Mike Budenholzer is probably going to win Coach of the Year, but not every Gregg Popovich disciple is destined to become a prodigy. So when the Orlando Magic finally pulled the plug on Jacque Vaughn yesterday, they bid their not-so-tearful goodbyes to the coach with the worst winning percentage (.269) in franchise history, per ESPN Stats & Information.
The Magic, in the middle of a 10-game losing streak, also fired assistants Wes Unseld Jr., Brett Gunning and Zack Guthrie, according to Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Assistant coach James Borrego will take over as the interim coach for the time being.
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Whenever a not-so-tragic personnel move like this is made midseason, there’s usually cause for concern. Heading into the 2014-15 campaign, the Magic seemed as likely to finish with another high lottery pick as they were to make the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Would Nikola Vucevic and Victor Oladipo take the next step forward? Were the Magic tanking or were they satisfied with a young core that just added Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon to its ranks? How quickly would the young pieces mesh? And just what the hell was Orlando doing adding veterans like Channing Frye and Ben Gordon?
Magic general manager Rob Hennigan had been upset with the team’s lack of competitiveness for weeks, which suggests that while he may not have been demanding a playoff appearance, he was probably expecting something better than a 15-37 record.
Jacque Vaughn’s coaching record headed south … quickly pic.twitter.com/wfj27vTexP
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 5, 2015
Vaughn wasn’t getting through to his young players, so for those of you who took Brian Shaw in the “Which head coach will get fired next?” office pool, Orlando just lost you some money.
But since the Magic are quite clearly better off losing as many games as possible the rest of the season, Orlando’s front office is in no rush to find Vaughn’s long-term replacement. Here’s a look at the top five candidates that should be on their list.
Next: No. 5 - The Interim