The Magic fired general manager Rob Hennigan right after the regular season ended after an accumulation of poor decisions led the Magic to another season floundering in obscurity at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Trading for Serge Ibaka (and subsequently dealing him away at the deadline) and signing Bismack Biyombo failed to work out, while Mario Hezonja never developed into a playmaker as the team’s top draft pick from 2015.
Orlando has been linked to some former players, including Grant Hill, as potential replacements for Hennigan, but the latest report from The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski has them targeting a much more experienced front office name for the opening. According to Woj, the Magic will likely keep their GM spot open through the Cavs playoff run, however deep it goes, in hopes of landing general manager David Griffin, who does not have a contract for next season in Cleveland.
Woj reports that contract talks between Griffin and the Cavs have been “stalled for months” and that some around the league believe he could be “lured away from Cleveland.” Griffin is the architect of the Cavs roster that won last year’s NBA title and is, at present, the favorite to win the East again after Boston’s early first round struggles. Well, at least in title he is. There are plenty that will tell you that LeBron James is the one pulling the strings in Cleveland, but Griffin has done well in trades, most recently acquiring Kyle Korver for a future first-round draft pick that should be a late first.
His draft history with the Cavs is spotty. Griffin was part of the front office under Chris Grant during the 2011 draft that got the Cavs Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson, but was also there for the miss on Anthony Bennett and reach for Dion Waiters. His biggest move as GM was dealing Andrew Wiggins (and Bennett) to Minnesota for Kevin Love to create the current Big 3 in Cleveland.
The Magic haven’t been a factor in the Eastern Conference since Dwight Howard’s departure, and they would hope that bringing Griffin in — if they can get him — would bring more legitimacy to their front office in the pursuit of free agents and also bring some savvy to their trade deals that, in recent years, have not gone especially well.
