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Jeff Weltman was asked by the Orlando Sentinel about the idea that the Magic are a “dark horse” team to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. “First of all, you know I’m not allowed to speak about that,” Weltman told the Sentinel on Thursday after Sweeney was formally introduced at the AdventHealth Training Center. “I’m not allowed to talk about another team’s player.” “I just think that, to me, “Weltman said, “I take it as a compliment that we have a lot of players that the league is interested in and that we could even be thrown into that conversation speaks to the talent on this roster. So, that’s my big takeaway from that.”
“Obviously I won’t comment on any discussions we’re having with teams or where our agendas are,” Weltman told the Sentinel. “I know a lot’s been written about that. But I think, like, you can’t get into that conversation without talent, you know? So, to me, I take that as a compliment and I know we have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of belief in our team.”
“We’re doing all the work that we need to (do) to try to puzzle the roster out,” Weltman said Thursday. “I do think there’s some kind of basic holes that we want to punch where we can improve the roster and augment the players that we have. “Obviously the most important part of this whole process has been bringing Sean in the right way,” he added. “… It’s been a busy time organizationally but we have been at work on the draft and free agency, so hopefully we’re putting ourselves in a position to have a good summer.”
He stayed locked in on his tasks with the Spurs, even though the interview process started early in their postseason run. But with the finals over, Sweeney wasted little time in getting to Orlando and starting on the new job. “When we finally did get in front of him, it was a long day and he had a lot going on,” Magic President Jeff Weltman said. “It was during the playoffs and not only was he able to kind of compartmentalize his work with the Spurs and present well to us, but he really knocked our socks off. In Sean Sweeney, we have somebody who, in our minds, has the potential to be one of the elite coaches in this league.”
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While I always hesitate to frame any potential hire as the favorite for a job, since NBA matters can be so fluid, coaching insiders across the league's landscape are very much operating under the belief that former Bulls coach Billy Donovan has an excellent shot at landing the post. Sources confirmed that Donovan is in dialogue with Magic president Jeff Weltman and will have an in-person meeting with Orlando's lead executive in the near future…Orlando has LA Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy on its radar as well. The defensive guru on Tyronn Lue's staff is the brother, of course, of former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy.
Shams Charania: “Anyone that knows anything about Orlando, they’re going to keep things very buttoned up in terms of, this is now the start of the process. They fired Jamahl Mosley. There was a point that I heard over the last few weeks that, even though a lot of people around the NBA expected this outcome if the Magic were to lose in the first round, no real names had surfaced, or there was not that back-channel conversation that took place. But now Jeff Weltman and the Magic will be going through their search. Listen, there’s going to be a ton of names that get thrown around. I particularly don’t see Dusty May. I think he has a good thing going at Michigan.”
Shams Charania: Magic president Jeff Weltman, who signed a contract extension just before Orlando’s run to the NBA Cup final four, will lead the team's search for the next head coach. Mosley led the Magic to two division titles and three consecutive winning seasons while dealing with a litany of injuries to key starters, particularly over the last two years.
Weltman does not appear to be in jeopardy of losing his job. Two league sources said Weltman signed a contract extension during the first half of the season, around the time the team reached the NBA Cup semifinals.
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The Magic expressed interest in trading for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo before the trade deadline, league sources told HoopsHype. Antetokounmpo was originally drafted 15th overall in 2013 by current Magic senior advisor John Hammond. Magic president Jeff Weltman and Hammond have always been enamored with length and size in building their teams through the years, which is one of Antetokounmpo’s many strong suits.
Orlando made some changes to its bench this past offseason … changes that, league sources say, came at the urging of lead executive Jeff Weltman. The most notable newcomer: Well-traveled assistant and former Bucks and Hawks interim coach Joe Prunty as Mosley's new No. 1 assistant.
The Magic are targeting opening night for Jalen Suggs to make his regular season return to the court, according to president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman. Suggs, who is recovering from a left knee trochlea cartilage tear, last played for Orlando on Jan. 25 and it was his lone appearance after Jan. 3. For the whole season, he appeared in a career-low 35 games.
“Moe’s timeline is different,” Weltman said. “He’s further away. You guys know there’ve been unfortunately a series of ACLs in the last decade of the NBA and an associated timeline with that. But you guys also know Moe Wagner. So, he’s not your normal guy. “He’s attacking it. and we’re hopeful he can beat that timeline,” Weltman added. “What that looks like exactly is too soon to say.”