Rob Hennigan Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Former Warriors Exec Bob Myers Likely To Get Job Offers

July 29th, 2023 at 9:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Bob Myers indicated that he wanted some time away from the game when he stepped down as president of basketball operations and general manager of the Warriors, but fans should expect to hear his name mentioned in connection to any openings that arise in the next few months, writes Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

The most obvious team for Myers, according to Fischer, is the Clippers because of his longtime association with team consultant Jerry West and the working relationship they developed during their time together with Golden State. Myers spent more than a decade with the Warriors and helped to win four championships, so Fischer believes he’ll be among the first names that any team will call if it decides to shake up its front office.

Fischer identifies a few other former general managers who may be in line for a second chance, including ex-Utah GM Dennis Lindsey, who is currently working in the Mavericks‘ front office, Kings assistant GM Wes Wilcox, who has rebuilt his reputation after his experience in Atlanta, and former Orlando GM Rob Hennigan, who is VP of basketball operations with the Thunder.

Fischer passes along more information about rising stars in NBA front offices:

Pelicans general manager Trajan Langdon was among the candidates to become the Wizards’ president of basketball operations and he’ll likely be considered for similar jobs in the future, Fischer writes. Raptors GM Bobby Webster, Cavaliers GM Mike Gansey and new Clippers GM Trent Redden all appear headed for team president roles someday, Fischer adds.
Jeff Peterson, the Nets‘ assistant GM, is considered one of the league’s best young executives, according to Fischer. Peterson interviewed for the Pistons’ GM slot in 2020, and Fischer hears that he’s viewed as one of the favorites to take over the Hornets if they decide to replace Mitch Kupchak, who’s in the final year of his contract. Pelicans assistant GM Bryson Graham could be first in line to replace Langdon if he leaves, but league sources tell Fischer that he might get an opportunity with another team before that happens.
Tayshaun Prince is a valuable member of the Grizzlies‘ front office and has received overtures about running other teams, according to Fischer. Among other former NBA players, Jameer Nelson has built a strong reputation in the Sixers‘ front office for his work with their G League affiliate, and Acie Law appears headed for a promotion with the Thunder after Will Dawkins was hired by the Wizards.
Fischer identifies CAA’s Austin Brown as an agent who might move into a front office role, noting that he was a candidate to run the Bulls in 2020. Fischer also singles out agents Jason Glushon and Todd Ramasar, along with Kirk Berger, a legal counsel with the players’ union.

Thunder Promote Rob Hennigan, Will Dawkins, Others

September 29th, 2020 at 10:08am CST by Luke Adams

Following the spring departure of vice president of basketball operations Troy Weaver, the Thunder have announced a series of promotions within their front office, including the filling of Weaver’s old role. Those promotions are as follows:

Rob Hennigan to VP of basketball operations
Will Dawkins to VP of basketball operations
Jesse Gould to VP of strategy and analytics
Wynn Sullivan to VP of strategy and design
Brandon Barnett to director of player personnel
Nazr Mohammed to pro personnel evaluator and GM of the Oklahoma City Blue
Paul Johnson to assistant GM of the OKC Blue

The Thunder also confirmed the previously-reported hiring of former Rivals.com analyst Corey Evans as an amateur scout.

“We are proud of the continued evolution of our Executive Team and the promotions of many long-tenured Thunder team members,” executive VP of basketball operations Sam Presti said in a statement. “These individuals have demonstrated a consistent commitment to our vision for Thunder basketball on and off the floor, and we are grateful for their contributions. The continued leadership development of our entire staff is essential to our focus of sustaining an elite basketball infrastructure.”

The promotions of Hennigan and Dawkins are most notable, as they appear poised to take on more senior positions in the front office following Weaver’s exit. Hennigan is in his second stint with the franchise, having left Oklahoma City to become Orlando’s GM for five years from 2012-17, while Dawkins has risen through OKC’s basketball operations department for over a decade after starting as an intern in 2008.

Mohammed’s new role is also worth noting. The former NBA center first joined Oklahoma City’s front office in December 2017 and has gone through an “extensive post-playing transition program for former players” during his three years as an executive, per today’s announcement from the team.

Former Magic GM Rob Hennigan Rejoins Thunder

October 2nd, 2017 at 12:49pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 2: The Thunder have officially announced Hennigan’s new role with the team, confirming in a press release that he has been re-hired as OKC’s vice president of insight and foresight.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Rob back to the Thunder,” Presti said in a statement. “He was here in the earliest stages of the organization in 2008 as we built the foundation for the Thunder that we are continuing to build from as we enter our 10th season in Oklahoma City.”

The Thunder also promoted Will Dawkins to VP of identification and intelligence.

SEPTEMBER 13: Three months after being dismissed by the Magic, veteran executive Rob Hennigan is returning to his old NBA home, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). League sources tell Scotto that the Thunder have re-hired the former Orlando general manager.

Hennigan, who spent five years as the Magic’s GM, was a member of the Oklahoma City front office before making the move to Orlando. During his final two seasons with the Thunder, Hennigan served as the club’s assistant general manager/player personnel. Before that, he spent two seasons as OKC’s director of college/international player personnel.

While Hennigan didn’t have much success in Orlando during his first stint as the head of a basketball operations department, reports in the wake of his firing suggested that he remained widely respected around the NBA, and would likely receive “attractive” offers from other teams.

It remains to be seen what Hennigan’s new title in Oklahoma City will be, but it’s worth noting that one of the Thunder’s assistant general managers, Michael Winger, left the franchise last month to become the Clippers’ new GM. It would make sense for Hennigan to help fill the hole created by Winger’s departure, rejoining old friends Sam Presti and Troy Weaver in OKC’s basketball operations department.

Magic Notes: Skiles, Hennigan, Vogel, GM Search

April 15th, 2017 at 6:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

In the wake of Magic GM Rob Hennigan’s firing on Thursday, CEO Alex Martins admits that former coach Scott Skiles may have been correct in their much-publicized feud, writes Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel. Skiles resigned last May after one year as coach because of repeated disagreements with Hennigan. Skiles didn’t like the roster that had been assembled and he thought the front office was undermining the coaching staff by coddling young players. Martins acknowledges that Skiles had a point, but wishes he hadn’t left the organization. “There were things Scott could have done better and one of them is that he could have been more patient,” Martins said. “We were clearly having those conversations [about the culture] and working toward solutions, but Scott didn’t want to be patient about it.”

There’s more news out of Orlando:

Head coach Frank Vogel hopes the new GM will try to build a contender around the talent that’s already on the roster, relays John Denton of NBA.com. Orlando has the NBA’s second-worst record over the past five years, and Vogel thinks fans have waited long enough for a winner. “I think our mindset is to win now and I’m hopeful that whoever we bring in here shares that approach,’’ Vogel said. “I think our fans have endured enough losing and it’s time to get this thing into the playoffs as quickly as we can. That’s my mindset.’’
The playoffs will have a role in determining how soon the Magic hire Hennigan’s replacement, Denton adds in the same story. Some of the candidates that Orlando has in mind can’t be contacted while their teams are still active. “The factor that is going to dictate [the pace of the search] is that there are some individuals that we’re interested in who [have teams that] are playing in the NBA playoffs and we’re not going to be able to talk to them until their teams are eliminated,’’ Martins said. “And I think it’s in our best interests to identify the right individual and talk to those who are involved in the playoffs. That’s what is going to dictate the majority of the timeframe.” Interim GM Matt Lloyd will handle draft preparation and other organizational moves until a new GM is hired.
Martins doesn’t want one person to serve as coach and president of basketball operations, tweets Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel. There were rumors recently that the Magic might have interest in bringing back Doc Rivers in a dual role.

Magic Rumors: G. Hill, Wright, Cousins, Hennigan

April 13th, 2017 at 11:52am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan this morning, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reported that team officials have interest in pursuing Grant Hill as a potential president of basketball operations. Marc Stein of ESPN.com confirms Orlando’s interest in Hill, but tweets that the former Magic forward currently has no plans to leave the Hawks‘ ownership group.

As we wait to see if Hill’s stance changes, here are several more Magic-related notes, with a focus on today’s front office shakeup:

Spurs assistant GM Brian Wright is on the Magic‘s preliminary list of potential GM candidates, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Wojnarowski also notes that the leaked white board that went viral last week ultimately didn’t affect Orlando’s decision to replace Hennigan — the team had already decided to move on from him at that point.
Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated and Sam Amick of USA Today expressed surprise that the Magic dismissed assistant GM Scott Perry along with Hennigan (Twitter links). Both reporters note that the two men had different voices in the front office, suggesting that Perry would have likely been able to complete a trade for DeMarcus Cousins if Hennigan had been on board with it.
Although Hennigan didn’t have a ton of success in Orlando, he remains widely respected around the NBA and will likely have “attractive offers” to choose from when he looks for a new job, tweets Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com.
In non-Hennigan news, the Magic‘s D-League affiliate, which will begin play next season, will be called the Lakeland Magic, as Robbins details for The Sentinel.

Magic Fire GM Rob Hennigan

April 13th, 2017 at 9:10am CST by Luke Adams

With their offseason now underway, the Magic have started making changes in their front office, firing general manager Rob Hennigan, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). The team also dismissed assistant GM Scott Perry, according to Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link).

“We appreciate Rob’s efforts to rebuild the team, but feel we have not made any discernible improvement over the last few years specifically,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said in a statement. “It’s time for different leadership in basketball operations. We certainly wish Rob and his family well.”

Hennigan was considered to be on the hot seat for much of this season, as his flurry of moves a year ago failed to lead to tangible on-court improvement for the Magic. An eventful 2016 offseason saw Orlando trade for Serge Ibaka, then sign Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Augustin, and Jeff Green in free agency.

The franchise had playoff aspirations to start the year, but lost its opener to the Heat, and never got back above .500. Orlando’s spot in the standings prompted the team to flip Ibaka to the Raptors before February’s trade deadline, and Hennigan and the front office were widely criticized for giving up far more for Ibaka last summer than they got back for him at the deadline.

Hennigan’s seat likely became hotter in recent weeks after a photo taken by Patricio Garino‘s agent that showed an apparent list of Orlando’s offseason targets on a dry-erase board went viral. Hennigan insisted that the leaked white board wasn’t indicative of the Magic’s summer plans, and that it was just a list of possible options for the team, but it wasn’t a great look for a management group that was already under fire.

2016/17 was the fifth straight season that the Magic finished with a losing record, dating back to 2012/13, Hennigan’s first year at the helm. During Hennigan’s five years as Orlando’s GM, the team posted a 132-278 record (.322). The club has employed four different head coaches during that time, never winning more than 35 games in a season or earning a spot in the playoffs.

With Hennigan no longer in the mix in Orlando, the Magic have named Matt Lloyd as the interim general manager, the club confirmed (via Twitter). Lloyd will be in the mix for the permanent job, though he won’t be the only candidate considered.

According to Robbins, Magic officials have interest in Grant Hill as a potential president of basketball operations. Robbins adds that Pistons associate GM Pat Garrity and Warriors assistant GM Travis Schlenk could also be among the executives targeted by Orlando.

There were rumblings earlier this year that Doc Rivers could consider jumping to the Magic in a head coach/president of basketball operations role, but that seems like a long shot — Rivers dismissed the idea at the time. For now, Frank Vogel remains the head coach in Orlando, and he just finished the first year of a four-year contract, so a new GM may be reluctant to make a change unless the Magic are willing to eat a significant chunk of money.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Hennigan: Leaked Board “Not Indicative” Of Magic’s Plans

April 4th, 2017 at 10:39am CST by Luke Adams

The agent for newly-signed Magic swingman Patricio Garino created a stir this week when he tweeted out a photo of his client signing a contract with Orlando. The seemingly innocuous photo, which has since been deleted, went viral because of what showed up in the background behind Garino: A dry-erase board that listed apparent free agent and trade targets for the Magic.

Asked by Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel for a comment on the board, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said the lists are “not indicative of plans” and are “simply listing options, including some which other teams have inquired about.”

The lists of players includes three visible headings: “Hybrid Trade,” “Hybrid Free Agency,” and “Spread Bigs Trade.” The first two columns list players capable of playing multiple positions, while the latter column focuses on big men who can shoot from outside. A fourth column appears to list “spread bigs” available in free agency, though it’s partially cut off.

Wilson Chandler, Justise Winslow, and Tobias Harris are among the many names on the “Hybrid Trade” list, with Danilo Gallinari, Paul Millsap, and Otto Porter among the names on the “Hybrid Free Agency” list. The “Spread Bigs Trade” column features names like Nikola Mirotic, Chandler Parsons, and many others.

One of the more interesting items under the “Hybrid Trade” column on the Magic’s board is a mention of Dario Saric with “For AG?” noted in parentheses. “AG” likely refers to Magic power forward Aaron Gordon, so it’s possible Hennigan’s claim that the board includes notes on players other teams have inquired about was meant to explain this item. However, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that the Sixers have never discussed sending Saric to the Magic or any other team.

Ultimately, the leak doesn’t seem overly consequential — the NBA’s other 29 teams likely have similar lists of potential offseason targets. Still, it’s not a great look for a front office that is already under fire. If Hennigan – who is said to be on the hot seat – is replaced after the season, the club could head into the summer with a new management group and a new big board in place.

Front Office Shakeups Ahead?

March 28th, 2017 at 7:11pm CST by Arthur Hill

Disappointing seasons could lead to front office changes for at least five teams this summer, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.

The most obvious team headed for a shakeup is Sacramento, which reportedly wants to position someone above GM Vlade Divac and may have interest in former Sixers GM Sam Hinkie, despite an official statement denying it. There are also ongoing rumors of a rift between Vivek Ranadive and the minority ownership, which has grown frustrated with the way the team has been managed.

Kyler notes that Ken Catanella was hired as an assistant GM last summer, but wasn’t given the power that many expected him to have.

Change may also be coming to these organizations:

Orlando — The Magic seem ready to replace GM Rob Hennigan, with Pistons executive and former Orlando player Pat Garrity as the leading candidate to be offered the job. The Magic had hoped to be playoff contenders after signing Bismack Biyombo and trading for Serge Ibaka, but the new combination never worked out. Orlando is 14th in the East at 27-47, and Ibaka was shipped to Toronto last month. Kyler cites league sources who say several of the Magic’s lower level executives are expecting changes and have started contacting other organizations.
New Orleans — A recent report said coach Alvin Gentry and GM Dell Demps could both be fired without significant progress by the end of the season. Demps may have bought himself more timee with the DeMarcus Cousins trade, but the Pelicans have reached the playoffs just twice during his seven years at the helm. Louisiana native Joe Dumars is close to ownership and is reportedly being considered as a replacement.
Phoenix — The Suns will miss the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year, and many believe that owner Robert Sarver wants to turn things around quickly. Ryan McDonough has amassed an impressive group of young talent in his four years as GM, but that may not be enough to convince Sarver to keep him.
Atlanta — It’s unlikely that coach/executive Mike Budenholzer or GM Wes Wilcox gets replaced, but several staff additions are expected. The Hawks have been shaken by the loss of free agent Al Horford last season and the possible exit of Paul Millsap this summer, along with a late-season losing streak that may knock them out of the playoffs. More voices may be brought on to help Budenholzer and Wilcox with the decision-making process.

Magic GM Rob Hennigan’s Job In Jeopardy

March 20th, 2017 at 1:51pm CST by Luke Adams

After writing over the weekend that there has been chatter around the NBA about the possibility of Doc Rivers joining Orlando’s front office, Marc Stein of ESPN.com has another report today on Magic management. According to Stein, the Magic are giving “strong consideration” to replacing general manager Rob Hennigan, whose job is in danger.

As Stein notes, Hennigan is under contract with the Magic for one more year, through the 2017/18 season. However, the GM currently “finds himself under as much pressure as any executive in the league,” per Stein.

The fact that Hennigan is on the hot seat doesn’t come as a real surprise. The GM himself acknowledged last month that criticism of him and Orlando’s front office was “warranted,” given the club’s performance this season. “Our fans, quite frankly, deserve to be upset and deserve to be frustrated,” Hennigan said at the time. “I think the proverbial hot seat comes with the territory.”

An eventful 2016 offseason saw the Magic trade for Serge Ibaka, then sign Bismack Biyombo, D.J. Augustin, and Jeff Green in free agency. The franchise had playoff aspirations to start the year, but lost its opener to the Heat, and never got back above .500. Orlando’s spot in the lottery prompted the team to flip Ibaka to the Raptors before the trade deadline, and Hennigan and the front office were widely criticized for giving up far more for Ibaka last summer than they got back for him in February.

This will be the fifth straight season that the Magic finish with a losing record, dating back to 2012/13, Hennigan’s first year at the helm. Since Hennigan was hired as Orlando’s GM, the team has a 128-270 record (.322). The club has employed four different head coaches during that time, never winning more than 35 games in a season or earning a spot in the playoffs.

Could Doc Rivers Be Headed To Orlando?

March 18th, 2017 at 6:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

6:03pm: Rivers is trying to quell rumors that he might go to Orlando, tweets Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times. Speaking with reporters before tonight’s game, Rivers insisted that he has “no future” with the Magic.

5:15pm: League insiders are discussing the possibility that Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers could take a similar role in Orlando, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

The theory, according to Stein, starts with the likelihood that Rob Hennigan will be fired as Magic GM at the end of the season. Add in the upcoming free agency for Clippers stars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin and there’s a possibility that changes are coming in L.A.

Stein hints that the Clippers could be broken up if they fail to reach the conference finals, something the team hasn’t done in the six years Paul and Griffin have been together. If those changes include a coaching move, then Rivers, whose contract as coach and president of basketball operations runs through 2018/19, would become available for Orlando.

If that scenario happens, it would mark a homecoming for Rivers, who started his coaching career with the Magic in 1999.

It’s not clear if Orlando is ready to dismiss current coach Frank Vogel, who was given a four-year contract last summer. Stein says Hennigan’s trade of Serge Ibaka to Toronto last month was an admission that the roster was overstocked with big men, and it appeared to absolve Vogel of blame for a disappointing season.

If Vogel remains, the Magic will consider former Orlando player Pat Garrity to replace Hennigan. Garrity currently serves as associate GM with the Pistons.

Another possibility for the Clippers, Stein notes, is to request that Rivers give up his front office duties and concentrate on coaching. If that happens, the team may reach out to Bob Whitsitt, a former executive with the SuperSonics and Trail Blazers who has close ties to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer.

Stein also says to watch for the possible departure of L.A. shooting guard J.J. Redick in free agency this summer. Redick complained publicly about the organization this week and may become too expensive for the Clippers to re-sign.