In an endorsement of the team’s current rebuilding plan and in an effort to promote continuity, the Orlando Magic today finalized a contract extension for general manager Rob Hennigan that runs through the 2017-18 season and includes a team option for the 2018-19 season.
“We believe in the process that Rob and his staff have undertaken over the last several years and we do believe that he’s establishing a program which will be sustainable and allow us to compete at the highest level of the NBA for many years to come,” Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Orlando Sentinel. “And we believe that Rob needs the additional time to continue to follow through on that plan. We’re very pleased with the work that he’s done, and we believe that the fruits of his labor will come to fruition in the very near future.
“Philosophically, I’ve always been opposed to having your key decision-makers, your key leaders go into the final year of an agreement with the uncertainty of what would come beyond that.”
The Magic have compiled a 68-178 record during Hennigan’s three seasons as general manager, including a disappointing 25-57 record during the recently concluded 2014-15 season.
Hennigan today declined to comment about the extension.
His three-year tenure has been marked by several crucial decisions, but none of those decisions has been more important than his resolution of a trade demand by franchise cornerstone and perennial All-Star center Dwight Howard.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers offered to send All-Star center Andrew Bynum to the Magic, Hennigan instead agreed to a four-team deal that netted the Magic second-year center Nik Vucevic, veteran shooting guard Arron Afflalo, rookie small forward Maurice Harkless, draft picks (with many of those picks burdened by significant protections) and other veteran players.
Vucevic has developed into one of the league’s top scoring and rebounding centers, while Afflalo played well and later was traded for promising young swingman Evan Fournier. In addition, some of the picks the Magic received in the Howard trade were repackaged during the 2014 NBA Draft and allowed the Magic to acquire point guard Elfrid Payton out of Louisiana-Lafayette.
The Magic also avoided a disaster by not acquiring Bynum, who was coming off an All-Star season but whose chronic knee problems and questionable attitude concerned Hennigan. Those knee problems forced Bynum to miss the entire 2012-13 season, and Bynum now is out of the league.
Hennigan’s recent draft acquisitions — shooting guard Victor Oladipo in 2013 and forward Aaron Gordon and Payton last year — also have received positive reviews.
“I think he’s done a very good job of evaluating and securing talent,” Martins said. “We’re very pleased with the foundation of players that he’s gathered for our team both through the draft and through free-agent and trade acquisitions.”
That said, one of Hennigan’s key moves was the decision to hire Jacque Vaughn as the Magic’s coach in 2012. During that hiring process, Jeff Hornacek and Michael Malone didn’t advance beyond the first round of interviews, and the Magic did not interview Steve Clifford, a highly respected assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy during Van Gundy’s Magic tenure.
Vaughn’s tenure didn’t work out well.
The Magic fired Vaughn several months ago as the team held a 15-37 record and was mired in a 10-game losing streak. A persuasive argument can be made that Vaughn didn’t have the veteran players necessary to field a consistent winner, but team officials — including Hennigan — felt the players weren’t playing to their potential.
Vaughn was replaced on an interim basis by lead assistant coach James Borrego, and Borrego compiled a 10-20 record.
The Magic hired Hennigan in June 2012, signing him to a three-year deal that also included a team option for the 2015-16 season. Last May, the team exercised its option for 2015-16.
Last month, the Sentinel reported that the team would seek to extend Hennigan’s deal.
On April 16, Hennigan was asked about a potential extension, and he said, “What I can tell you is I love working here. It’s a pleasure to work here. It’s an honor to work for the DeVos family and under Alex’s leadership, and I’m happy to be here as long as they want to keep me here.”
Now, Hennigan must confront another key decision.
The Magic have yet to fill their vacant permanent head-coaching job. That process is still in its early stages.
Josh Robbins covers the Orlando Magic and the NBA for the Orlando Sentinel. You can reach him via e-mail at jbrobbins@tribune.com and connect with him on Facebook at facebook.com/JoshuaBRobbins. Follow him on Twitter at @JoshuaBRobbins.
