When the Magic hired Sean Sweeney as their new head coach, speculation about Orlando potentially trading for Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo only grew louder.
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That’s because Sweeney not only worked with Antetokounmpo as an assistant coach in Milwaukee from 2014-18 but built a relationship with the two-time NBA MVP so strong that the forward has described Sweeney in the past as one of his best friends.
In addition, Sweeney’s time with the Bucks overlapped for three years with John Hammond’s tenure as Milwaukee’s general manager when the franchise drafted Antetokounmpo with the 15th pick in 2013. Hammond, who served as Orlando’s general manager for six seasons (2017-23), now works as a senior advisor to Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman.
So are the Magic actually pursuing “The Greek Freak” or is this just a professional connecting of the dots?
While the Miami Heat are generally viewed as the most aggressive team working to acquire Antetokounmpo, according to various reports, there are other teams that could be involved.
And as recently as Tuesday, ESPN senior writer Ramona Shelburne referred to the Magic as a “dark horse” team to acquire Antetokounmpo.
“I think there’s another dark horse team that I’ve heard — Orlando,” Shelburne said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “Good young players, they kind of topped out in the playoffs. I mean, we all know what happened in that first round against Detroit. Would Paolo Banchero be a guy that they would ask for? I mean, these are big, good young players. … Jalen Suggs, good players.”
Shelburne also mentioned Portland and Boston as potential teams that could be interested in Antetokounmpo.
Weltman was asked by the Orlando Sentinel about the idea that the Magic are a “dark horse” team to land the Bucks star.
“First of all, you know I’m not allowed to speak about that,” Weltman told the Sentinel on Thursday after Sweeney was formally introduced at the AdventHealth Training Center. “I’m not allowed to talk about another team’s player.”
“I just think that, to me, “Weltman said, “I take it as a compliment that we have a lot of players that the league is interested in and that we could even be thrown into that conversation speaks to the talent on this roster. So, that’s my big takeaway from that.”
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Antetokounmpo, 31, has spent all 13 years of his career in Milwaukee, guiding the franchise to its second NBA title in 2021.
“Obviously I won’t comment on any discussions we’re having with teams or where our agendas are,” Weltman told the Sentinel. “I know a lot’s been written about that. But I think, like, you can’t get into that conversation without talent, you know? So, to me, I take that as a compliment and I know we have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of belief in our team.”
Regardless of where Antetokounmpo ends up, Weltman is aware the Magic have work to do to improve a roster that’s already expensive with the core pieces of Banchero, Franz Wagner, Suggs and Desmond Bane.
“We’re doing all the work that we need to (do) to try to puzzle the roster out,” Weltman said Thursday. “I do think there’s some kind of basic holes that we want to punch where we can improve the roster and augment the players that we have.
“Obviously the most important part of this whole process has been bringing Sean in the right way,” he added. “… It’s been a busy time organizationally but we have been at work on the draft and free agency, so hopefully we’re putting ourselves in a position to have a good summer.”
As for Sweeney, he said he’s looking forward to working with a young team that’s reached the playoffs the last three years. The new coach said he’s already made “lots of communication” with the group.
“Any time we played Orlando, they were always a hard-playing team — competitive, tough — and so that’s something there,” Sweeney said. “There’s obviously talent here. A number of talented guys that I’m excited to coach.
“And then, just in the conversations that I’ve had with a number of the players, (the) guys are hungry,” he added. “They’re ready to win. They want to keep working on building on what they’ve done.”
Sweeney also made it clear that roster decisions are, as expected, going to be made by Weltman and the front office.
“Whatever Jeff tells me,” Sweeney said with a grin when asked how much he expects to be involved in team construction. “No, listen, I’m excited about what we have here. There’s a lot of guys that are talented. Clearly there’s been a roster put together here that has shown the ability to win.
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“It’s my job to take what has been given here to me and do the best job I can.”
Jason Beede can be reached at [email protected]