Former Magic star Penny Hardaway emerges as severe candidate for Orlando’s teaching job, per report

Penny Hardaway has emerged as a severe candidate to turn out to be the following head coach of the Orlando Magic, in keeping with The Athletic’s Shams Charania. Hardaway has interviewed with Orlando, the workforce he starred for from 1993-1999, and is at present the top coach at Memphis, his alma mater. 

Hardaway has had a modest diploma of success at Memphis. He hasn’t reached the NCAA Match, however in three years, he has by no means gained fewer than 20 video games and has a complete report of 63-32, a greater report than his predecessor at Memphis, Tubby Smith, who gained a nationwide championship at Kentucky. His finest likelihood at true rivalry for the nationwide championship got here within the 2019-20 season, however was wiped away when prime recruit James Wiseman withdrew from the college to arrange for the NBA Draft after the NCAA suspended him for 12 video games. 

A part of Hardaway’s attraction to the Magic, particularly, stems from his very profitable stint as a participant in Orlando. Hardaway made 4 All-Star groups and was named a First-Group All-NBA participant twice in Orlando. He led the Magic to their first NBA Finals look in 1995 alongside Shaquille O’Neal. Because the franchise enters a rebuilding interval, hiring a workforce legend may energize a fan base that has not seen actual rivalry since Dwight Howard was traded in 2012. 

The Magic have interviewed a lot of candidates for his or her teaching place, together with former Portland Path Blazers coach Terry Stotts, Denver Nuggets assistant Wes Unseld Jr. and former Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson. They are going to finally rent the coach they imagine is finest fitted to the youthful roster they’re more likely to construct within the coming years. Hardaway’s collegiate expertise provides him a leg up on that entrance, and his time with the Magic provides him a robust understanding of the market and franchise. The match is smart on a number of ranges, and now, it’s as much as Hardaway to promote the Magic on it.