Orlando Magic vs Miami Heat: A comparison of the two
By Luke Duffy
2. Front office
If we’re talking over the course of this decade, the Heat win this one hands down. Pat Riley has steered that ship admirably for a long time now. So while it would be easy to end the argument here, let’s look at it from a different angle.
The Magic infamously let former general manager Rob Hennigan mire them in mediocrity through their first rebuild once Dwight Howard left and the organization is still feeling the effects of his time in charge.
Two summers ago they were proactive, however, hiring a president of operations in Jeff Weltman who had been involved in a large part of rebuilding and rebranding of the Toronto Raptors. Then they added a new GM in John Hammond.
Hammond was with the Milwaukee Bucks when they drafted Giannis Antetokounmpo. Now, you can’t dine off of something like this forever. But it does explain why the Magic have in successive years drafted Isaac and then Bamba.
The organization are trying to change, and have been progressive in hiring a new front office to change the culture. The Heat though, have stuck to what they’ve known. So they should, as Riley has been very successful and is not an easy individual to move on from.
But with Miami locked into their current roster and going nowhere quick, picking up the worst offseason ranking over at NBA.com, is this category again closer than we think?
Riley gets the benefit of the doubt for now, he’s a near mythical being in NBA lore and is a man you wouldn’t want to bet against. But a couple more seasons of improvement from the Magic, coupled with the Heat staying in the same position, will have us revisiting this one.