The Orlando Magic fired coach Jacque Vaughn on Thursday. Names already being attached to the vacancy reportedly include Scott Skiles, Michael Malone, Mark Jackson and a handful of others.
Orlando (15-27) lost 16 of their last 18 games, including 10 straight. The front office apparently had seen enough from Vaughn's three seasons with the team and announced on Thursday he was fired, with assistant coach James Borrego taking over for the remainder of the season as interim head coach.
Barring a miraculous turnaround under Borrego, the front office will make a new hire in the offseason. According to ESPN's Nick Borges, there are already three top candidates.
Per Borges:
"Scott Skiles: Last week, ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard wrote that Skiles, a former Orlando player, might be the frontrunner for the job. Skiles has been the head coach of the Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks.
"Michael Malone: He began this season as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings, but he was fired due to some tension with management. Malone is a strong coach on the defensive end of the floor and that is an area that needs to improve in Orlando.
"Mark Jackson: He was a leader on the floor as a long-time point guard and spent many years as a TV analyst before being named the head coach of the Golden State Warriors on June 6, 2011. Jackson, like Malone, had issues with management and on May 6, 2014 he was relieved of his duties as head coach. Jackson is currently working for ESPN as a game analyst."
Borges also included Vinny Del Negro, George Karl and Nate McMillan in his list of possible coaching candidates.
Skiles, who last coached the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2013-14 season, was also named as a top candidate by Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy.
