Marc Stein - Doc Rivers or Pat Garrity to Replace Hennigan?

[Rick Rolled]

The Magic, meanwhile, appear headed for their own sooner-rather-than-later shakeup. League sources say without hesitation that Orlando general manager Rob Hennigan finds himself on the hot seat and is increasingly likely to be dismissed at season's end, with the Magic on course for a fifth successive losing season under Hennigan's watch.

There has been persistent chatter for weeks over the NBA's front-office grapevine that the Orlando Magic and Rivers will explore a reunion down the road.

The simpler move for Orlando, of course, would be to hire an on-the-rise executive to take over basketball operations and work with first-year coach Frank Vogel. Ex-Magic forward Pat Garrity, presently in Detroit as part of Stan Van Gundy's cabinet, has emerged as a potential target to come aboard in precisely those circustances and inherit Vogel, who appeared to be absolved from blame for Orlando's 25-45 misery this season when Hennigan conceded that the roster was overloaded with big men and traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto just eight months after surrendering Victor Oladipo, No. 11 overall Domantas Sabonis and a first-round pick to bring Ibaka in.

http://www.espn.com/blog/marc-stein/post/_/id/5059/down-the-road-reunion-for-magic-and-doc-rivers-is-subject-of-latest-coaching-chatter

This definitely sounds like something that we'd do.

[thelead]

I'll take both. Doc as president/figurehead and Garrity as GM.

[Jameerthefear]

Please no to Doc. He's been terrible for the Clippers

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[PrimeThyme]

Doc is a fraud. He's shown nothing as a GM in LA. I want nothing to do with him. I'd rather look at someone else that has shown to be more competent as a GM.

[Viper1500]

I think Doc has done fine for LAC. I'd gladly take him


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[Nyce_1]

Just make sure Martins is no where near making basketball decisions and meddling in bball ops.

[MJallday59]

I wouldn't be mad at either option. Anything is an upgrade at this point..

Question: What has Doc accomplished as president of Basketball Ops? He inherited a talented team ..didn't make a move to fix that SF hole they've been looking at for years.

[Def Swami]

Usually don't like to toot my own horn, but....

Spoiler:

Myself and others have advocated that this team needs a President of Basketball Operations. I don't believe we have had someone fulfill that role since Bob Vander Weide left. It would be nice to have another experienced basketball mind who has relationships in the league with other GM's, agents, and players in the mold of Pat Riley, Larry Bird, or Doc Rivers. I think Hennigan did an excellent job acquiring assets, but always failed to make the deal to consolidate them into a cohesive team that makes sense. I don't think most of that is for lack of trying, but I think a lot of deals in the NBA happen because of networking and relationships that Hennigan never came in with. Having someone who has been well connected for some time would be helpful.

The appearance is that Alex Martins, who I think has done a lot of great things for the franchise in terms of public relations and business, is the next in line after Rob Hennigan in terms of making basketball decisions before getting to ownership. Given his inexperience with roster management or playing, that simply shouldn't be the case. I'm not sure why he's even in the Draft Day war room.

Dennis Scott makes a good point. There isn't any buzz or excitement around this team. It's one of the last teams League Pass fans want to watch. And that's mainly because there isn't an all-world talent like Shaq, Penny, T-Mac, or Dwight that defined every decade of Magic basketball up to this point. Even without that, there isn't much to be excited about outside of this year's draft pick and I think that perception of the franchise permeates throughout the NBA. A massive culture change is in order and that starts at the top of every successful organization.

Our ownership has been gracious for opening their wallets, but they've made several missteps in hiring people inexperienced for their positions, meddling to close to basketball decision-making, and player management (in the past). The DeVos family isn't going anywhere, but I think the bridge between the GM and the family needs to fortified with more competence and experience. The thing I've noticed about ownership is they like to hire people they trust. They have a history of hiring folks they are comfortable with, including John Weisbrod as GM, Otis Smith as GM, Bob Vander Weide as CEO, re-hiring Brian Hill as coach, hiring Jacque Vaughn as coach, hiring Scott Skiles as coach, Bo Outlaw and Nick Anderson as Ambassadors (no qualms), and of course Alex Martins as CEO.

Spoiler:

When the Lakers hired Magic Johnson, I thought it was a weird hire given his background. But, I gave it more thought and realized they hired Rob Pelinka to be the new GM, and realized it's actually not a bad hire at all. I think that's a good relationship to have; a GM who takes care of the nitty gritty player management, scouting, drafting, trades, free agency, and cap management. I also think it helps to have a powerhouse above him to offer advice here and there, use his or her relationships to close deals, attract free agents, and set the cultural tone for the franchise.

I don't know if Scott is a great candidate for that kind of role, but I could see where this could be heading and I wouldn't mind it if an experienced GM was in place as well. Ultimately, that buzz that Scott talks about will return once the Magic acquires top tier talent, and that will still most likely come through the draft and trades.Someone who fits the role I've described that would also be familiar with the DeVos family is Doc Rivers. The Clippers are bound for murky waters with Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, and JJ Redick all hitting free agency this summer and another likely 1st or 2nd round playoff exit. I wouldn't be surprised if Rivers was let go by the end of the season and the Clippers decided to go in a different direction. Offering Rivers a Riley like position in Orlando, where he still resides, could be somewhat enticing to him. It's just a thought.

Nevertheless, I while I think 3D may not be the man for the job, he makes some good points that I think the Magic could benefit from.

viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1536460

I think it's more likely than not that the Magic end up hiring someone that they've worked with before and I could see both Rivers and Garrity in town together. Just my 2 cents.

[MagicStarwipe]

Doc Rivers? I'd probably stop following the team

[Def Swami]

Omniscient line from the Stein article.

Talk of an eventual Rivers return to the Magic Kingdom, where he launched his coaching career, is nonetheless too prevalent among league insiders to ignore.

[Bergmaniac]

Doc is a horrible GM. This is a bad idea.

[EAS Law]

Doc Rivers was the reason Detroit was a championship contender for a decade after he made the decision to dump future multi-time DPOY Ben Wallace and possible HOFer Chauncey Billups, after he was a major decision maker in drafts that netted us the likes of Jerryl Sasser, Reece Gaines, and Steven Hunter, and the reason Tracy McGrady's best years were utterly wasted. He's a complete disaster as a decision-maker in any capacity at all.

Garrity might be fine, but I have no idea why anyone would assume he's in any way qualified to be a good GM. As much as I love SVG, Detroit is a mess with him as a GM as well, so it isn't to say Garrity would necessarily come from a prestigious organization in terms of GM training.

[djhunkyherbs]

I think Hennigan gets a lot of unwarranted hate around here, but I understand the team wanting to move on after 5 painful years.

But Doc Rivers should not be the answer. I sincerely hope this isn't true, especially if it means yet another coaching change.

[DiplomaticMagic]

Of course, only hire people who we'd previously worked with..because that works out so well for us.

I actually like Doc as a coach and would love him to replace Frank. But I never think it's a good idea to have a GM/Coach, and by all accounts he's been a terrible GM for Clippers.

Garrity? Meh, is he really qualified for the job? I really doubt hes the best candidate

[purpleswordfish]

Doc has never shown the ability to turn a bad roster into a good one. The only place he's really had the power to make personnel moves (LA), he started with a very good roster. His time coaching here was a bit better than most people remember, but nothing exceptional. As for Garrity, it's a roll of the dice. My understanding is that he's not really involved in personnel decisions in Detroit. So, hiring him as a GM would be like when the Magic hired Hennigan. Another GM that hasn't had the responsibility of shaping an NBA roster.

Why wouldn't the Magic at least consider people that have never worked for the organization before that have had success elsewhere? For example, Danny Ferry.

[Def Swami]

I honestly don't mind Doc coming back in some capacity. There's value to his experience, accomplishments, respect, and relationships around the league. The franchise needs a jolt. Hell, he can take Vogel's job for all I care. I usually hate firing coaches so early, but he might be the biggest disappointment of the year.

[drsd]

Garrity? Meh, is he really qualified for the job? I really doubt hes the best candidate

He looks to be a numbers guy:

After his playing career was over, Garrity completed his MBA at Duke and worked for a hedge fund in Connecticut. Garrity returned to basketball in 2014 when Van Gundy was hired by the Pistons. The Pistons' analytics staff reports to Garrity and he also helps manage Detroit's cap.

My view is a) GM Hennigan will be fired and then b) the Magic will retain Coach Vogel as he is a top coach in the NBA. So a new GM like Garrity makes a great deal of sense.


(I also do not like Rivers with the Magic but for a differing reason; I think the coaching and GM jobs need to be separated and two persons are needed).

..

[Jameerthefear]

Not to mention I highly​ doubt Doc has scouted the top of this draft at all

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[drsd]

Watch on YouTube

[MagicFan101]

I'll take both. Doc as president/figurehead and Garrity as GM.

I'm not a big fan of the GM + Coach role.

When has this worked out well? I'm sure there is an example or two out there but I can think of a few cases where very good coaches have been unable to navigate the GM role and that hindered their ability to be the great coaches they are.