The Magic are moving along in their search to find Orlando‘s next head coach.
This week, the Magic interviewed at least one candidate for the job that opened May 4 — the day Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman dismissed Jamahl Mosley.
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Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach Jeff Van Gundy interviewed for the position, a league source confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel on Friday. NBA writer Marc Stein was first to report that Van Gundy had interviewed with the Magic.
In addition to Van Gundy, former Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan is also a candidate for the Magic job, a league source confirmed to the Sentinel. Stein’s colleague Jake Fischer first reported this week that Donovan would have “an in-person meeting” with Weltman “in the near future.”
Of the potential candidates the Magic might consider to replace Mosley, perhaps Donovan has garnered the most buzz since the job opened. The former Florida Gators coach stepped down after six years with Chicago in April.
Meanwhile, Van Gundy, the brother of former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, was first mentioned to be on Orlando’s radar by Stein and Fischer just this week. A defensive-minded coach, Jeff Van Gundy was last an NBA head coach in 2007 after he led the Houston Rockets to three playoff appearances in four seasons.
He returned to coaching ahead of the 2024-25 season after 16 years as a color commentator for ESPN, a stretch that included working 15 NBA Finals. An assistant coach for New York from 1989-1996, Van Gundy later served as head coach of the Knicks from 1996-2001.
Van Gundy and Donovan share a common trait as candidates for the Magic: They’re both veteran coaches. Stein and Fischer reported earlier this week it’s “well-established” that Orlando wants to hire a coach with experience.
Speaking the day after Orlando was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for a third consecutive season, Weltman hesitated to say whether or not experience would be a deciding factor. Mosley, who was hired by the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday, was a first-time coach when he arrived to Orlando in 2021.
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“I don’t want to kind of come to it with any preconceived non-negotiables,” Weltman said at the time when asked about previous head coaching experience. “There are some really talented young guys out there that haven’t gotten a chance yet — as Mose was.”
“There are also some guys that have proven that they can do the job,” he added. “What’s the best fit for our team right now? I don’t think you can really know more than speculate until we really like … get in and talk to them and exchange ideas and their thoughts on our team. That’ll hopefully lead us where we need to go; the more preconditions you put on that, maybe you kind of give yourself a worse chance of getting to the right place.”
The Magic, of course, aren’t the only team in need of a coach.
The Bulls, Trail Blazers and Mavericks are also searching, with Van Gundy reportedly a finalist for the Portland job. The Dallas job opened this week after new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri fired Jason Kidd on Tuesday.
Beyond Van Gundy, Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter and Minnesota assistant Micah Nori are considered to be finalists for the Portland job, Stein reported.
Another potential candidate for both the Magic and Bulls jobs is Spurs assistant coach Sean Sweeney, who previously worked in Dallas. Fischer reported this week that Sweeney is expected to interview with the Magic and is a “prime candidate” for Chicago.
Sweeney and the Spurs, who are coached by Seattle native Mitch Johnson, entered Friday night tied 1-1 with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.
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Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]