Scott

Skiles

The report comes from legendary columnist Dave D’Alessandro, so we’re inclined to take this one with some truth behind it. Skiles was reported to be on the Nets radar previously, but D’Alessandro elevates that to deeming Skiles the “frontrunner.” After the way his tenure ended in Milwaukee, if Skiles is hired by Brooklyn, we’d expect there to be plenty of questions regarding how he will approach the team.

Wow. This comes as a big surprise after just one year on the job. “After much thought and careful consideration, I and I alone, have come to the conclusion that I am not the right head coach for this team,” said Skiles. “Therefore, effective immediately, I resign my position as head coach of the Orlando Magic.” Skiles employed some interesting rotations during his Magic tenure and the next head coach will undoubtedly improve the fantasy prospects of the entire Magic roster.

“What you have to do is develop them,” Skiles said. “Under the umbrella of developing guys comes a bunch of different things. Accountability is one of them.” There will be no free handouts under Skiles’ watch, and it’s going to be very interesting to see how Orlando’s extremely young nucleus meshes with the intense style that has become synonymous with Skiles’ coaching.

When asked if coaches have to pamper players more these days, Skiles answered that he didn’t think star treatment is necessary. “No, I don’t think so. Some of those terms, there’s big grey area in those terms,” Skiles said. “I think what happens is a lot of the organizations might not have a real solid philosophy of the type of players they like and the type of workers.” We’ll have to wait and see how Skiles implements this philosophy, but players like Victor Oladipo, Nikola Vucevic, and Elfrid Payton will find out soon enough.

Tom Thibodeau has also been in the mix, but the Magic are reportedly unwilling to offer any compensation to acquire him. Orlando isn’t going to rush into a decision, but they could start contract negotiations very soon. If Skiles does get the job, it will be interesting to see how Tobias Harris reacts considering the two didn’t have the best relationship when they were in Milwaukee together. We will pass along any further details when we know more.

We’ll wait for an official announcement before we mark this news as official, but Skiles has been considered the frontrunner for the job and looks to be Orlando-bound. We’ll keep this item updated as soon as more information is available, but it looks like the Magic may have their next head coach.

Our backcourt — and I’m going to put Evan [Fournier] in that group with Elfrid [Payton] and Victor [Oladipo] — in my opinion, has a ton of potential. I think those guys should be excellent defensively, and they will be,” Skiles said. Skiles’ decision to include Fournier with Payton and Oladipo is certainly interesting, and the latter two should be able to separate themselves pretty quickly.

“Scott Skiles to me is one of the most underrated coaches in the NBA,” said Van Gundy. “People always talk about how he wears his teams out, but I’ve never believed that. Great players embrace coaching. When Scott was in Phoenix, he turned them around quickly. When he was in Chicago, he took over a team that had been down for a long, long period of time and he turned it and he turned it quickly.” Skiles isn’t a fantasy friendly coach, but he appears to be in the running for the Orlando job.

Skiles said he likes the team he has and mentioned rebuilding through the draft can be difficult. He said he’s expecting his team to play with more energy due to the team’s youth. He’s also expecting Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton to be a top-five defensive backcourt. Tobias Harris has also kept in touch with Skiles since their Milwaukee days and that the coach was “instrumental” in drafting him. We’ll have more on Skiles throughout the summer. Most importantly, Skiles had a “playoffs?!” homage to Jim Mora in his press conference.

The Magic were expected to make a run at Tom Thibodeau, but they’re all set with their former point guard who holds the NBA record for most assists in a game. Skiles hasn’t run the tightest rotation and former player Stephen Jackson said he’s “more of a college coach.” Regardless, the Magic could use a former player to give them some guidance. Victor Oladipo and Nikola Vucevic are safe to draft, but we’re slightly less bullish on the others due to the volatile rotation.