The Orlando Magic
Weltman steps into role as Orlando’s president of basketball operations
hire the Toronto Raptors general manager as the Orlando team’s president of operations.
The Orlando Magic hired Toronto Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman as their president of basketball operations on Monday, league sources confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel.
Weltman spent the last four seasons as a Raptors executive, working under team president Masai Ujiri and serving as Ujiri’s right-hand man. The Raptors reached the playoffs each of the last four years.
Ujiri had final say over personnel decisions, but Weltman had a significant voice in the conversation, especially with the draft and free agency.
At the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month, several NBA executives praised Weltman for his eye for identifying talent. But the
Weltman inherits a team with no clear foundational player. No one on the current roster has ever played in an NBA All-Star Game.
vast majority of league insiders expected the Magic to hire a big name for their president of basketball operations position. Those same insiders assumed the team would hire Cleveland Cavaliers general manager David Griffin or Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond.
Instead, the Magic picked the 52-year-old Weltman, who, until now, has never been the top-ranking official in an NBA basketball operations department.
The Raptors originally hired Weltman as their executive vice president for basketball operations in 2013.
The team promoted him to general manager last September.
“At the end of the day, Masai is the guy who has to decide the direction,” Weltman told Toronto media outlet Sportsnet 590 shortly after the Raptors elevated him to the general manager job.
“I think that the way Masai has set this thing up is for it to be a very collaborative means of work, and so we all go at each other and we don't hold back. We come out and make decisions that we're all unified on and this permeates throughout the whole organization.”
Weltman’s hiring by the Magic — his contract will be for five years — was first reported by The Vertical.
Weltman will report to Magic CEO Alex Martins, and one of Weltman’s first tasks will be to hire a new general manager.
One potential candidate is Matt Lloyd, a former Magic assistant GM who has served as acting GM since the team fired general manager Rob Hennigan and assistant general manager Scott Perry on April 13.
It is common for a new head of basketball operations to clean house when he joins a new franchise, and the Magic fired several people within their front office Monday afternoon, including director of basketball operations Michael Arcieri, basketball operations manager George Rodman, director of pro scouting Harold Ellis, special consultant Gordon Chiesa and scout Shawn McCullion.
The Magic have gone five consecutive seasons without reaching the playoffs.
In many ways, the 2016-17 season was the most disappointing season of those five years. Despite the additions of coach Frank Vogel, power forward Serge Ibaka and several free agents — center Bismack Biyombo, forward Jeff Green and point guard D.J. Augustin — the Magic finished the season with the NBA’s fifth-worst record, 29-53.
Weltman can draw on a wide range of experience as he attempts to repair the Magic.
Before he joined the Raptors, he spent five years as a Milwaukee Bucks assistant general manager, one year as the Detroit Pistons’ director of basketball administration and five years as an assistant general manager with the Denver Nuggets.
Weltman also worked 13 seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers. From 1994 to 2001, he served as the Clippers’ director of player personnel.
Weltman faces a difficult task in Orlando.
He inherits a team with no clear foundational player. No one on the current roster has ever played in an NBA All-Star Game. And the Magic also struck out in last week’s draft lottery, receiving the sixth pick.
The Magic hope Weltman will overcome those obstacles.