Orlando Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman officially announced the hiring of Sean Sweeney as the organization’s next head coach on Monday, and Weltman joined the Game On show with Mike Bianchi and Brandon Kravitz on Tuesday to discuss Sweeney’s hiring.

"Well, we went through a process, with a few great candidates and Sean was really impressive in our meeting with him and had a subsequent follow-up and kind of moved pretty quickly on it," Weltman told Kravitz. "So, it wasn't too much before we announced it or it got out that we kind of had made our decision."

Sweeney is currently serving as the associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, who are currently gearing up for an NBA Finals matchup with the New York Knicks. For Weltman, trying to have discussions with Sweeney and construct the process of his hiring during the Spurs’ playoff run presented a unique challenge.

"Yeah. Honestly, I've never been through anything like this," Weltman said. "And I have to say, huge thanks to the San Antonio organization because they really wanted to let Sean have every opportunity that he could to pursue a job that he really wanted. And so, they were really amenable. 

But we had to work on off days and kind of just make it work the best way that we could," he added. "It wasn't optimum, but obviously we made it work. They were very cooperative because they didn't want to hold Sean back."

Weltman also touched on the difficulty of trying to scout an assistant coach.

"Yeah, it's hard to scout assistant coaches. If you can figure out a process for that, I'd like to know," Weltman said. "But for sure, there are always like a next wave of young talent in all the league in scouting, coaching and playing, obviously. And so we're always trying to be aware of who that next wave is, like, where they're coming from, and to familiarize ourselves with them from afar."

Sweeney’s name rapidly emerged in the weeks removed from the news of Jamahl Mosley’s firing on May 4. Other names involved in the speculation included Billy Donovan and Jeff Van Gundy, but Weltman would not confirm whether or not they were interviewed or given consideration for the job.

"Yeah, I don't want to get into all of the candidates that we had," Weltman told Bianchi. "Some were publicly aired out and maybe others that were not. But we have the ultimate respect for both of those guys. I think that when you go down a process like this, it's not like there's a right answer and a wrong answer. I always say this, and I think sometimes it can sound like cliche, but it really isn’t — this league is about timing and fit.

And you know, for us, we met with a lot of interesting guys and brilliant coaches and well-established people," Weltman added. "And at the end of the day, Sean just really impressed us. And we felt that the timing and the fit for our team and where he was on his arc was like a perfect time to join forces."

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