After a season of disappointing play punctuated by a 10-game losing streak, the Orlando Magic have fired Jacque Vaughn, according to Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Assistant James Borrego is likely to be the interim replacement, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.
Magic fire coach Jacque Vaughn
A 10-game losing streak caused the third-year Magic coach to lose his job.
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But he may not hold that position for long. The Magic want to fill the position on a permanent basis soon and former Bulls and Bucks coach Scott Skiles is a top option, according to Wojnarowski.
Rumors that Vaughn might be let go surfaced after the Magic were blown out last Thursday by Milwaukee, Orlando’s 13th loss in 15 games. At that point, despite preaching defense, Vaughn’s team had allowed 11 straight teams to reach 100 points.
But the Magic delayed the actual decision for another week, which included three losses to top Western Conference teams. The lack of an obvious interim or full-time candidate was a big reason why, according to Wojnarowski. But now, it finally appears Orlando will make the move.
Orlando has many reasons to be hopeful for the future with plenty of young talent on the roster, including three lottery picks -- Victor Oladipo, Elfrid Payton and Aaron Gordon -- from the previous two drafts. But their progress stagnated this year, particularly recently. With Vaughn at the helm, the effort has been lacking for the Magic, writes the Orlando Pinstriped Post.
The Magic’s inability to find consistency on a nightly basis is one of their biggest reasons for their poor play. A lot of it has to do with their energy level and how much they buy into what Coach Vaughn is teaching, which, in the end, comes back to the coach himself.
The Magic are approaching a key summer. Their rebuilding effort after the Dwight Howard trade hasn’t yielded much progress and there’s pressure to develop that young talent into a core for the future. They must make a decision on second-leading scorer Tobias Harris, who is a restricted free agent.
Vaughn will be the second NBA coach fired this season, after the Kings axed Michael Malone earlier this year.
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