to look at this. Again, we don’t take ourselves too seriously here. We’re gonna win. It’s that simple. We’re going to go out, we’re going to work our tails off, we’re going to instill discipline, we’re going to inspire our guys. We’re going to develop our young players, we’re going to develop our veteran players into being better veterans and we’re going to win games. You know, obviously this group hasn’t been to the playoffs so, if you want to look for a bar of where we’re going to set the standard on our goals, we’re going to get into the playoffs this year. We’re going to start there, but more importantly to me, we’ve got to build something that we know can win in the playoffs. It’s not just about getting there, it’s about building the level of offensive sharing and passing, building the defensive toughness where you’re going to defend and rebound and it’s going to be hard to score against our team. So, that when you get into the playoffs you have a reasonable expectation that you’re going to succeed in the playoffs.

This is actually for Rob. Your relationship with Coach Vogel and having to approach player personnel, the roster, will that be different than the relationship you had with Coach Skiles and Coach Vaughn before that?

Rob: No, it’ll be the same, Joe. It will always be mutuality. Making sure we get in there and we collaborate and we talk about things as a group. We really do believe in the wisdom of multiple viewpoints and opinions. So, that’s one of the things that Frank and I talked about at length, was just how to arrive at decisions and just making sure that we’re focusing all our energy on trying to make the best decision together. So, yeah, it’ll stay the same as it’s always been.

It seems like in the past you’ve really enjoyed grooming young players and helping them grow into superstars. Is that true and do you look forward to that here?

Frank: Well, any teacher or coach derives his greatest pleasure in their profession or their process when they see their pupil succeed, so I would say I definitely enjoy that part of the game. And I do enjoy the preparation and strategy, the adjustments, the chess match and all that stuff. But, you know, watching your guys have success, when they work really hard for it, connecting with guys, inspiring guys, that’s the most rewarding part of any teacher or coach’s journey.

As quickly as this process went, with the conversation on Sunday, the conversation between the two of you on Monday, was there enough time to ensure that the two of you were philosophically aligned and temperamentally aligned?

Frank: I believe so. You know, it was one of those things that just my confidence level picked up speed as the process went along, comfortable in the first 15 minutes. Then once we’re an hour into it, really excited. Then once we got two hours into it, feeling like this is the spot for me. It was that quick and accelerated. So, we did talk about everything you can talk about in terms of what our relationship is going to look like, the direction of team, the style of play, how we execute practices, all those types of things.

Rob: I agree with everything Frank just said.

Rob Hennigan

Frank Vogel Confident Team Will Get Back on Track Next Season

Magic Begin Search for New General Manager

Magic GM Change Not Expected to Result in Total Rebuild

Magic Dismiss Rob Hennigan as General Manager

Magic Dismiss Rob Hennigan as General Manager

Q&A with Magic GM Rob Hennigan

Hennigan Chats About Trade, Free Agency and More

Frank Vogel's Introductory Press Conference Transcript