I don’t envy Rob Hennigan.
Here’s your dream job, you are the new general manager of the Orlando Magic. Now all you have to do is trade our superstar center and try to get some reasonable level of value back, hire a new head coach, start a massive rebuilding project and chart a totally new direction for the organization.
To quote Miracle Max, “have fun storming the castle.”
And all the while, you can count on taking fire from fans and media. Because the Dwight Howard situation has dragged out past its prime worse than “Grey’s Anatomy.” And because the coaching search is still ongoing, down to three candidates.
Former Magic big man Shaquille O’Neal tweeted he is none to impressed.
It’s Shaq, so on one level you can pretty much disregard this as you might most of his opinions. But what he is saying here echoes what you hear around the league. The clear frontrunner for the Magic job is former NBA player Jacque Vaughn, who has been a Spurs assistant coach the last two years. That’s the start of a nice pedigree. But it’s far less experience than guys like Brian Shaw and Mike Malone, both of whom deserve a shot soon. Nobody is quite sure what the Magic are doing on any front.
But Hennigan is the guy who has to live with his decision, so he needs to make the one that he is most comfortable with. And he knows full well he has to live with the consequences, also.