Mermuys grateful for brief stint as head coach
Jesse Mermuys didn’t have a lot of time to soak in a moment he had been waiting on for nearly 20 years.
Three and a half hours before tipoff for the Orlando Magic’s 98-88 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at Amway Center, the team announced Mermuys would serve as the Magic’s acting head coach because head coach Jamahl Mosley and lead assistant Nate Tibbetts entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
That left little time for Mermuys, who began his coaching career at the high school level in 2001, to fully take in that he was going to be in charge of an NBA game for the first time.
“There’s no question they were some moments of, ‘Wow’, but in the NBA this thing is a machine and we’re here to compete, win and perform at a high level,” Mermuys said after Monday’s loss. “I wish I would’ve taken more time to take it all in, but I wanted to do was the best job I could do for our guys. We struggled to get anything going offensively. As a head coach or assistant coach, you take that on yourself. I didn’t have much time to enjoy the moment because I was locked in trying to help our guys.”
Mermuys joined the Magic over the offseason after spending the previous two seasons (2019-21) as an assistant coach with the Sacramento Kings.
Before joining the Kings, Mermuys spent three seasons (2016-19) as an assistant with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s been the head coach and assistant general manager of Raptors 905 (G League) for one year (2015-16), a Toronto Raptors assistant coach for two seasons (2013-15), a Houston Rockets assistant for one year (2012-13) and Nuggets scout/assistant for four seasons (2008-12).
Mermuys started his coaching career at Salpointe Catholic High School in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. He worked in college from 2004-08, including at his alma mater Arizona as the director of basketball operations from 2006-08 before joining the Nuggets.
“It’s under some tough circumstances, obviously, but I’ve dreamt of being a head coach in the NBA for a really long time,” Mermuys said. “This isn’t that, but it’s an opportunity to represent our organization and be able to hold it down for [Mosley]. I don’t take that lightly. He’s done such a great job and I want to make sure I live up to that and try to make this a smooth getaway for him.
“In this situation, you want to feel prepared. It’s such an out-of-the-blue type of situation. I do feel prepared and that’s a tribute to all the people I’ve worked with — to get me to a point where I’m not up here freaking out.”
For Magic players, Monday didn’t feel too different despite being without their two lead coaches.
“We try not to have it be too different because all of the coaches really relay one message,” Mo Bamba said. “We have two coaches down right now, but we want to try to play the same way we’ve been playing. If you look at 10 of the last 12 we’ve been in, they’re really close games. We’re playing decent basketball. We just got to figure out what’s going to get us over the jump to win the close games.”
For Mermuys, another opportunity to get his first win as the acting head coach and learn more about what it’s like to be in that role will come on Wednesday when the Magic (8-37) play the Philadelphia 76ers (25-18) at Wells Fargo Center.
“There’s a ton of situations and decisions that are going to have to be made,” Mermuys said. “When you’re giving suggestions it’s one thing, when you’re making the decision it’s another. Being a head coach in the NBA is an extremely difficult job and what I want to do again is just follow the gameplan that [president of basketball operations] Jeff Weltman and Mose have put in place here, not try to overdo it and keep things steady.”
Carter Jr. travels
Starting big man Wendell Carter Jr. traveled for Wednesday’s road game against the Philadelphia 76ers, but it isn’t known if he’ll play.
Carter was listed as questionable against the 76ers on the Tuesday evening injury report because of left hamstring soreness that’s sidelined him for the last six games.
He was seen wearing a right leg sleeve during the portion of Tuesday’s practice open to the media but wasn’t wearing any protective gear over his left leg.
Markelle Fultz (recovery from torn left anterior cruciate ligament), Jonathan Isaac (recovery from torn left ACL), Michael Carter-Williams (recovery from left ankle surgery) and E’Twaun Moore (left knee sprain) remain sidelined.
Fultz and Moore were seen playing two-on-two with two-way players Ignas Brazdeikis and Admiral Schofield toward the end of Tuesday’s practice. There isn’t a timetable for their returns.