A controversial list of players on a whiteboard was not the final straw for Rob Hennigan in his tenure with the Orlando Magic. He was essentially fired long before that.
The Orlando Magic officially let go of the man who was once the youngest GM in NBA history. They announced that Rob Hennigan was going to be relieved of his duties as general manager of the team. There have been some rumblings recently about his future with the team and it wasn’t anything good for Hennigan’s future.
In the five years with Hennigan as the Magic GM, the franchise went 132-278. Only the Philadelphia 76ers had a worse five-year stretch in the NBA and some would argue Philly’s future is miles brighter than Orlando.
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical broke the news of Hennigan being let go.
The Orlando Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan on Thursday morning, ending his five-year run as the franchise’s top basketball executive, league sources told The Vertical.
Assistant general manager Matt Lloyd will take over as the interim GM, league sources said, and his candidacy will be considered for the permanent general manager job.
Assistant GM Scott Perry was dismissed too, league sources said.
Two league executives with Orlando ties – Detroit assistant GM Pat Garrity and San Antonio assistant GM Brian Wright – are on a list of preliminary candidates to replace Hennigan, but the search is expected to be extensive, league sources said.
The Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins also released a statement on the firing of Hennigan.
“We appreciate Rob’s efforts to rebuild the team, but feel we have not made any discernible improvement over the last few years specifically. It’s time for different leadership in basketball operations. We certainly wish Rob and his family well,” said Martins. “Matt brings solid experience and his appointment as general manager on an interim basis will allow us to seamlessly continue our preparations for the upcoming draft.”
"We're looking for a strong leader…someone to develop a winning culture." –
@OrlandoMagic CEO Alex Martins on the search for the next GM pic.twitter.com/8lchewJ9Df— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 13, 2017
