TreyMachine

Here's what I got from reading this article: - Skiles is a perfectionist that demands hard work and smart play from his players. When they showed a lack of either, they were benched. - His idea of a defense-first team didn't line-up with Milwaukee's GM, who brought in two undersized chunkers after having his team go 18-6 before Andrew Bogut got hurt - of which at the time they had a top 10 defense. - Even when he had his iso one-on-one team, he still managed to create an offense that played to their strengths, but never really liked the roster that he was given. Here are my thoughts of this situation: 1. This might be a smokescreen to get the Bulls to panic. If we want Thibs bad enough, I do believe that Hennigan would give up a future 2nd round pick. So, again, if we really want Thibs, I think this is a smokescreen. 2. If it's not a Smokescreen, I'm looking at the teams he's had and how they've done. With the Bulls, he had Ben Gordon and a Luol Deng-centered team that finished with 50 wins in 2006. Before that, it was Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, of which they too made the playoffs and were competitive. 3. He's never been a great offensive coach, but he's never had players that were particularly good on offense individually. His calling card is defense and competitive fire, which we know is what the Magic roster is being built around. He may be a poor man's Thibs, but he also never had a roster like Thibs had (centered around a premier PG). 4. I look at the teams he had and the players he had and he seems to get the most out of his players. Where I think he needs to learn (and I hope he's grown) is allowing for the care of the players as humans rather than soldiers. 5. My fear, like others, is that his teams start to tune him out after year 3 or 4. I wonder if this is the product of him or the type of players that he was given to coach (CHI - Ben Gordon, Larry Hughes, Thabo Selfolosha; MIL - Brandon Jennings, Monte Ellis, Larry Sanders). The players ORL has currently are guys who work hard, are competitive, and are extremely humble. There was a notion that JV couldn't coach and players finally took over (Elfrid's "I got sick and tired and just started pressing" talk last year), but from what it looks like with Skiles, this won't be the case. 6. Lastly, if this truly does happen, I still do trust management. After looking at the evidence of what he's had to work with, I see Henny and Skiles being on the same page in terms of character and vision for this team. It would also be a nice "welcome home" tribute to Skiles, whom I do think got his time cut short with Orlando due to Penny's uprising and Skiles expendability b/c of this.

I mean, I feel like the vast majority of us wanted Victor Oladipo on draft night 2 years ago. Ben McLemore was an offensive powerhouse in terms of potential, but we had all heard about the heart, tenacity, athleticism, and work ethic of V.O. Last year was the only draft I was shell-shocked by, but after the shock of the 4th pick, it made sense that we were aiming for Elfrid Payton with the #12 pick, of which Philly knew too and snatched him and asked for a King's ransom back.

I think it's amazing how much those of the general Orlando Magic fan not on this board (facebook posts, tweets, etc.) badly want Porzingas or Cauley-Stein in the name of "We need a big blocking or stretch PF." Seriously - both are huge projects who are much more likely to end up like Marcus Camby or Yi Jianlian than Tyson Chandler or Dirk Nowitzki. I just see us taking Hezonja or Winslow. Winslow screams most as a Henny dude. I just don't see Henny taking on a giant gamble with the #5 pick. I also think the majority of pro sports fans don't see the full picture of what it takes to create a winning team and culture. This isn't NBA 2K15.

Olowakandi and Joe Smith at least had serviceable careers. Pervis Ellison had a 20 PPG / 10 RPG season, and like Oden, was derailed by injuries. Kwame Brown might be in worst pick of all-time. He was never injured that often - he just only averaged over 10 PPG and 7 RPG once. Other than that, it was around 6 Points and 4 Boards for the rest of his career... which is about the number that Bennett is averaging right now. The thing that really gets me is that everyone knew he had a giant Asthma problem going into the draft. During his rookie campaign, he couldn't play hard for more than 5 minutes at a time. How - how - can you justify a guy who will never see 40 minutes in a game due to an ailment as the #1 pick?

Based on next year's potential, we're in the middle 10. However, if we're going on last year, we're definitely in the bottom 10.

If the magic interest in overstated, WHY HAVE WE NOT BROUGHT IN ANY COACHES TO INTERVIEW YET??? #RiddleMeThat

While I am on the Hezonja train, if I've learned anything from Henny, it's that he wants guys who will play hard on defense and are smart enough to learn good offense. Does Hezonja play hard when it counts and does he have a teachable spirit (some note his arrogance)? I think that, if anything, the teachable spirit and willingness to do the dirty work on plays will be the deciding factor for our choice between Winslow / Hezonja / Anyone else: who wants to win bad enough? For Oladipo, Payton, and Gordon, we know we got 3 of the most competitive guys over the laid-back natures of most players picked after them. They're all hungry. I believe Winslow is hungry and will do anything to win. Will Hezonja?

I would argue Payton & Oladipo both cannot shoot from outside and this just creates huge problems for us on offense. If you add a SF who can't shoot into our starting line-up, we're done for. I think AG will develop a jumper, and Oladipo will have a serviceable one, but we need a guy who can shoot. Hezonja is our guy to fill that scoring/shooting void.

So you can sign a FA who is already on your team and trade him (a la LeBron for the max and the Heat getting a 2nd round pick in return), but you cannot do the same with a Restricted FA? Unfortunate, as I think that Tobias as a sign-and-trade would work well. I'm now almost guaranteeing that we'll match close to any offer that is thrown at him. You don't just let someone walk with that talent if you're $30 million under the salary cap.

Didn't Byron Scott JUST represent the Lakers two nights ago at the draft lottery?? If Alvin Gentry is indeed finalizing a team to work in NOLA, that's a clear path for the Magic to Thibbs. Perhaps NOLA knew we would outbid them and moved elsewhere immediately. Does this lessen Chicago's asking price since we have no competition and know we'll call Chicago's bluff about keeping him? IMO I don't see Thibbs complying by talking and getting a contract with a team he doesn't want to be with (a la perhaps the Lakers). If Thibbs has Orlando and that is his top destination, the Bulls have no power unless they are willing to miss out on other coaches interviewing with other teams.

There were a number of duds that were not bolded on this list, including the last 2-3 years where - while it might be too early to predict - were clearly not worth their pick that year. As for 2013, I do believe we got the only good player out of that bunch in Victor Oladipo. I'm still get a smile on my face when I remember hearing that #1 called and being completely and utterly confused and yet so happy that Cavs blew it. It was "Draft Day" but with basketball and Cleveland got NOTHING to redeem themselves the rest of that day (in fact I'm reasonably convinced that movie was based on the Cav's 2013 draft by a Cleveland sports fan who wanted a happier ending).

I can also see this being a tactic of a team in the 6-10 range hoping Mario falls to them instead of jumping up.

Don't know if this has already been pointed out: http://journaltimes.com/sports/basketball/bucks-beat-magic-ready-to-open-vault-for-thibodeau/article_0b44eaab-3d72-5b74-9999-4bedbd98fe7c.html

If Brooks isn't there as a comfort blanket should we not get Thibs, then I am indeed concerned about who we're hiring, especially considering the two coaches after that are Mike Malone and Scott Skiles, both of which have left some organizations and players poorly. If we can't get Brooks, I'm on the Mark Jackson bandwagon. He doesn't get enough credit, but look at his development of that Warriors team. We can give credit to Kerr all we want, but Jackson did a number of player development there. I have concerns about him getting along with upper management, but I would much rather have a wild card like that (think SVG's "problems" with management) than a coach who will grind and run his players down (like Skiles).

Can we also all remember that Elfrid Payton was at this point last year a mid/early 2nd round pick? Then he was a late 1st round pick. Then he was a mid-1st round pick. Things change fast on draft boards.

Can we all acknowledge the fact that EVERY expert analyst had us taking Dante Exum with our #4 pick last year? Don't get your panties in a wad if everyone says we're taking a certain player. If I've learned anything with Hennigan, it's that he doesn't read or give a damn about other's thoughts, as he's gone against the grain 2 years in a row and hit home runs each time. :gold_cup:

I think this will be a fun draft because I could see multiple draft-day trades going down with so many teams willing to move.

Precisely. He was benched on multilpe occasions because he indeed wasn't committed to staying with the team. This is no Fran Vasquez.

I think we keep hoping that all our athletic defensive players will eventually develop offensive jumpshots. I don't doubt Oladipo and Gordon can do so. I just think Mario will be a good enough defensive player and will give us that stretch we need. Winslow, while great in transition, does similar things that Gordon and Oladipo can do.

I'm on board. At the same time, let's be honest: Henny could pull something crazy out of thin air that none of us saw coming (think Aaron Gordon). He'll pick the best player on the board - of which I now realize Aaron Gordon was at the time. I trust whatever Henny decides honestly.

I'd agree with this. At the same time though, just because players are in the #4-#8 range, doesn't mean they can't turn out quite good. Just look at this past year's players with Curry (#7 pick), Westbrook (#4 pick), Damian Lillard (#4 pick), Mike Conley Jr. (#4 pick), etc. You're more likely with a top 3 pick, but that doesn't mean that you can't find a gem.

But the Knicks didn't. If the Knicks and Lakers were #1 and #2, I might buy into the conspiracy theory. But only the Lakers, and they got the #2 - not #1.

There are worse things than 5th. I clearly wanted to be vaulted into the top 3, but 5th is better than 6th or 7th. We'll get something quality with 5th - but unfortunately, again, not a superstar (likely).

I worry we move into the 6 or 7 range. When playing the field, there is a high likelihood that someone jumps from 6-10 into the top 3, as it has happened almost every single year. So, I would count on us have the #6 pick or picks #1-#3.

Welp - there you go. As I said before, the shot of working with Anthony Davis is far too much for any coach to pass up - like having Kevin Durant or a young LeBron on your team. Just not happening with a once-in-a-generation player who you have as a restricted free agent next year (for the next 4-5 years). I'm team Brooks. I think he's a players coach who will build deep relationships with players and whom will love and play for him well. I don't know about X's and O's, but with how much KD and Westbrook loved the man, that's gotta mean something.