Big changes coming for the Magic....The closest thing you may get to a coaching change is sure to come….
The latest thing I have heard out of Magic headquarters is Otis was not happy at all with the offense that was ran this season. Not to say there is a conflict between Otis and Brian Hill, but specifically Otis wants this team to be more of a run and gun team and not a slow it down team. This should be good news to Magic fans for several reasons. One big reason is apparently there was talks with Brian Hill mid season about getting the team to run more, to which he did not do. Insubordination??? Not really because that is just how Brian Hill is. He runs what he feels is the right offense for the team. This should answer many fans questions I get about what Otis thinks when he watches the offense and substitutions by Brian Hill.
I am told there is still some push back from Brian Hill about having a run and gun type offense and this could expidite a promotion. Knowing his history as I do, I would imagine this would not only be a big challenge for him as a coach, but really test his patience due to his constant need to micro-manage the offense during the game. The most telling part about changing the offense is what the players said during their face to face with Otis. The word is a majority of the players did not voice an opinion about not liking Brian Hill as a coach but rather they voiced a strong opinion about not liking the offense he designs. Almost sounds like the fans when they express their feeling about Coach Hill...most of the time I get the email that says "I like Brian Hill as a person, but hate him as the coach."
The problem facing Otis is at the end of next season he will have to evaluate Jameer Nelson and determine his true worth to the Magic. Otis still has a strong conviction that Jameer is the right point guard for the Magic. This should also answer other emails I get about if the Magic will go out and get a PG instead of a scorer. Read between the lines of the last press conference by Brian Hill and you can see he does not agree with Otis on this at all. Brian Hill wants a PG over anything the Magic target this offseason. However, Otis believes if Jameer was running a fast paced offense he would thrive and become more valuable to the Magic. Otis loves to point out that it was Dwight that led the team in TO's and he believes a lot of Dwights TO's could have been minimized running a different offense.
The other problem with the current offensive scheme is attracting the free agent Otis is targeting. Running ISO’s and post up’s only in the offense is not that attractive to top tier free agents. Take Vince Carter for example, currently he plays in a hybrid of a fast paced offense because the Nets run when any opportunity presents itself. It makes for a tougher sell to free agents when you tell them the offense is staying the same.
It is believed Otis wants to run an offense similar to what the Kings ran when they had Divac and Webber in the front court. He sees Jameer as a carbon copy of Mike Bibby capable of running that type of offense. Looking at their first few years stats and I would not completely disagree. The Kings offense under Rick Adelman spread the floor with shooters and had a high post passer in Webber. The offensive sets are designed to break defenses that collapse in the middle. When you have a big man at the top of the key that can pass like a guard and hit that shot when open and you can surround him with a deadly shooter and a good slasher it would free up a lot of cheap baskets down low for whoever is manning the post. Plus it makes it a lot easier to get the ball in the paint or too the open shooter. The other aspect to Adelman’s offense is the continuing to push the ball while keeping the players that are running on the break spread with always one on the wing behind the arc. TNT analyst Steve Kerr even suggested the Magic team was more suited for that type of offense and referred to the Kings former offense as one of the “best and prettiest” he ever saw as a player.
Darko can easily fill the role of the high post passer and the difference is the Magic would have a better inside presence in Dwight versus Divac. Given the fact Otis wants Jameer to run this type of offense, you can assume he envisions a Vince Carter type player slashing to the basket and a deadly shooter like JJ or Hedo ready outside the arc for an open jumper. It makes a lot of sense because running that type of offense keeps the defense on their heals constantly. What that would do is cover up a lot of the defensive mismatches the Magic would have on the other end of the floor. It would also set up the return of Grant Hill to the Magic in a role better suited for him, anchoring the second unit backing up Carter and reducing the aches and pains from the long season.
This was the major problem with the Magic’s offense this season. It was so slow that when the Magic were down by 8 or more with 3 minutes left, the game was essentially over. The Magic did not have a playing style that allowed them to recover from being down like that with time starting to expire. For Magic fans hoping Hill will get fired, don’t bet on it. But what could happen is what happened to Matty Goukas after Shaq’s rookie year. Matty was replaced because he wanted Webber over Penny and did not want to change his offense. The same fate could happen to Brian Hill. He wants a PG over Carter and does not want to change his offense.
I am told the outcome from the “evaluations” Otis is doing right now is working toward having the offense ran the way he wants. He was the one that brought these players in and their skills are such that it demands a change in the offense. Brian Hill is a stubborn coach and I do not see him changing even if he gave his word to Otis that he would. Brian believes in his offense too much to allow his GM to dictate how it should be ran. This season showed just that with Hill making no adjustments to his offense or starting lineup all season unless he was forced to by an injury. I would like to point out Darko and Dwight had some of their best statistical games together when Battie was on the injured list. I am sure many remember their game together in Chicago, the Magic beat them on the Bulls home court. The same Bulls team that swept the defending champions.
Brian Hill is famous for saying that you put the best team on the floor not just your best 5 players. This philosophy has not meshed well with Otis at all. Otis can not allow for the team to be coached in the same way next season. After next year he will also have a situation with Trevor possibly opting out and he needs to have a proper evaluation of Trevor. Not to mention he will have to decide on the contracts of Keyon, JJ , Augustine and possibly Grant Hill. The summer will continue to unfold and I will continue to write when I hear something new. Right now the biggest thing is Otis is determined to have his way in getting either Hill or a new coach to run a new offense. This will definitely be resolved before the draft so it will be an interesting 40-50 days between now and then. The question that has to be answered by then is can Brian Hill change as a coach and can he coach that type of offense? He has never doen it so stay tuned....