Lessons Sam Presti can learn from counterparts in Thunder rebuild

Adapt and learn from your mistakes:

Orlando kept hiring and firing coaches which became a major issue with a predominantly young club. After six years of lottery visits, the Magic returned to the postseason in head coach Steve Clifford’s first year as bench boss and Jeff Weltman’s second season as the man calling the shots.

Although the Magic seem to have ill-fitting roster pieces and an overloaded frontcourt Weltman has stuck to his guns by drafting “best available talent”. Orlando was among the hottest clubs entering the postseason (finished with the best defense down the stretch) and after the Raptors won the title Nick Nurse said playing the Magic in the first round helped Toronto as they felt Orlando was the toughest first-round opponent.

The jury is still out on how good Orlando can be, or if they can take another step up the ladder but Presti should heed the lessons learned from the mistakes the Magic made with copious coaching changes and the benefits of adding the type of coach you want your team’s character to emulate.