More Names Pop Off The List, What Are We Left With?

In terms of the Magic coaching search, yesterday was one big, swift kick in the junk.

Yes, twas a bad day for our coaching prospects as Marc Iavaroni reportedly signed with Memphis and the Gators are setting up a press conference, meaning that Billy Donovan re-upped with Florida. Many believe Iavaroni chose Memphis because of their open GM position, which Memphis whill most likely try to match perfectly to their new coach (as opposed to the situation in Orlando, where Otis is looking for his perfect match). As for Billy, he will return to Florida because...well, it's a sweet position and he seems happy remaining a college coach. I do not hold this against him because history is certainly not on the side of college coaches having success in the NBA.

With these two extremely popular candidates off of the board, the argument could justly be made that the Magic waited far too long to begin their coaching search. The NBA finals haven't even begun yet, and already prime candidates in Rick Adelman, Sam Vincent, and Marc Iavaroni are gone. Rather than dwell on this oversight, I think it's time to clamp down and take a look at what the future holds...you know, before these coaches also get swept up right under our noses. Arg! Can't dwell!

The first candidate I have spoken about in length already: Stan Van Gundy. In my opinion, this guy was one of the best prospects for us right from the get go. It boggles my mind how our team has not brought him in for an interview yet. The fans are chanting his name for consideration, but it seems to be falling on deaf ears for now. If this coaching search goes by without us so much as talking to Stan, we really dropped the ball in my opinion.

Another fan favorite for consideration is Rick Carlisle. Yes, his style of play really doesn't fit Otis' 'run and gun' technique...but the fact remains that he still is a great coach who is still relatively young. He also could help develop Dwight's game since he seemed to work wonders with Jermaine O'Neal. More than anything, like Stan the Man Rick Carlisle has been a great evaluator of talent over the years and would at least ensure we put the best product on the floor.

These two names are nice and all, but the name mentioned more heavily than any other the past few days has been that of Mr. PJ Carlesimo. Why has his name come up? Because many people are looking squarely at Otis Smith and Dave Twardzik's ties to him from their time in Golden State. A lot of Magic 'insiders' are even going to the length of reporting that PJ already has the job in Otis' mind, and the Magic are simply waiting until the Spurs are done playing to offer it to him. So far the public reaction to PJ being considered has not been good. The apathy I reported about a few days ago has spilled into full on rage. PJ just seems too much like Brian Hill for a lot of people's tastes, and it sounds like a hire based on past friendships rather than what is best for the franchise. The only glimmer of hope with this hire would be that PJ would put whomever Otis wanted on the floor and we can cross our fingers he learned something from Poppovich these past years. -At least about controlling his temper.

Next you have Terry Porter, a name that has seemingly come up only recently. For those of you who don't know, Terry is a former player who coached the Bucks from 2003-2005. His first year he led what was a pretty crappy team into the playoffs, and then the next year missed the playoffs and was fired. Overall, his record with them was 71-93. He is currently an assistant with the Detroit Pistons, and seems to be doing a pretty good job with them.

Lastly, due to the lack of candidates, the team is considering current Bobcats assistant Lotney "Sloth" Fratelli. Like many of the candidates the Magic are considering, Lotney has a temper problem, has compiled a losing record in his past coaching positions (31-51 with the now defunct "Wilmington Fightin' Delewares" NBDL team), has slid into a comfy assistant coaching position with little to no possibility of job evaluation, and is not exactly a looker. He is leaning heavily on his past friendship with Dave Twardzik, who fed him Baby Ruths.

Of course I am joking with one of the coaching possibilities. -Terry Porter really has no shot.