After blowing a 3-1 lead against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Orlando Magic have much soul searching to do the next few months
The Orlando Magic were so close to doing the unthinkable.
At one point, they held a 3-1 lead in the best-of-7 series against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Magic were on pace to become just the seventh No. 8 seed to knock off a No. 1.
And then star Franz Wagner got hurt and the Pistons responded with three straight victories to win the series. Roundtable Sports beat writer Don Strouble recently spoke about the disappointment of the loss on the Full Court Magic podcast.
"This was, as you all know, a series that the Magic had in the palm of their hands and just couldn't find a way to get it done," Strouble said. "Specifcally after Franz Wagner got hurt in the Game 4 win and that was the only time the Magic were able to get it done without him on the floor. He suffered that right calf strain."
The Magic now have a few months of soul-searching after the gut-wrenching loss. The aftermath was management firing coach Jamahl Mosely, who was in charge for five seasons. General manager Jeff Weltman recently broke down the coaching search, which they hope ends before free agency begins July 1.
"I don't think we look for a particular trait or a quality," Weltman said. "I think coaches come in a lot of different shapes and sizes, and someone that kind of looks at our team in a way that we feel can help move us forward, obviously someone who understands where we are on our timeline, that we've kind of tried to get past the growth stages of the rebuild. And some of that is maybe stuff that we have to look at as a front office this summer," he added. "But, I don't have a box to say we want the next coach to come out of this sort of box."
After a coach is found, the Magic have to decide if they want to keep current roster in tact or try to rebuild in free agency.
Join the Community
Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!
It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast
For additional coverage, subscribe to our Full Court Magic Podcast!
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of MagicRoundtable. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com