Orlando Magic: Top 5 positives from a busy 2017
By Luke Duffy
1. Firing Rob Hennigan
It is the name that still makes Magic fans shudder when said out loud. The Voldemort of The City Beautiful.
But firing one time General Manager Rob Hennigan after five years of bumbling leadership was the defining moment of their 2017.
It was Hennigan who whiffed on various draft picks, passing on C.J. McCollum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Marcus Smart, Julius Randle and Devin Booker, to name but a small few.
Hennigan also traded Tobias Harris for practically nothing to the Detroit Pistons (the Brandon Jennings/Ersan Ilyasova era was a brief one) and gave up on Oladipo too. At the time the Oladipo trade didn’t look so bad, but given how he has blossomed it has been tough to watch.
He also traded for Serge Ibaka, but then flipped him as well after less than a season with the team. It is also not talked about often either, but Hennigan was in charge when Dario Saric was sent to the Philadelphia 76ers on draft night, with Payton coming the other way in return.
His tenure was an awful one with no clear vision on how the team was going to get better. Just small moves that didn’t work out and unspectacular draft picks.
Getting rid of him was by far the defining moment of the Orlando Magic’s 2017, and current GM John Hammond and president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman have started brightly.
There’s a lot to put right though, and in 2018 we’ll see how else they can make the team better, on top of drafting Isaac and signing Simmons.
Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft: End of 2017 edition
But leaving Hennigan and those bad vibes in 2017 was the best thing this organization did all year, and already has made 2018 feel more positive.