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The Orlando Magic have reportedly cut ties with head coach Jacque Vaughn, who served as the team’s coach for the last two and a half seasons.
They have lost 10 straight games, most recently last night when they played the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, whom Vaughn won a title with as a player back in 2007. The Magic were hoping that Vaughn could bring that same championship-level play to his coaching. Unfortunately, it never happened, as Vaughn was more or less set up to fail after taking over when the team still had Dwight Howard on their roster, only to trade Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers weeks later.
Because of this, the Magic have been in “rebuild” mode ever since, acquiring nice young pieces like Nikola Vucevic, Tobias Harris, Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton in the process. But as said, this is a young team full of inexperienced players who simply have not played long enough together in order to truly discover what it takes to consistently win at the professional level.
Vaughn’s record during his run with the Magic was a lowly 58-158, which equates to a win percentage of 26.9. One cannot blame the Magic for seeking a change in direction, as a 10-game losing streak could definitely signify that a coach has lost his locker room and that a new boss is needed.
If I were the Magic, I would seriously consider hiring George Karl, who won Coach of the Year two seasons ago before being inexplicably fired by the Denver Nuggets shortly after winning that award.
It will be interesting to see who the Magic hire to take over for Vaughn and what expectations they will place on their new coach given the youth on their roster. Whoever they choose will play a huge part in shaping the overall future of the organization.
Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.
