Phil Jackson may still be on for a leadership position with the Orlando Magic – NBA News
The speculation regarding Phil Jackson joining the Orlando Magic in some leadership capacity has started making the rounds one more time. A few weeks ago, reports started surfacing that former Bobcats coach and Bulls player Sam
Vincent went to Jackson to offer him a leadership position with the Orlando Magic. According to the proposal, Vincent would have taken over either the General Manager or some front office role.
Jackson was said to be interested in the idea initially and even had decided to meet with Orlando team management but backed out later. When asked about the rumours from Jackson’s long time agents Todd and Brian Musburger, they
denied the reports as completely false.
“One, Phil never voiced any interest in Orlando, never had us check it out, never checked it out himself. Two, Orlando never called” said Todd according to the Associated Press.
However, Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated has reported that the possibility of Jackson going over to Orlando is still alive.
According to him, Vincent has come up with a slight modification to his original plan. In the new offer, Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw will be the head coach of the Magic and Scottie Pippen will take over as Assistant Coach.
Jackson will take over in a leadership position and Vincent will be looking after the day to day affairs of the front office.
He also reports that apart from his fees which will be quite steep, Jackson has also asked for a slice in the minority ownership. The hope is that the addition of Phil Jackson to the Orlando team management will convince All Star
Dwight Howard to sign an extended contract with them. An important fact to mention here is that Brian Shaw was Jackson’s assistant when he was at Los Angeles, and Pippen and Vincent have both played under him during his days with the Chicago Bulls.
Amick has also said that Magic CEO Alex Martins has not bought into the idea yet, as he believes an absentee leader is not what the Magic need right now, even if the leader comes in the shape of Jackson. It has been reported that
Jackson is willing to work from Orlando one week every month.
“Yet fascinating as the idea might be, Magic CEO Alex Martins appears to be against the idea of having an absentee leader — no matter how many rings he has. In the plan, Jackson — according to one of the sources — would work in
Orlando one week out of every month and agree to make six community appearances every month as well,” reports Amick.
While these rumours are circulating, another rumour that is making the waves is that Orlando are not happy with the attitude of Dwight Howard and are looking to trade him in the offseason. The drama behind the Dwight Howard saga
continues to take new turns.
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