San Antonio will be losing a crucial part of its coaching staff going into next season.
It's been no secret that a major part of the San Antonio Spurs' turnaround this season has been its stellar defense, led of course, by unanimous DPOY Victor Wembanyama.
Wemby will be a Spurs icon for the next decade, but the architect of San Antonio's defense this season will be finding a new home later this year.
Associate head coach Sean Sweeney is nearing an agreement with the Orlando Magic to be the team's next head coach. After previously spending time as Jason Kidd's top assistant with the Dallas Mavericks, Sweeney joined Mitch Johnson and the Spurs this season before making a name for himself even more than he already had.
ESPN's Shams Charania says former Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan and LA Clippers assistant Jeff Van Gundy were the other finalists for the Magic job as Orlando succeeds Jamahl Mosley, who was fired after five seasons with the team.
Sweeney, 41, takes over an Orlando roster that is oozing with potential on both ends of the floor. The Magic are led by former No. 1 overall pick and All-Star Paolo Banchero, along with integral role pieces Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, Jalen Suggs, Anthony Black, and Jonathan Isaac.
Orlando was on the brink of a playoff upset this season, leading the top-seeded Detroit Pistons 3-1 in the Eastern Conference first round, but a devastating injury to Wagner allowed Detroit to win the series in seven games.
Mosley was fired after the Magic's third straight first-round exit, which is a frustrating underachievement after the organization had just committed nearly all of its future draft capital in a blockbuster trade to acquire Bane last summer.
"Sweeney ran San Antonio's defense for Coach of the Year finalist Mitch Johnson this season, guiding an improvement from 25th to third in the NBA's defensive efficiency rankings and garnering praise from the team's young stars Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle," Charania cites.
"The Spurs also ranked top-five in defending isolations, on-ball screens, drives and rim protection, according to ESPN Research. Under Sweeney, the Spurs made a 28-win improvement to a 62-20 campaign - tied for the third-most wins in franchise history - and have advanced to the conference finals. Sweeney has served as a lead assistant to a conference finalist in three of the last five seasons."
Of the Spurs' major pieces, there isn't one who is a defensive liability. They face a Game 7 test in Oklahoma City against the defending-champion Thunder, but San Antonio's strides this year - winning 62 games and posting the third-best defensive rating in the regular season - made Sweeney an obvious candidate to become a first-time head coach in this cycle.
Sweeney will remain with the Spurs until the end of the season, which could include an NBA Finals berth if San Antonio can string two wins in a row against OKC.
