Orlando Magic name Jacque Vaughn as their new head coach – NBA News
After weeks of deliberation, the Orlando Magic have finally named Jacque Vaughn as the new head coach of the basketball club.
Vaughn will replace Stan Van Gundy, who was fired by the Magic after their season came to an end with a first round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers.
The Magic has been searching for a coach since May 21, the day they parted ways with Van Gundy as well as then General Manager
Otis Smith. Rob Hennigan replaced Smith as the new General Manager and was quite excited about Vaughn joining the club as Head Coach.
"We are beyond excited to name Jacque Vaughn as our head coach. As we navigated through our coaching search, we quickly saw that Jacque's spirit and leadership strengths made him the clear choice,” said Hennigan is a press statement.
Vaughn was an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs last season, a position he has occupied for the last two seasons. He played the last three seasons of his NBA career with the Spurs as a back up to Tony Parker, and won the
2007 NBA championship with the team.
The former Spurs aide joins Orlando at one of the most critical moments of their franchise. He will take charge of his new assignment as news continues to come out regarding a possible Dwight Howard trade.
Rob Hennigan had a meeting earlier this week with Magic All Star Centre Dwight Howard and yet again tried to convince him to stay with the Magic and sign a long term contract. However, D-12 stuck to his older demand of being traded
to another team.
That trade is looking more and more difficult now as after being locked in negotiations with different teams over the past month, the Magic have been unable to find a deal that they have been truly comfortable with. There are reports
that the Magic might begin next season with Howard still on the roster, a situation neither of them wants since Howard has so adamantly wanted to be traded.
Vaughn was the 27th pick of the 1997 NBA Draft, where he was acquired by the Utah Jazz. He played four seasons for the Jazz, before landing on a number of different teams and finally settled with the Spurs.
The Magic are expected to formally introduce the new coach on Monday.
Michael Malone of the Golden State Warriors and Brian Shaw of the Indiana Pacers were the other coaches in contention for the job but despite being less experienced than the other two, it was Vaughn’s ability and talent as a coach
that appealed to the Magic.
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