The Orlando Magic made it known early on as they searched for new leadership following the firing of Rob Hennigan. They wanted to make a big splash and bring in a recognizable name. They targeted current Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin as well as Basketball Hall of Famer and former Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale for front office roles. But it appears that they have settled on someone who has been comfortable living in a cloud anonymity.
They are bringing in Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman as their new President of Basketball operations.
Following from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical.
The Orlando Magic have hired Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman as the franchise’s president of basketball operations, league sources told The Vertical.
Weltman met with Orlando CEO Alex Martins and ownership on Monday, finalizing a five-year deal, league sources said.
Orlando officials had been intrigued with Cleveland GM David Griffin, but moved steadily toward Weltman as they became further engaged with his candidacy in recent weeks, league sources said. Weltman has been deeply involved in every aspect of the Raptors’ front office under president Masai Ujiri as Toronto became a perennial Eastern Conference contender.
Weltman will have the ability to hire a general manager who’ll report to him. Matt Lloyd, an Orlando assistant GM, has been serving as interim GM and could remain with the organization.
When Raptors team president Masai Ujiri received a new contract last year, it also paved the way for promotions for both Jeff Weltman and Bobby Websters as general manager and assistant general manager respectively. Ujiri is undoubtedly the face of the Raptors front office, often the person who speak on behalf of the organization in many capacities. With the recent success Toronto has seen over the last five-year, you almost had to imagine some of his staff would be getting poached.
Weltman first joined the Raptors in 2013 after he left his position as the Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager to join the Raptors as executive vice president of basketball operations. Weltman spent five seasons as assistant general manager with the Milwaukee Bucks. He also spent a season in Detroit as the director of basketball administration before moving to Milwaukee in 2008. From 2001-06, Weltman served as the assistant general manager with the Denver Nuggets where he and Ujiri initially connected before Masai left for Toronto. Weltman initially joined the Nuggets after 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, where he had served as director of player personnel since 1994.
