Orlando Magic: Frank Vogel Is The Man

Frank Vogel has been let go by the Indiana Pacers, but do the Orlando Magic have the nerve to try and lure him to Florida?

In a somewhat strange turn of events, the overachieving Indiana Pacers have parted ways with head coach Frank Vogel. We say overachieving not because they are a poor team, but rather superstar Paul George has regained form quicker than anticipated. What this left the Pacers with was a two-way machine and an average supporting cast around him.

They were not built to win now. Rather, they were glued together to survive the lean times of George’s forced absence before rebounding strongly once he’d come back. George kept up his side of the bargain and this summer could be a big one for the Pacers if they can convince a star to come and call Bankers Life Fieldhouse home.

This is why firing Vogel may prove to be a costly mistake. He was the one who led the team into many intense playoff battles with the Miami Heat. He also accepted the limitations of his current squad while still finding a way to force a seven-game series out of the Toronto Raptors. Heck, he even made Lance Stephenson look good on some nights.

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, though, and an up and coming team would be smart to pick Vogel up real soon. One such organization that would appear an ideal fit with the now unemployed head coach is the Orlando Magic. In theory it’s great, a guy like Vogel teaching a young, impressionable team how to defend as a unit?

Well that’s perfect for a core group yet to taste playoff action of any kind, especially given Vogel’s relative experience in the postseason. The main stumbling block of course, is current head coach Scott Skiles. Now, has Skiles done a bad job in his one year at the helm?

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Not at all; he was as advertized. Solid, yet unspectacular. The Magic failed to make the playoffs and while that may have seemed a tough goal to achieve given the improving standard of the Eastern Conference, the way the season flamed out was pretty deflating. We can’t totally hold that against Skiles, but there’s no doubting his tenure to date has been a bit safe. A bit … bland.

He’s got two years left on his current deal and you can bet he’s not going to walk away from this job. Skiles was the first sort-of, kind-of star this franchise ever had and he still holds the record for most assists in an NBA game, something he achieved in a Magic uniform.

He’s liked around these parts and for good reason. Not only is he a former player, he has previously shown an ability to take a team to the next level of their development. With both the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls, he reversed fortunes to the tune of playoff appearances. He wasn’t able to do anymore than this, but some would argue that’s not the point.

He was brought onboard to get this team back to the playoffs and he’s only had one season to do it.

While that’s a fine way of thinking and it’s wrong to treat former players who gave so much to the cause poorly, you have to be ruthless to thrive in the NBA. Sentiment gets you nowhere. That way of thinking is what dragged the Los Angeles Lakers through the worst two-year period in their history.

They wanted to let the broken down Kobe Bryant and his massive salary be the center of attention for the final two years of his career as repayment for five championship rings and so many memorable nights. This is not an argument about the faults in what the Lakers did. But the facts are that sentiment hurt their ability to rebuild at a quicker pace.

This is why paying off Skiles to bring in Vogel should be taken seriously. You’ve got to spend money to climb the ladder in the NBA and getting rid of Skiles in this way would show potential free agents that the team is serious about winning big once again. For years now, it’s appeared that the Magic were content with rebuilding at a slow pace.

With a bevy of free agents potentially available this summer, what better time to make a shock coaching move and bring in a guy with experience in the postseason and a track record of getting the best out of player? After all, there’s a reason Stephenson and Roy Hibbert have never looked as good as they did in Indiana. Don’t you think Vogel deserves some of that credit?

Seeing him coach Victor Oladipo would be thrilling as well. In no way can we compare the Magic’s supposed star to George. But they are both two-way players, with Oladipo having a natural feel for defending that Vogel could nurture into something truly special.

Vogel also exceeded without ever having a star player running the point, so he could boost the confidence of Elfrid Payton as well.

It’s not even a stretch to say he’d get the most out of Brandon Jennings (if he sticks around) while the offensive moves Nikola Vucevic possesses could be utilized in the same way Hibbert’s were (remember when Hibbert was viewed as the kryptonite to the Heat’s bid to win a title? That seems so long ago).

It’s a move that makes sense for all of these reasons, and more. Vogel just spent five-plus years going through the many stages of an organization’s life, from contending to treading water to being a surprise package in the playoffs. Imagine inserting that into the locker room of an up-and-coming team. You can bet he’d have their respect right away.

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Not that Skiles doesn’t, it just looks like he was brought in for a specific purpose. To make this team better until the right man comes along. Well, that guy has arrived, sooner than expected. Now all they need to do is pick up the phone, and get Frank Vogel down to Orlando. But will they have the nerve to actually do it?