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Unseld has familiarity with the Magic franchise. From 2012-15, he worked on Jacque Vaughn’s coaching staff until Vaughn and most of the staff were fired midway through the 2014-15 season. At that time, the Magic’s basketball operations department was headed by general manager Rob Hennigan, who was fired in 2017.
The Thunder announced seven internal promotions Tuesday for members of its front office. Most notably, Will Dawkins and Rob Hennigan will share the title of vice president of basketball operations. Troy Weaver, who spent the last three seasons in that role, and was with the Thunder for 12 total seasons, was hired by the Detroit Pistons in June as their new general manager.
Fortunately, an OKC official was close enough to Donnie Strack, the Thunder’s Vice President of Human and Player Performance, to get his attention. Get the refs, Strack was told. Tell them to stop the tipoff. As Strack ran onto the court, Rob Hennigan, OKC’s VP of Insight and Foresight, started corralling the Thunder’s players and coaches. He then joined the huddle near midcourt with Strack and the referees – crew chief Pat Fraher, Mark Lindsay and Ben Taylor. The officials soon called over the respective head coaches, Quin Snyder and Billy Donovan. Seconds later, they contacted the NBA, through its Digital Operations Center, where the league monitors every game played. Usually, the biggest issue on a given night at the DOC is to help referees determine whether or not to instant replay. This was different.
Amid a strange scene that ended with the cancellation of not just a game but the postponement NBA indefinitely, Strack remained himself. For those unfamiliar with the 6-foot-5 native of Indiana, his face may have exhibited urgency as he explained the scenario to the officials and motioned for Thunder assistant general manager Rob Hennigan to join the huddle. But Strack’s face maintained the same controlled concern he has when talking to players in pregame with a hand on their shoulder and an even tone.
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Josh Robbins: The Magic's last win over the Lakers at Staples Center occurred on Dec. 12, 2012. That was the Magic's first game against Dwight Howard, and the victory arguably was the franchise's biggest win during Rob Hennigan's tenure as GM.
Frank Vogel on the hot seat?
And now Vogel finds himself in a predicament coaches dread: on the hot seat, unsure if his team’s front office will retain him for next season. Vogel is in a precarious spot. Between Vogel’s first and second seasons, the Magic fired Rob Hennigan as the team’s general manager, dismissed many other key figures within the basketball operations department and hired Jeff Weltman as the president of basketball operations and John Hammond as the general manager.
As they have remained quiet, gossip has swirled for months within NBA circles about Vogel’s future. The speculation accelerated after the Magic followed a superb 8-4 start with an injury-fueled nine-game losing streak. The conjecture has always centered around an assumption that Weltman will want to pick his own coach rather than retain the coach he inherited. Then, with a new coach in place, Weltman ostensibly would undertake an incremental rebuild and reboot the failed effort that began under Hennigan.
Many executives and scouts throughout the NBA think the Magic’s roster has been flawed throughout Vogel’s tenure. In the months leading into Vogel’s first season, the Magic made two major failed moves. First, the team traded Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantas Sabonis for Serge Ibaka. Then it signed center Bismack Biyombo to a four-year deal worth $17 million per season.
The league is watching the George situation very closely, and there’s a general belief that the Thunder will have to act if they haven’t significantly improved a few months from now (there are 29 games left before the deadline). With every George trade inquiry – whether it’s Presti on the call or recently returned front office mate/former Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan, who often handles such discussions for OKC – executives will be eager to exploit the situation.
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The Oklahoma City Thunder named Rob Hennigan as Vice President of Insight & Foresight and promoted Will Dawkins to Vice President of Identification & Intelligence, it was announced today by Executive Vice President & General Manager Sam Presti. In his role, Hennigan will oversee key functions that include Strategic Planning, Data Science & Solutions and Information Management & Counsel. Dawkins will lead the Thunder’s Amateur Evaluation and oversee the Pro Evaluation function.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to welcome Rob back to the Thunder. He was here in the earliest stages of the organization in 2008 as we built the foundation for the Thunder that we are continuing to build from as we enter our 10th season in Oklahoma City,” said Presti. “Will has proven to be a true, organic, rising talent within our organization having held several roles and now moving into a vice president and pillar lead position within our executive management team.”
Michael Scotto: Former Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan has been hired by the OKC Thunder, league sources told @BBallInsiders.
Hennigan acquired Maurice Harkless, Tobias Harris, Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O’Quinn and Victor Oladipo through the draft or through trades, and those players once were regarded as key elements of the Magic’s rebuilding plan. And yet, how much did any of those players improve during their Magic tenures? The answer: very little.
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