BREAKING NEWS- Magic & Clifford agree to part ways

[uraverage]

Not really sure if it matters on who the next coach is. The real question is what does it take to get rid of Alex? Time for change at the upper levels.

[Orange Ave.]

Lots of reasons to make this change, but I can't help but get Hannigan is to Elfrid as WeHam is to Bamba vibes. GM believes in their pick more than the coach and that causes... a disconnect, leading to coaching change.

Stan forced Redick to be a solid pro by dogging him, hopefully some of Clifford's tough love resonated with Bamba. I'm more excited to see what a new coach can do with Mo than any other player we have.

[CZ Eddie]

I'm bummed. With two better/more ready teams in Portland and Boston seeking coaches, we will obviously not be getting the pick of the "coaching litter". Not that I thought we would.
And I'm also bummed because assuming we get a top four pick in the draft and a couple killer players returning from injuries I had hoped that we might be able to make a run for the play-in spot next year.
With this news, I suspect we may be in for yet another multi-year rebuild.
So long, Coach C. I hope you fare well in Boston or wherever else you head off to.

[CZ Eddie]

If we hire a coach before June 22 (lottery drawing) then we're going for the multi-year rebuild with a Captain Tank coach.
If we wait till after the lottery to see if we pull a high pick, then a more interesting coach might pay attention to us.

[Kent]

We need someone who's more than a "transitional coach" like we had with Jacque Vaughn.

I don't have a shortlist, but I would prefer someone who loves to teach and develop guys (and is good at it), brings accountability, and gets guys to buy in to a team game.

I think we can all agree that who I've described is not Jacque Vaughn (with respect), and that management should learn from those mistakes.

This organization loves to hire someone from its past and I'm good with that if it makes sense. I'm looking at Clifford mainly. But Brian Hill's second stint proved he could definitely coach, even 10 years after his greatest success. And Skiles had us with a winning record before the wheels came off and it was apparent he didn't agree with Henny's vision.

This coaching hire is up there in importance with who we draft this summer. Let's hope WeHamm can identify the right candidate and bring him/her in.

[MagicStarwipe]

I like Penny too much to want to see him slagged off every game as our coach lol.

[tiderulz]

I'm bummed. With two better/more ready teams in Portland and Boston seeking coaches, we will obviously not be getting the pick of the "coaching litter". Not that I thought we would.
And I'm also bummed because assuming we get a top four pick in the draft and a couple killer players returning from injuries I had hoped that we might be able to make a run for the play-in spot next year.
With this news, I suspect we may be in for yet another multi-year rebuild.
So long, Coach C. I hope you fare well in Boston or wherever else you head off to.

could go the other way too. Those 2 teams expect to win and are very likely to hire for name. we can get a lesser known good asst coach with them knowing they dont have to compete for title right away. whoever is hired for Portland and Boston, they will be expected to compete for a title right away, even with their roster issues

[tiderulz]

I like Penny too much to want to see him slagged off every game as our coach lol.

no way Penny is coming, everyone needs to forget that idea right now

[CZ Eddie]

Atkinson might actually be a good hire.

I feel like he did overachieve in New Jersey that last year.
Even though he barely busted .500.
But the players weren't any better than what the Magic have.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Atkinson

[MoMM]

Blue and White, gotta agree. Steve Clifford isn’t 70 anyway. Only 59. He’s fully aware of today’s NBA style trends. He didn’t have Golden State Warrior personnel so he made the Magic successful with what he did have. The talent here could only go so far. It’s arguable he made Vucevic a star anyway. I don’t buy into the “relate to younger players” thing either. It’s a employee/supervisor situation ultimately.

Well…what’s done is done….wish him well


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And people asking for a HC in theirs 20's? Come on... Why not bring a HS to be the HC anyway? He would relate well with all of the rookies we have or gonna have.

[MoMM]

Stan forced Redick to be a solid pro by dogging him, hopefully some of Clifford's tough love resonated with Bamba. I'm more excited to see what a new coach can do with Mo than any other player we have.

The problem is that JJ had real skills when came to the league, so it was just a matter of teaching him how to play an average D, it's very different than Mo who doesn't show any effort and doesn't have any skill except physical ones.

[Howard Mass]

We all knew there was a possibility that Steve Clifford did not want to go through a rebuild at this stage of his coaching career.

This was indeed the case.

I wish Coach Clifford would have stayed to continue to provide the stability he brought but that was not the case. Nothing but the best to him though and I hope he gets a job with a contender.

Steve Clifford's honesty and ability to hold everyone accountable will be missed.

As for the next Orlando Magic Head Coach, obviously player development is going to be a main factor and the accountability factor.

When The Magic last had a Coaching Vacancy three years ago, it was mentioned that if Terry Stotts was let go by Portland that The Magic would be interested. He would provide some stability although it doesn't seem like a fit at this time.

Last time out, Jerry Stackhouse was mentioned. He had won a G League Championship with Raptors 905. While he holds his teams at Vanderbilt Accountable, he has not had much success outside of recruiting.

I think it is too soon for The Penny Hardaway possibility.

Jason Kidd probably will get another job and I really am not high on him as an option here.

Kenny Atkinson would be a good get. His teams always played hard during the early years of The Brooklyn rebuild where they had no chance of getting high picks due to the Garnett/Pierce deal with Boston.

Magic Assistant Tyrone Corbin could get a look here too.

First-time NBA Head Coach options like Clippers Assistant Chauncey Billups, NBA Assistant David Vanterpool (Interviewed in 2016 and 2018), Michigan Head Coach Juwan Howard, Clippers Assistant Dan Craig or maybe even one of The Magic's assistants Pat Delany could be options.

Regardless of who is picked, the next Head Coach of The Orlando Magic needs to be good at Player Development and creating a culture of holding plyers accountable no matter how low the expectations are.

[purpleswordfish]

I don't blame Clifford for wanting out of Orlando. The front office turned an average roster into a G League roster at the trade deadline. Even then, Clifford managed to coach that team to more wins than most expected.

The front office wants a future fall guy to tank for a few years. After that, they'll blame the coach for all the losing. Just like Hennigan did with Jacque Vaughn. It's just an endless cycle of rebuilding in Orlando, it seems.

[Skin]

i think you guys hire stotts

i think you guys hire clifford

[Skin]

Coach K says he's gonna retire.... Magic fire Clifford... Just sayin'....

[Knightro]

I can't really wrap my brain around why the Magic would want Stotts or why Stotts would want the Magic.

He's going to be 64 years old when next season starts. He's been to the playoffs 8 consecutive seasons. Why on earth would that guy want to coach a team that is clearly rebuilding and going to be very bad the next couple of years when there are other teams who have openings who are much more equipped to contend for the playoffs?

I hope it's a pass from both directions.

[RookieStar]

Coach K says he's gonna retire.... Magic fire Clifford... Just sayin'....

So we holding down the fort for.him when he retires next year?

I hear ol coach Roy from UNC is just chillin at home right now.

[Tarheel]

I’m hoping for Atkinson or Vanterpool.

[drsd]

To be honest, it was not fair to fire Steve.

From what I read, he asked for and was granted a buy-out. In the NBA, coaches cannot coach in the final year of a contract. From management's perspective, the question was "should he be resigned"? If the answer is no, then he needs to be let go.

So: Coach Clifford will get paid 3.75 million this year to not-coach basketball. It's good work if you can get it!

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[drsd]

The real question is what does it take to get rid of Alex?

Only new ownership get to this.Martins' main job is to ensure profitability of the Magic. He actually is really good at his job, considering Orlando simply as a business.

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