Rob Hennigan Has Been A Singles Hitter At GM For The Magic
Magic GM Rob Hennigan took on a difficult assignment upon arriving to Orlando. His first task, try to convince Dwight Howard to stay. That predictably didn’t work, and task #2 was trading the franchise player, which never ever ends well. So going in, it was safe to say it was a heavy rebuild that would take a few years, minimum, and would involve tanking (not on purpose, but because being passive in free agency leads to higher picks).
Before reading more in-depth below, I’d sum up by saying Rob Hennigan has been a singles hitter at GM for the Magic. He mostly did okay in the draft, especially versus other franchises, but never hit a home run. Heck, not even a double at this point. He didn’t bust a lot, but a homer and a strikeout scores a run, while a pair of singles don’t if you follow my lead. Trades and free agency were a mixed bag. Without a star in tow, he changed direction frequently with the roster. I don’t think he’s a buffoon, but he wasn’t lucky, and wasn’t smart enough to land a star with with his limited opportunities. In the end, he aggressively erred too much and ended up where he started.
Hennigan hasn’t been a disaster. He also hasn’t succeeded. Below are a list of his transactions via BasketballReference.com and my thoughts on where he did well, where he failed, and the frequent number of times that are still debatable.
- June 28, 2012: Selected Andrew Nicholson (1st round, 19th pick) and Kyle O’Quinn (2nd round, 49th pick) in the 2012 NBA Draft.
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July 11, 2012: Traded Ryan Anderson to the New Orleans Hornets for Gustavo Ayon.
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July 28, 2012: Hired Jacque Vaughn as Head Coach.
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August 10, 2012: As part of a 4-team trade, the Orlando Magic traded Jason Richardson to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Orlando Magic traded Earl Clark, Chris Duhon and Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers; the Denver Nuggets traded Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, a 2013 2nd round draft pick (Romero Osby was later selected) and a 2014 1st round draft pick (Dario Saric was later selected) to the Orlando Magic; the Los Angeles Lakers traded Christian Eyenga, Josh McRoberts and a 2017 1st round draft pick to the Orlando Magic; the Los Angeles Lakers traded Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers; the Philadelphia 76ers traded Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets; and the Philadelphia 76ers traded Maurice Harkless, Nikola Vucevic and a 2017 1st round draft pick to the Orlando Magic. Denver will send the lower of its two 2014 first round draft picks to Orlando.
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September 6, 2012: Signed E’Twaun Moore as a free agent.
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September 29, 2012: Signed Armon Johnson as a free agent.
September 29, 2012: Signed DeQuan Jones as a free agent.
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February 21, 2013: Traded Josh McRoberts to the Charlotte Bobcats for Hakim Warrick.
February 21, 2013: Traded Gustavo Ayon, J.J. Redick and Ishmael Smith to the Milwaukee Bucks for Tobias Harris, Doron Lamb, Beno Udrih and cash.
- June 27, 2013: Selected Victor Oladipo (1st round, 2nd pick) and Romero Osby (2nd round, 51st pick) in the 2013 NBA Draft.
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July 18, 2013: Signed Jason Maxiell as a free agent.
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July 25, 2013: Signed Ronnie Price as a free agent.
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February 25, 2014: Signed Adonis Thomas to a 10-day contract.
February 25, 2014: Signed Dewayne Dedmon to a 10-day contract.
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March 17, 2014: Signed Dewayne Dedmon to a contract for the rest of the season.
- June 26, 2014: Selected Aaron Gordon (1st round, 4th pick) and Dario Saric (1st round, 12th pick) in the 2014 NBA Draft.
June 26, 2014: Traded Dario Saric and a 2017 1st round draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Elfrid Payton.
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June 27, 2014: Traded Arron Afflalo to the Denver Nuggets for Evan Fournier and Devyn Marble.
- July 14, 2014:Â Signed Channing Frye
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September 29, 2014: Signed Kadeem Batts.
September 29, 2014: Signed Drew Crawford.
September 29, 2014: Signed Seth Curry.
September 29, 2014: Signed Peyton Siva.
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February 5, 2015: Fired Jacque Vaughn as Head Coach.
February 5, 2015: Hired James Borrego as Head Coach. (Interim)
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May 29, 2015: Hired Scott Skiles as Head Coach.
- June 25, 2015: Selected Mario Hezonja (1st round, 5th pick) and Tyler Harvey (2nd round, 51st pick) in the 2015 NBA Draft.
June 25, 2015: Traded Luke Ridnour to the Memphis Grizzlies for Janis Timma.
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July 9, 2015: Traded Kyle O’Quinn to the New York Knicks for Cash. (Sign and trade agreement; multi-year contract with Knicks) ORL has rights to swap 2nd round picks in 2019
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July 14, 2015: Signed Jason Smith.
July 14, 2015: Traded Maurice Harkless to the Portland Trail Blazers for a 2020 2nd round draft pick. (Pick is top-55 protected)
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July 27, 2015: Traded a 2016 2nd round draft pick to the Miami Heat for Shabazz Napier. (Top-55 protected)
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August 4, 2015: Signed Melvin Ejim.
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September 24, 2015: Signed Nnanna Egwu.
September 24, 2015: Signed Jordan Sibert.
September 24, 2015: Signed Greg Stiemsma.
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January 12, 2016: Traded a 2020 2nd round draft pick to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Joe Harris, cash considerations and a 2017 2nd round draft pick. (2017 2nd-Rd Pick is protected pick from SAC) (2020 2nd-rd pick is protected pick from POR)
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January 18, 2016: Signed Keith Appling to a 10-day contract.
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February 16, 2016: Traded Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings.
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February 18, 2016: As part of a 3-team trade, the Orlando Magic traded Channing Frye to the Cleveland Cavaliers; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Jared Cunningham to the Orlando Magic; the Cleveland Cavaliers traded Anderson Varejao and a 2018 1st round draft pick to the Portland Trail Blazers; and the Portland Trail Blazers traded a 2016 2nd round draft pick to the Orlando Magic. (1st-rd pick from CLE to POR is top-10 protected in 2018 & 2019)
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May 20, 2016: Hired Frank Vogel as Head Coach.
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June 23, 2016: Traded Ersan Ilyasova, Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Serge Ibaka.
- June 23, 2016: Selected Domantas Sabonis (1st round, 11th pick), Stephen Zimmerman (2nd round, 41st pick) and Jake Layman (2nd round, 47th pick) in the 2016 NBA Draft.
June 23, 2016: Traded Jake Layman to the Portland Trail Blazers for $1.2M cash and a 2019 2nd round draft pick.
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June 29, 2016: Traded a 2019 2nd round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for Jodie Meeks.
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July 7, 2016: Traded Shabazz Napier to the Portland Trail Blazers for cash considerations.
July 7, 2016: Signed Jeff Green.
- July 7, 2016:Â Signed Bismack Biyombo.
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July 15, 2016: Traded Devyn Marble and a 2020 2nd round draft pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for C.J. Wilcox and cash considerations.
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September 8, 2016: Signed Cliff Alexander.
September 8, 2016: Signed Branden Dawson.
September 8, 2016: Signed Nick Johnson.
September 8, 2016: Signed Kevin Murphy.
September 8, 2016: Signed Arinze Onuaku.
September 8, 2016: Signed Damjan Rudez.
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October 21, 2016: Signed Ramon Galloway.
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January 22, 2017: Signed Anthony Brown to a 10-day contract.
- February 14, 2017:Â Traded Serge Ibaka to Toronto for Terrance Ross and 2017 1st round pick (lower of TOR and LAC choices)
What I liked:
The Dwight Howard trade (He had to do it, and passed on deals that would’ve been worse. Managed to get draft picks and a young player in Vucevic out of it.)
Traded Aaron Afflalo for Evan Fournier (easily Hennigan’s best move)
Traded Channing Frye to Cleveland (fixed his own mistake)
Nik Vucevic extension (a bargain for a couple more years)
Tobias Harris resigning (will revisit this below)
Evan Fournier resigning (market value for a solid player)
Hired Frank Vogel (bad hire year previous opened door for an improvement)
Traded for Jodie Meeks (gave up a 2nd rounder, and might get that back for Meeks’ expiring deal)
What I didn’t like:
Traded away Ryan Anderson (4-34) and 2 years later sign an older, less talented Channing Frye (4-32) (Gross misjudgment twice)
Hired Jacque Vaughn (passed on other younger, better Spurs assistants in the process)
Drafted Andrew Nicholson (passed on Draymond Green, Khris Middleton, Evan Fournier, Jae Crowder)
Drafted a decent player in Victor Oladipo (Typical Henny. Swung for a single, and got on base but passed on a group of equal or better players including Giannis Antetokounmpo, CJ McCollum, Rudy Gobert, Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Otto Porter, Steven Adams, Dennis Schroder, Robert Covington, etc. If he picked either of first 2 players they’d have a cornerstone piece.)
Traded a pair of 1st round picks [Dario Saric plus gave Philly back their 1st round pick this year {The Sixers would’ve had it lottery protected thru 2019}] for Elfrid Payton (Payton is not a bust like many others in this draft, but a major error considering what they’ve potentially given up)
Drafted Mario Hezonja (I’m not saying it’s a bust, but it gets you fired when others picked after do more early and your guy barely plays. I’m more than comfortable calling it a mistake when Myles Turner and Devin Booker clearly look better, and others look as promising if not more.)
Hired Scott Skiles (I was outraged at the time, and the results only further it)
Traded away Tobias Harris for cap space (made worse when they paid $15 for one year of Jeff Green this season. No matter how you look at it, they should’ve had either Harris or Redick.)
Things that are debatable:
Traded JJ Redick (who signed next season for reasonable 4-27) for Tobias Harris (who was cheap for 2 seasons before signing 4-64. Made sense at the time, and worked out well initially which has mean leaning more toward win than loss, but price-tags and value make it a worthy-debate.)
Drafted Aaron Gordon (Julius Randle and Nikola Jokic are the primary guys they passed on. Also noteworthy they lacked the 2nd round pick that could’ve nabbed Jokic because of an Otis Smith deal for Justin Harper.)
Traded Maurice Harkless for a 2nd round pick (with Harris, Fournier, Oladipo, Hezonja, and Gordon rostered it made sense. He makes 4-40 now is further developing. Tough call either way.)
Traded Victor Oladipo, Ersan Illyasova, and #11 pick (Sabonis) to OKC for Serge Ibaka (A few things: 1. The Magic would’ve taken Sabonis and it’s too early to say if that was the right or wrong pick. Nothing stands out honestly behind him, but it might in a few years until we know. 2. I think Ibaka was the best player in the deal, but probably won’t be worth what his next contract will pay him with his declining defensive skills. 3. The Magic would’ve been wise to trade Oladipo during the year or at some point because the (4-84) deal he struck with OKC is too much in my opinion.)
Signed Bismack Biyombo (4-68 feels about right, but I could argue center is so deep in the league they could’ve found many cheaper options last year or even now.)
Traded Serge Ibaka for Terrance Ross and first round pick (I like the deal, but like most Hennigan moves it treads water. Ross costs half as much as Oladipo and I think the pick this year [falling between 20-25 most likely] actually could hold more value than #11 last year because of a deeper draft. Basically it puts the Magic back were they were before the deal over the summer.)
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I would’ve fired Hennigan last year after his second coaching hire flopped, but ownership gave him an offseason to swing for the fences after hitting singles and striking out for the course of his tenure. The only good news is the Magic aren’t crippled for the future by his moves.