McMillan, Shaw Vying For Magic Coaching Job

4:35pm: Brian Shaw is waiting to hear from the Magic as the Bobcats are out of the picture for him, tweets Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. Schmitz also tweets a quote from a league source who believes Shaw is the only coach capable of reaching Dwight Howard.

3:50pm: Former Blazers coach Nate McMillan will interview with the Magic for their head coaching position, Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News reports. McMillan interviewed May 22 for the same job with the Bobcats, but Lawrence believes Pacers assistant Brian Shaw is the favorite to get the job in Charlotte.

The Magic are seeking both a general manager and a coach, and most of their focus seems to have been on the GM job so far. Lawrence says that McMillan is not turned off by the drama surrounding Dwight Howard, and that alone could persuade Magic CEO Alex Martins to break form by hiring a coach first. McMillan has ties to North Carolina, but it's unclear if they're strong enough to make him favor the woeful Bobcats over the Magic, a consistent playoff team. McMillan's recent "coaching is coaching" comment seems to suggest he's comfortable in just about any situation. 

Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer recently opined that the Magic's opening could make it difficult for the Bobcats to get their top choice among coaching candidates, but if they prefer Shaw and the Magic prefer McMillan, the situation may work out for both teams. The well-regarded Shaw may have more flexibility than McMillan, since Shaw could still wind up with the Blazers, who fired McMillan in March. With this week's news that the Clippers and Wizards retaining their coaches, Orlando and Charlotte are probably the only two options for McMillan if he wants to be a head coach next year.

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