With no championship aspirations this season, the Magic must evaluate Jacque Vaughn‘s performance as head coach on intangible factors, such as leadership, communication, and how he has helped develop young players, writes Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel. And by those standards, the team is very happy with his work, and plans to keep him as its coach for the foreseeable future, according to general manager Rob Hennigan.
“We’re very proud of the job that Jacque has done,” Hennigan said. “His leadership has set the foundation. He understands the process. He isn’t in a rush to skip steps. He’s a great teacher. He’s done a noteworthy job of being unselfish, realizing we’re building for the long haul…. He knew what he was signing up for as I knew what I was signing up for. We believe in the foundation we’re establishing.”
Here are a few more items of interest from Schmitz’s conversation with the Magic’s GM:
- None of the Magic’s veteran players have asked to be traded, says Hennigan.
- Orlando intends to explore its options as February’s trade deadline approaches, but the front office is “not looking to shake up the team.”
- Hennigan, on whether the Magic intend to wade into the free agent pool in 2014 after not making a splash in 2013: “We haven’t even looked at the water in the pool, haven’t even put in the chemicals yet. We’re ready if an opportunity presents itself.”
- Asked whether the best way to continue improving the Magic is through free agency, the draft, or trades, Hennigan suggested there’s no exact blueprint or perfect model the club will follow.