Scott Skiles Asked Everyone Not To Speculate On His Resignation, But People Didn’t Listen

After Scott Skiles dropped a bomb Thursday morning, announcing he would resign following just one season coaching the Orlando Magic, he added that “I realize this type of decision can cause much speculation. The reality though is in the first sentence. It is simple and true. Any other rumors are pure conjecture.”

That first sentence was what again?

“After much thought and careful consideration, I and I alone, have come to the conclusion that I am not the right head coach for this team.”

Got it. Now, do you think the media was just gonna let Skiles’ resignation lay dormant, and not investigate? Skiles basically doomed himself to speculation the moment he warned people not to speculate. That’s just human nature. Tell someone not to do something, and they’re a lot more apt to do it.

We already have, somewhat. We updated the piece to show that Magic general manager Rob Hennigan and Skiles didn’t see eye to eye on the point guard position, and that disagreement may have ultimately led to the rupture that was Skiles’ resignation. But that’s not the only rumor floating around, just the first such narrative proffered.

But NBA Today radio host Justin Termine has his own take on what transpired and ultimately led to Skiles’ shocking announcement. Termine’s even got sources; although, like most sources these days, they’re anonymous and we have no idea how trustworthy or close to the organization they might be.

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That’s a lot to unpack, but we’re gonna try. Skiles was apparently already worried he’d made a mistake in January, and didn’t really tell anyone but assistant coach Adrian Griffin. Griffin eventually told Hennigan and CEO Alex Martins. Hennigan wanted to tell ownership, but held off at the behest of Martins. All this after Skiles allegedly begged the owners for the job in the first place, which is apparently why Hennigan was so furious and originally wanted to tell the owners.

That’s, um, a lot of conjecture. Sorry Scott, but you brought this on yourself with your mysterious abdication Thursday morning.

But there’s more, and it might have to do with Skiles’ replacement. In Josh Robbins’ article about the resignation for the Orlando Sentinel, he dropped this bit of info toward the end (emphasis ours):

Skiles was not a part of the Magic’s delegation that interviewed eight draft prospects Wednesday night in Chicago.

The delegation included Hennigan, assistant general managers Scott Perry and Matt Lloyd, scout Anthony Parker and lead assistant coach Adrian Griffin.

Griffin, purportedly one of the three people who actually knew of Skiles’ discontent as coach, is also probably being vetted to be his replacement. And it wouldn’t be that bad a decision.

There’s more, too. We mentioned earlier the still-open Indiana Pacers position, and it’s not often someone will just resign without a backup plan.

Plus, it seems people within the Magic have been trying to talk Skiles out of the decision for a little while now, but he went ahead with it anyway.

Scott Skiles doesn’t want any speculation or conjecture, but that’s exactly what happens when you resign from a high-profile job with zero warning. Asking people not to speculate is only going to invite more speculation.