It’s probably not likely but the question needed to be
asked. Now that the Orlando Magic have parted ways with head coach Stan Van
Gundy, will assistant coach Patrick Ewing get a chance to take over the team?
Ewing has long sought a chance to prove his coaching
abilities with a team in the league but with the Magic still trying to woo
center Dwight Howard into signing a long-term contract, expect them to seek a
more high-profile coaching hire.
That means they will be looking at some of the big names
that are currently available like Mike D’Antoni, Nate McMillan, Brian Shaw,
Jerry Sloan or Phil Jackson.
D’Antoni has already expressed interest in the Magic’s coaching
position and his offensive philosophy would make sure Howard got the ball a lot
on offense. The defense would be sure to regress under D’Antoni though which
wouldn’t sit well with Howard once the team started to lose games.
It’s doubtful that Jackson would be interested in coaching
Orlando. Jackson loves the big-city and Orlando just wouldn’t fit his
over-sized ego, no matter how much money they threw at him.
Shaw would be an interesting pick but he won’t impress
Howard who has a championship-mindset when it comes to winning. Shaw is
considered to have a bright coaching mind but he would still be finding his
coaching identity since it would be his first head coaching position.
Sloan would be an awesome pick for the Magic. One thing Van
Gundy instilled in this team was discipline so Sloan would be a great
carry-over. Sloan is way less verbally abusive than Van Gundy was though.
Sloan has a history with big men which would benefit Howard.
Sloan would also mesh well with a veteran point guard like Jameer Nelson and have
the team playing just as tough if not tougher than Van Gundy had them playing.
McMillan may be the most likely choice for the position
though. McMillan has a history of getting the most out of his team and the Magic
really need that.
This team isn’t as talented as some of the teams they are
trying to top in the East Conference but McMillan would have them in contention
for the top spot as long as they can shy away from the injury-bug which plagued
his teams in Portland.
So Ewing’s chances of
taking over the head coaching position are extremely slim unless Howard decides
to give him a vote of confidence. And even then that might not win him the job.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
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