The Orlando Magic were looking to make a big splash with their new front office structure following the firing of general manager Rob Hennigan. Team CEO Alex Martins wanted to bring on some big names with Cavaliers GM David Griffin and former Rockets head coach Kevin McHale leading the way in their search.
Yesterday, the Orlando Magic made it official and brought in Jeff Weltman to be their new president of basketball operations after he departed his position as general manager of the Toronto Raptors. Now they are officially bringing on former Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond as their new general manager.
Following from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
Sources: Milwaukee GM John Hammond has agreed to a five-year deal to become Orlando's GM. Hammond will work under president Jeff Weltman.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) May 23, 2017
Milwaukee's ownership agreed to let Hammond make the move, which should clear the way for GM-in-waiting Justin Zanik to be promoted to GM.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) May 23, 2017
Hammond was originally named general manager of the Bucks in 2008 and the team almost immediately improved on a year-by-year basis. The Bucks saw an eight-win improvement in his first season and another 12 win improvement during his second, earning the 2009-10 NBA Executive of the Year Award. Since then, it’s been relatively up and down for the Bucks under Hammond. After they hit a low point following a franchise-worst 15-67 season in 2013-14, Hammond was the driving force behind the team overhaul and two playoff appearances in the last three seasons.
During the 2014 offseason, the Bucks brought in Jason Kidd as their new head coach and almost immediately began changing their team around. One way or another, former projects Brandon Knight and Larry Sanders moved on from the team and veterans like Zaza Pachulia, Jerryd Bayless, and Ersan Ilyasova all were sent elsewhere to make room for the new Bucks.
Now, the Bucks are being led by NBA All-Star Giannis Antetokounmpo alongside potential future All-Stars Jabari Parker and Khris Middleton. They have some exciting young pieces like Malcolm Brogdon, Thon Maker and Rashad Vaughn and veterans making big contributions in Greg Monroe, Matthew Dellavedova, and Mirza Teletovic. Hammond left the Bucks in a good spot and now it’s going to be his time to prove he can do something similar with the Orlando Magic.
