Jeff Weltman offers Magic fans some hope as he takes over as president of basketball operations.
New team president Weltman offers hope, but few specifics
How will the Orlando Magic basketball operations department function under its new leader, Jeff Weltman?
A meeting last week between Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri, Weltman and the Raptors’ medical staff offers a clue. During that discussion, the Raptors’ strength coach argued fervently about an issue, pointed at Ujiri and Weltman and accidentally referred to them by their incorrect titles.
Weltman loved every minute of it. To him, it meant the Raptors had successfully fostered a environment in which anyone could voice an opinion to anybody else. Hierarchies do not matter.
The Magic’s new president of basketball operations wants to employ the same collaborative ethos in Orlando.
“The first sign of a bad boss is that he wins every argument,” Weltman said during his introductory press conference Wednesday at Amway Center. “I don’t want to be that guy, so I want to listen. I want to understand where everyone’s coming from, and I just believe that if we have talented guys working together we’ll make the right decision.”
Humble and thoughtful during his question-andanswer session, Weltman sounded more comfortable discussing his leadership philosophy than the current state of the Magic. He offered few specifics about the strengths and weaknesses of the roster, saying he first wanted to speak with coach Frank Vogel to hear Vogel’s take.
But at the same time, the 52-year-old executive still provided hope to the playoff-starved franchise.
“I do not believe in labeling a team,” Weltman said. “I don’t believe in timelines. The team’s going to be what it is, and we’re going to make it as good as we can as quick as we can.”
The pronoun “we” includes John Hammond.
Weltman convinced Hammond to leave his job as head of the Milwaukee Bucks’ basketball operations department to become the Magic’s general manager.
“We’ve got incredible firepower at the top of our basketball operation,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said. “We’ve got two individuals who have spent their life in the game, two individuals who have worked every position in a basketball operation.”
A reporter asked Weltman why he hired Hammond.
“Because he’s better than me,” Weltman answered. “What can I say? I’ve known John forever. I’ve worked with him. I’ve seen the guy. I can’t say enough good things about John Hammond. But I don’t want to gush about him because you guys will see for yourselves. And ultimately, we’re going to do a lot of talking here today, and then we’re going to walk out, and it’s up to us to prove it.”
Weltman and Hammond, both signed to fiveyear deals, face a difficult task in Orlando. They inherit a team that has not reached the postseason since 2012. The playoff drought is the longest in franchise history.
Magic swingman Evan Fournier attended Wednesday’s press conference. So did Matt Lloyd, an assistant GM under Rob Hennigan who served as the interim GM between Hennigan’s firing and Weltman’s hiring. Vogel watched the press conference from the front row.
Martins remained largely tight-lipped about the hiring process, except for one major detail.
“We told all the candidates that Frank Vogel’s our coach,” Martins said after the formal question-andanswer session.
“That was probably the only non-negotiable, and that comes directly from ownership. Ownership believes that Frank hasn’t had a chance, that he was dealt a short deck, so to speak, in terms of the overall complete roster and that he deserves a chance with the right administration and the right roster movement to be able to prove what he’s done in the past, and that is to be successful.”
The responsibility to bring in the right players now falls on Weltman, who brings 28 years of experience with five other NBA teams but has never led a basketball operations department until now.
“We need to do a lot of things and uplift everyone in the organization and put them in a position to do well,” Weltman said. “And from our side, on the basketball operations side, we need to bring in the right people.
“We’ve got to get that stuff right. And, to me, when I think about what is an Orlando Magic player, I want someone who’s talented and plays for his teammates. Simple. That’s it. If we can do that, then the rest is on us. We have to bring the best out of that player. And if we can get enough of those guys going in the right direction, I’m confident that we’ll build something special.”