Orlando Magic: Top 5 Candidates To Replace Jacque Vaughn
1. Scott Skiles
The current frontrunner for Orlando’s head coaching vacancy, Skiles is one of the most beloved Magic players of all time. That might not be saying too much since two Magic stars left (Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard) and two more were cut down in their primes by injury (Grant Hill and Anfernee Hardaway), but still!
Hiring Skiles represents a feel-good move, but this isn’t just some publicity stunt hire meant to make the fans forget about the losing season. Skiles has head coaching experience to his name, having coached three seasons with the Phoenix Suns, four full seasons with the Chicago Bulls and four and a half seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks.
He’s never taken a team past the conference semifinals, but he still has a respectable winning percentage of .506 in his 876 games as a head coach. Skiles is the guy who holds the NBA record for the most assists in a single game (30) and he won a Most Improved Player of the Year Award, both being feats he accomplished in Orlando.
Skiles is a good coach, but not a great one. Personally, I’d rather have George Karl, but in a down year you can see the reason Orlando feels compelled to inject some positive feelings into their rebuilding process. Hiring a former Orlando fan favorite would accomplish that, and he might not be a bad head coach either.