Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel sat down with Orlando Magic GM, Rob Hennigan, and he sounded like he wasn’t too sure about Jacque Vaughn’s job security at the moment. Via Josh Robbins:
OS: What kind of job has Jacque Vaughn done?
Hennigan: I think Jacque has done a solid job. I think there are certainly areas that we can improve as a team. But it’s not our nature to rush to judgment on things. I think we understand there’s a lot of emotion, and we certainly acknowledge that. But as we evaluate anything, it’s our job to kind of eliminate that emotion. I’ve said that quite a few times, but I really do mean that when I say it’s our job to eliminate the emotion as much as we can, especially when it comes to evaluating the team and the staff and especially when we’re trying to troubleshoot challenges that we’re having.
OS: Is his job safe for this season?
Hennigan: Look, we’re clearly in a rut and we need to find our way out of it together. The buck starts and stops with me. I’m responsible for the team and its performance, plain and simple. I’m constantly evaluating myself and ways in which I can do a better job for our team, and that will continue to be the case, and I’ll continue to make sure I’m evaluating every inch of the organization. It’s my job to make sure that we’re constantly evaluating every aspect of the organization from top to bottom. So, to your question, I’d say that everyone and everything is being evaluated right now. I wouldn’t be doing my job if that weren’t the case. I’ll also say that there’s not one isolated problem or issue and that we need to collectively be part of generating the solution.
This might cause some uproar throughout the ranks in the Magic organization, but this was really the correct answer from Hennigan. Even though this Magic team has mostly younger talent with a few veterans, they should be performing better than they have so far this season. When there are teams like the Knicks and Timberwolves with more efficient offenses(according to CBS Sports’ James Herbert) then there has to be some questions raised about the coaching job. Vaughn has yet to prove himself as a good coach in the NBA, and if things aren’t showing signs of changing then a coaching change shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Hennigan stated that he was frustrated with team’s effort recently and that’s never a good thing to hear from the GM. The fact that he’s deservedly frustrated just makes this situation worse for Vaughn. After a stretch of games that included losses to the Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, and 76ers, it was evident that the Magic were underperforming. They may have beaten the Bulls recently, but the Bulls have been quite inconsistent as well, so there’s not much knowledge of this Magic team we can gain from that win.
Vaughn will have to brace himself for the next string of games if he’s hoping to stay employed. The Magic face off against Houston, Memphis, Oklahoma City, and Detroit in their next four games.
