There’s a lot of turmoil going on in Orlando. Their franchise player clearly wants out but the Magic can’t seem to get a deal done. On top of all that, they’re still looking for a new head coach. They seemingly had it narrowed down to two candidates, Golden State Warriors assistant coach Michael Malone and Indiana Pacers assistant coach Brian Shaw, but now it appears both of them are out of the running.
Far away from all that drama, Spurs assistant coach Jacque Vaughn is currently leading the Spurs team in the Las Vegas summer league, but the Magic may have their eyes set on him.
“The new front-runner for the Magic job now might be San Antonio Spurs assistant coach Jacque Vaughn, a former Magic player who played for the Spurs when [Orlando GM Rob] Hennigan worked in the Spurs’ front office.
“Hennigan also interviewed three others over the last week: Philadelphia 76ers associate head coach Michael Curry, Utah Jazz assistant coach Jeff Hornacek and Phoenix Suns player development coach Lindsey Hunter. “
Hennigan will have to narrow down the search to a few candidates to interview, but if Vaughn is the leader of the pack, I would expect he’ll make the cut. They’ll probably wait until the Spurs summer league stint is over to pull Vaughn from his coaching duties to interview for a new job, so hopefully he can keep his mind on the task at hand and not focus on his future career aspirations.
Vaughn was a player for the Spurs when Hennigan worked as a member of the front office, so the two have a history together. Their paths may cross again if Vaughn is a good fit in Orlando.
