Will Hennigan live up to CEO’s praise?

There is not even a hint of hesitation in the voice of Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins.

Not an ounce of uncertainty.

Not an iota of ambiguity about the job performance of his general manager Rob Hennigan.

“Rob has maximized our return on every single transaction he’s been a part of from a player personnel standpoint,” Martins said during a recent conversation. “He has taken our roster and assets, built and improved upon them and is putting the pieces in place for sustained, long-term success.”

There you have it.

That should put to rest any rumors or rumblings that Magic management is getting impatient and beginning to second-guess Hennigan’s long and painful rebuilding plan. Although Martins wouldn’t confirm a recent report by the Orlando Sentinel’s Josh Robbins about the Magic soon seeking to extend Henni-

gan’s contract, he didn’t have to. His glowing words were confirmation enough. Martins is Hennigan’s biggest backer.

If this were a presidential campaign, Martins’ rhyming rallying cry would be: “We will win again with Hennigan!”

Martins says Hennigan is thriving in every aspect of the job. He says Hennigan has won every trade; he’s nailed most every draft pick. He says Hennigan’s attention to detail and extensive gathering of intel before making personnel decisions is ridiculous. Before last year’s draft, Martins boasted, Hennigan even interviewed Elfrid Payton’s barber (who knew he even had one?).

Martins even challenges the media perception that Hennigan isn’t visible enough within the community and doesn’t do enough to promote interest in the franchise.

“Rob, in my opinion, does more events with seasonticket holders and corporate partners than any GM I’ve seen in 30 years in the business,” Martins says. “When he’s not on the road scouting, he’s usually doing an event. If you were to poll our seasonticket holders, a good portion of them would tell you they’ve been in some sort of small group or session with Rob, who interacts with them honestly and candidly.”

It will be interesting to see if Martins and the Magic

back up their gleaming public endorsement of Hennigan with a meaningful contract extension. Hennigan has one year left on his original deal and is contracted to the team through next season. Will the Magic tack on another year to his contract so he’s not a lame duck next season or will they show real commitment by signing him to a new multiyear deal?

If it were my money, I would tack on a one-year extension and then assess the team again after next season. I’m not nearly as won over by Hennigan’s plan as Martins and many Magic fans seem to be. I hope it’s working. I think it might work. But there’s no way to know for sure. The Magic’s overall record is 67-154 since Hennigan took over three years ago. I need to see more before I’m convinced.

Then again, Martins makes a lot more money than me to operate an NBA franchise and he believes Hennigan is doing a great job. Which should be a relief for Magic fans. Can you imagine the awful alternative — the Magic firing Hennigan three years into the rebuild and starting all over again?

“My perspective is that Rob is doing a great job,” Martins says. “When you go through a process like this, the fruits don’t show up immediately. Young players usually start to develop in their third or fourth year in the league. … In this day and age of instant gratification, we’re all impatient and that includes me. I’m impatient,

too. I’ve been here 20 seasons and I’ve seen the best of them. Losing is frustrating to me, too, but I see the light. … I honestly believe we have the core group of talent that in the next couple of years — as soon as next year — the fruits of our labor are really going to start showing.” Let’s hope so. Let’s hope next year we won’t need Martins telling us that Hennigan is doing a great job; we’ll be able to see it for ourselves and evaluate his job performance on the only two criteria that really matter.

Wins and losses.