Listen to Orlando front office president Jeff Weltman and it sounds like the Magic are going to run it back with the same core \u2014 including Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner \u2014 next season and bet on better coaching and better health to get them to the top of the East.<\/p>\n
That puts a lot of pressure on the Magic\u2019s head coaching search. Who is going to step into Jamahl Mosley\u2019s shoes and get this team both out of the play-in and the first round? What are the Magic looking for in their next coach? A creative offensive mind? Playoff experience? Weltman wouldn\u2019t be pinned down when talking to reporters (quote via Jason Beede at the Orlando Sentinel<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we look for a particular trait or a quality. Coaches come in a lot of different shapes and sizes. Someone that kind of looks at our team in the way that we feel can help move us forward. Obviously someone who understands where we are on our timeline, that we\u2019ve kind of tried to get past the growth stages of the rebuild. \u2026 I don\u2019t have a box to say that we want the next coach to come out of this sort of box.\u201d<\/p>\n A few names have surfaced in league circles, though this is all speculation, as Weltman and company have not formally begun interviews.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a quick look at some of the top candidates.<\/p>\n Billy Donovan<\/p>\n This is the name on everyone\u2019s lips in league chatter, the guy who seems the best fit for both sides. Donovan left Chicago looking for something different and a team playing in meaningful games, and the Magic are that (a team that was up 3-1 in the first round on Detroit but could not close the door). Donovan also is well-liked by players (which matters after the issues between Mosley and Paolo Banchero), and he got the most out of limited rosters he was handed in Chicago.<\/p>\n There is a bit of a complicated history between Donovan and the Magic. Back in 2007, Donovan did not have a contract extension at the University of Florida, where he had won two national titles, and he was eyeing the NBA. Donovan agreed to leave and become the Magic\u2019s new head coach, and on June 1st he signed his contract and was introduced to the media as the guy about to turn things around in Orlando. Then he got cold feet, or realized this was not a situation he liked, or something happened and he asked out. Six days later, the Magic released Donovan from his contract, and he returned to Florida. That\u2019s almost 20 years ago and everything is different now, that incident shouldn\u2019t impact this one, but it hangs out there.<\/p>\n Tom Thibodeau<\/p>\n The former Bulls\/Timberwolves\/Knicks head coach wants back in the game and Orlando may be interested, reports Sam Amick at The Athletic<\/a>.<\/p>\n League sources say Tom Thibodeau is also very interested in a comeback. The 68-year-old was fired from his Knicks post last summer but is looking for the right fit for his coaching future again.<\/p>\n