The Orlando Magic have just started their most important offseason since the tumultuous summer of 2012. That year, the team fired Stan Van Gundy and Otis Smith, hired Rob Hennigan as general manager, hired Jacque Vaughn as coach, faced Dwight Howard’s trade demand, traded Howard and reshaped its basketball operations department.
The Magic won’t have the same number of decisions to make this summer, but the choices will be crucial.
Here’s a preview.
Finding a coach
Hiring a new head coach outweighs every other decision.
“It’s essential for us,” Hennigan said. “We’re at a critical point now. Again, we believe in the talent on this team. We know we’re a young team. We know we have a long way to go. But, again, finding that right coach, that right person to push us in the right direction, to prod us in the right direction — it’s imperative.”
The Magic’s decision-makers are strongly inclined to hire someone with extensive NBA head-coaching experience. No one connected to the team dares mention the names of any potential candidates.
One likely candidate is Scott Skiles, a former Magic point guard who has 13 years of NBA head-coaching experience and a reputation for maximizing his teams’ talent. Another likely candidate is current Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau if Thibodeau and the Bulls part ways after this postseason.
The Denver Nuggets are the only other team right now with a coaching vacancy, so the Magic aren’t in much of an immediate rush. But the Magic might have to accelerate their search process if other jobs open.
For certain, the team must — must — make its coaching hire before the free-agency period begins on July 1. High-profile free agents are unlikely to sign with any team that doesn’t have a coach in place.
Extending Hennigan’s contract
The Magic are working to extend Hennigan’s contract beyond the 2015-16 season. Hennigan will not comment on those talks, but he said on Thursday that he wants to remain with the team for the long term.
All indications are that the contract extension will be in place relatively soon.
The draft combine
The NBA will hold its annual draft combine May 12-17 in Chicago. From Magic officials’ perspective, the most important aspects of the combine are the prospects’ medical exams and the individual interviews with prospects.
Ideally, the Magic will have their head coach in place so he can participate in the team’s interviews — just like Vaughn was — but the Magic won’t rush their coaching hire just to ensure they have a coach in place for the combine.
The team will conduct extensive interviews with draft prospects when those prospects visit Orlando in late May and June for individual workouts and group workouts.
The lottery
The Magic will make their third consecutive trip to the NBA Draft Lottery.
This year’s lottery will take place on May 19, and the Magic will have an 8.8 percent chance of winning the top pick, a 9.7 percent chance of winning the second pick and a 10.7 percent chance of winning the third pick. But the team is most likely to end up with the sixth overall pick.
The draft
The 2015 NBA Draft will be held on June 25.
It’s obvious that the Magic, like any rebuilding team, must make wise draft choices. The team’s last three first-round draft acquisitions — Victor Oladipo in 2013 and Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton in 2014 — appear to have been smart moves. But all of those decisions were the product of exhaustive scouting, interviewing and research, and the team’s heavy focus in those areas remains unchanged.
Free agency
The biggest misconception about the Magic’s rebuilding plan revolves around team officials’ attitudes toward free agency.
Fans seem to be under the misperception that team decision-makers want to avoid the free-agency route.
The reality is far different.
The team avoided making major moves in free agency in 2012, 2013 and 2014 primarily because team officials wanted to obtain the best possible draft picks during the first few years of the rebuilding process. The goal was to restock the roster with the best possible young talent — young talents who will be under team contractual control for the foreseeable future.
In 2012 and 2013, the Magic’s cap situation was less than ideal to add a big-time free agent. And, more importantly, adding a big-time free agent probably would’ve resulted in a finish just outside of the playoffs and, in the process, would’ve hampered the team’s opportunities to draft top talent.
Now, however, the focus on free agency will — and must — start to change. The team should add a veteran or veterans who are in the prime of their careers. Ideally, the team should seek veterans who can contribute on both sides of the ball.
The team has a clear need for a power forward, for a rim protector, for a knockdown outside shooter and depth on its bench.
The Magic appear to be on course to have at least $14.4 million of cap space if the team waives Ben Gordon and Luke Ridnour and winds up with the draft’s sixth pick.
The team would be well-served to explore the possibility of generating additional cap space and make a simultaneous run at a pair of All-Stars who will be unrestricted free agents: Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol and Portland Trail Blazers power forward LaMarcus Aldridge.
Teams may begin signing players on July 9.
The current players
The Magic’s toughest decision about their current roster revolves around forward Tobias Harris, who is on track to become a restricted free agent. In that scenario, the Magic would have the right to match any offer sheet Harris may sign with another team.
Big man Kyle O’Quinn also is on track to become a restricted free agent.
Ben Gordon’s salary of $4.5 million and Ridnour’s salary of $2.75 million are not guaranteed if the team releases them before mid-summer. Because of their salaries, it seems unlikely the team will retain them (and Ridnour isn’t sure he’ll keep playing, anyway).
Willie Green is the only player on the Magic roster who will be an unrestricted free agent.
Summer league
The Magic will host the Orlando Pro Summer League in early July, and Payton, Aaron Gordon, Devyn Marble and the first-round draft pick will play for the Magic. Dewayne Dedmon also could play for the Magic.
Extension considerations
Three Magic players will be eligible for extensions that would begin with the 2016-17 season: swingman Evan Fournier, power forward Andrew Nicholson and swingman Maurice Harkless.
Fournier is the only one of those players the team would consider extending.
When asked about that possibility, Fournier said he’d love to remain with the Magic, but he said he doesn’t think an extension is likely because — in his words — only stars get extensions.
Summertime improvement
This will be crucial summer of development for the Magic’s young nucleus of Oladipo, Payton, Aaron Gordon, Nik Vucevic, Fournier and Harris.
Each of them must improve in several key areas. Payton, for instance, has to become a better outside shooter, and he’s likely to work with Dave Love, the shooting consultant who helped Gordon made substantial improvements.
jrobbins@orlandosentinel.com. Read his blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/magicblog and follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
