Orlando Magic: The Case For Scott Skiles

By Luke Duffy | Feb 3, 2015

Dec 14, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Milwaukee Bucks head coach Scott Skiles (center) reacts with assistant coaches Jim Boylan (left) and Joe Wolf in the second quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

For current Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn, it seems to be a matter of when and not if he will get fired before the season is finished. What is a young and promising core got out of the blocks well, and briefly held a playoff spot at the end of the last calendar year, before subsequently falling off of a cliff.

Vaughn isn’t the only reason for the collapse, young players and some injuries haven’t helped either. But lately things have gotten embarrassing as this team have plummeted towards the basement, and Vaughn must accept some responsibility for that. If (when) he is let go though, would Scott Skiles be the man to usher in a new era?

Jan 9, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Jan 9, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn in the first half of the game against the Los Angeles Lakers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

If you’re unfamiliar with Skiles, he actually played for the Magic in the late ’80s and early ’90s–one of the team’s original expansion draft choices–and was the Most Improved Player in the NBA in 1990-91. As a point guard, he also holds the record for most assists in a game (30) in league history as well.

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So he created a little bit of history for himself while with a franchise that was just finding it’s feet in the league.

For that reason it makes sense to at least consider him, with many outlets reporting him a front runner for the job.

But let’s hold up a little bit here; what did Skiles do to be shoehorned into the conversation to be a head coach in this league? There are only 30 spots up for grabs after all and tons of other guys out of work currently as well, so what does he have that other potential candidates do not?

Well, he’s been a head coach in this league before, with the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks. He had arguably his biggest success with the Bulls, taking a young team with some talent and and in 2004-05 had them keep opponents shooting down to a league-leading .422 field-goal percentage for the season.

Sound familiar? It’s nice to think that Skiles could do a similar job with the Magic. His Bulls team did eventually taste playoff action, losing to both the Miami Heat (first round) and the Detroit Pistons (conference semifinals) in back-to-back years.

But for Orlando, just getting back to the postseason would be an achievement in itself. In Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton, he would have two young guards with great defensive abilities that he could help mold into truly elite defenders. A great foundation with which to mount an assault on the playoffs.

Center Nikola Vucevic, an emerging star but better offensive player than defensive, could learn a ton as well. In his most reason job, with the Bucks, Skiles had a young big man by the name of Andrew Bogut who he built around. Bogut at that age was more defensively inclined than Vucevic is now, but he still has plenty of time to get better on that end of the floor.

That Bucks team also had a young Brandon Jennings and the likes of veteran Jerry Stackhouse, Jodie Meeks and John Salmons, as well as Luke Ridnour, currently of Orlando. He guided them to the playoffs when many doubted they could even finish better than .500 (They finished 46-36).

So the track record is there. On the surface it may appear that Skiles doesn’t carry the name of prestige of some other candidates out there. But you look back at what he’s done before, and you quickly see this might be the perfect fit. In his last two stops he took decent young teams, and he brought them back to the postseason.

With the talent the Magic have, they have a chance to be more than just decent, and with the knowhow of Skiles that could be a dangerous combination as they grow together.

I’ll admit, when the flurry of reports came out late last week saying Vaughn’s time with the team could be coming to an end, I allowed my mind to wander. I thought of a Mark Jackson type, coming in to save the day. He’d done great things before, and would command respect. He’d also define this team and what it would be known for, something Vaughn never did.

I knew Jackson was unlikely to hang up the mic again so soon after getting back into being a television personality once more, but I allowed myself to dream.

Other big names like George Karl have also crept up, and again initially this was what I wanted to see. Orlando had gone down the route of hiring a well thought of assistant coach from another team, and in this instance it just hadn’t worked out. I craved a bigger name with a track record and the stability that guaranteed.

But the more I think about it, the more I believe Skiles is the man for the job. He might not be the guy who gets this team back to the NBA Finals one day. But at a time when this team is in a lurch, and is stumbling from one contest to the next and losing a lot, he appears to be able to bring to this team exactly what it needs.

A fresh face, somebody who has been put into a similar situation before and who knows what it takes to turn things around. I’d be happy if the Orlando Magic brought in Scott Skiles. They just need to get rid of the other guy first.

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