A blast from the Orlando Magic’s past has emerged in the team’s search for a new general manager – Shaquille O’Neal.
O’Neal will meet with the Magic next week to discuss the GM opening, multiple sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard.
O’Neal, who is in his first season as an analyst for TNT, spent the first four seasons of his career as the Magic’s center starting with the 1992-93 season. He led the league in scoring with 29.3 points per game with Orlando in 1994-95.
O’Neal isn’t the only recognizable name on Orlando’s radar.
Jerry Sloan has expressed interest in the open Charlotte Bobcats and Magic coaching positions.
The former Utah Jazz coach, who resigned during the 2011 season after 23 seasons with the team, told the Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday that he has talked to Bobcats owner Michael Jordanabout his team’s vacancy.
Sloan will interview with Charlotte later this week, league sources told Broussard.
The Bobcats also have permission from the Indiana Pacers to speak with assistant Brian Shawand from the Los Angeles Lakers to speak with assistant coach Quin Snyder, the sources said. Shaw’s interview will take place after the Pacers’ season ends.
The sources said Charlotte also will reach out to former Magic coach Stan Van Gundy. The team is not expected to make a decision until after next week’s draft lottery, at the earliest.
Earlier Tuesday, Sloan expressed interest in the Magic opening in an interview with Fox Sports Florida, calling the job “intriguing” despite the uncertainty surrounding star center Dwight Howardand the Magic’s vacant general manager position after the outster of Otis Smith.
Sloan said he wasn’t deterred by the lowly status of the Bobcats, who won an NBA-worst seven games last season.
“Obviously, you probably wouldn’t win (a title) right off the bat,” Sloan told the Tribune. “But, sometimes, it’s not all about starting on top.”
If he were to be hired in Charlotte, Sloan would be working for the man who helped to deny him his two best shots at an NBA title. Sloan led the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice (1997 and 1998), only to lose to Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
The 70-year-old Sloan told the newspaper that he feels “terrific” and said he’ll “stay out of the way” while teams determine if he’s a possible fit.
“If there’s some interest in me, fine. If there’s not, I understand that, too,” Sloan told the Tribune.
Sloan ranks third all-time in regular-season NBA coaching victories with 1,221. Former coaches Lenny Wilkins (1,332) and Don Nelson (1.335) are the only two to have more regular-season victories than Sloan.
He is the only coach in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one team. Sloan’s other wins came with the Bulls from 1979 to 1982.
Sloan told Fox Sports Florida that he needed a break from basketball when he left the game in 2011, resigning after a loss to the Bulls.
“I worked (26) years (as a coach). It was time for me to move on and see what was going on in the world. That’s been kind of interesting. But I still have that void of basketball,” Sloan told the regional sports network.
WRITTEN BY ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard contributed to this report & FULL STORY HERE
