The Orlando Magic, linked for weeks to Cavs general manager David Griffin for their vacant president of basketball operations position, have decided to go in a different direction and have reportedly agreed to hire Toronto general manager Jeff Weltman, per The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Woj, the deal for Weltman is a five-year deal and he will lead their search for a new general manager to serve under him. Wojnarowski reports that interim GM Matt Lloyd would remain a candidate to move into the role full-time.
Weltman isn’t the name that Griffin is, but he won’t demand the amount of control of Griffin and likely comes at a lower price tag while still holding a strong pedigree as a front office leader. Weltman spent five years with the Bucks as an assistant GM before joining Masai Ujiri’s front office in Toronto in 2013.
The Magic will hope that Weltman can help them bring a steady hand to an organization that has been on a wayward path since the departure of Dwight Howard. The hope is that, with the sixth pick in the draft this year and some increasing cap flexibility, Weltman can begin to cobble together a roster that can, eventually, return to playoff contention. The five-year deal he was given seems to indicate that Orlando understands that this will be a process that takes significant time, given what they currently have on the roster.
