9:39 am: The Magic have issued a press release formally announcing the move.
“We’re grateful to Jamahl for all he’s done for the Orlando Magic,” Weltman said. “We appreciate his leadership and the positive contributions he made as head coach. While this was a difficult decision, we feel it’s time for a new voice and fresh perspective. We wish Jamahl and his family nothing but the best.”
8:55 am: The Magic are making a coaching change following their first-round playoff loss to Detroit, having dismissed Jamahl Mosley after five seasons, sources tell ESPN’s Shams Charania (Twitter link).
Rumors that Mosley’s job was in jeopardy followed him all season as the team seemed to underachieve despite a talented roster. The Magic wound up as the eighth seed in the East at 45-37 and were eliminated in the first round for the third straight year. Orlando has been hampered by injuries to its star players over the past two seasons, but that consideration wasn’t enough to save Mosley.
Mosley, 47, took over as head coach in 2021 after spending 15 years as an assistant with Denver, Cleveland and Dallas. The Magic were in the midst of a rebuilding project during his first two seasons, which ended with 22 and 34 wins, but he turned them into a playoff team in 2023/24. However, he was never able to guide Orlando past the first round, losing in seven games to Cleveland in 2024, five games to Boston in 2025 and seven games to Detroit this season after squandering a 3-1 series lead.
There was speculation that Mosley would be dismissed at several points during the regular season, as expectations were high following an offseason trade for Desmond Bane. President of basketball operations Jeff Weltman chose to stick with Mosley, but rumors of an eventual change grew after the team slipped to the eighth seed by dropping its season finale to a Boston team that was playing with reserves and G Leaguers.
Those rumors intensified after a play-in loss to Philadelphia that forced the Magic to have to beat Charlotte just to reach the playoffs. They appeared poised for a major surprise after outplaying Detroit early in their series, but couldn’t hold on to a 24-point lead on Friday in a potential closeout game and lost by 22 points in Game 7. It’s not clear if beating the Pistons and reaching the second round would have been enough to save Mosley’s job.
Mosley finishes with a 189-221 regular season record in Orlando and a 7-12 mark in the playoffs.
Charania confirms a report from earlier this morning that Weltman received a contract extension during the season and will remain in place to lead the coaching search. Former Bulls head coach Billy Donovan has been identified as a prominent candidate, with Bucks associate head coach Darvin Ham and former Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau being mentioned as well. Michigan head coach Dusty May has also been raised as a possibility, but he’s expected to stay at the school after winning the national championship.
An immediate opportunity could be awaiting Mosley in the wake of his dismissal, with Michael Scotto of HoopsHype reporting last month that he has “several admirers” in New Orleans. The Pelicans have begun the interview process, with four frontrunners already identified.
In addition to Orlando and New Orleans, coaching searches are currently ongoing in Chicago and Portland. Milwaukee made the first hiring of the offseason last week, taking Taylor Jenkins off the market.
Worst kept secret in the playoffs. Roster is in cap hell but you cannot blow 3-1 series leads as an 8th seed and expect to survive, with all the moves they have made recently.
Insert Billy Donovan.
Why? An 8th seed blowing a 3-1 lead is reasonable, and 2nd seed however is ridiculous
They need Curry!
I don’t see how Billy Donovan helps this team get better. I wonder why it is nobody brings up Ham when they’re talking about guys who could coach the Bulls? I think he might be a better option than most.
They need an offensive coach. Donovan also has Florida roots and has previously been considered for the job.
Darvin Ham lol. You guys just throw names out there. He’s a worse version of Mosley.
A bit of a shame Jenkins is off the market now.
the big question is why didn’t teh GM get fired too making all those poor roster decisions.
What poor roster decisions?
They are strong at forward, drafted decent guards, had a serviceable center, and they went for it by trading for a 20 point scorer on the wing.
What’s not to like?
The bane trade
They definitely gave up a lot, maybe too much, but they lacked shooting and scoring.
You want them to sit on their hands and do nothing.., or get guys off the waiver wire? Sign a Tim Hardaway Jr or Gary Harris type?
I think trading for Desmond Bane was a good move. He’s a stud both ends of the floor and gives you 150%.
He’s also young and can grow with the team and they have a solid core going forward. It’s not like they traded for James Harden or Kevin Durant.
Gary, the Bane trade set them back financially. The team still lacks a true playmaking PG. Suggs is a better combo guard who is a defensive shutdown guy. Along with overpaying for Issac who was barely used. He got rewarded $15M which is not a lot these days but for a team that’s barely scrapping by when they are in cap hell, it’s enormous. Also, the team payroll spikes $25M next year with the extensions of Banchero and Wagner. They need to make a decision on Suggs or Black. They can flip either at their highest value. Problem is that they do not have any first round picks at the moment and it cripples them going forward. Need to get creative on the trade and buyout side for next year.
Yup raz I guess every team falls into that trouble though. You can fit 2 high paid stars, not three unless you want to go deep into the tax.
I suppose Denver has the same issue right now. Lose first round and financial issues with two high paid stars and then the rest of the roster. So many tough decisions.., What do you do?
I guess Orlando is different because they gave up a ton of their pics for Bane. So now the 3 high priced guys and no pics puts them in a pickle.
@ raz
Suggs’ market value plummeted after this series. They won’t be able to improve trading him.
Ehhh his contact is descending the next few years. I don’t think it’s completely immoveable.
$32.4M 2026-27
$29.6M 2027-28
$26.8M 2028-29
26.8M 2029-30
He’s still a very good defensive guard but his shot selection and his durability is always in question. I would probably start looking at PGs that need a defensive minded SG to sure up their perimeter defense for starters.
AKA Josh Giddey LOL
So Dillingham or? Who else do the Bulls trade to make the $ match?
We’re so far under the cap, I don’t believe we need to match but I’ll defer to others on this one. I don’t want to give you wrong information. I’m thinking we don’t but nba trades are weird lol, definitely perhaps Patrick Williams.
In any trade, for teams that are below the 1st apron there’s a salary matching requirement of taking back 200% salary (max) if the traded player makes less than $7.5 mil.
So with Suggs at $32.4, there would definitely need to be other player(s) involved
I’d settle for Patrick Williams and possibly Okoro.
Giddey
Suggs
Buzelis
Jalen Smith
Draft a center
Essengue
Miller
Jones
Solves our problem of getting a 2 guard who is defensive minded. We can still use our picks on center and a 4.
No they didn’t y’all have to stop. The team was playing well. What type of Coach loses a 22 point lead in a close out game at HOME. No time outs. No adjustments not plays. Just shooting 3 after 3 after 3. Run a post up. Do pt, pin down anything. Mosley been coaching like this all year. Even with out franz they shouldn’t be a 8th seed. The have a better roster than ATl without franz. Mosley did a great job developing players but has no idea how to create an offense. They do need a point guard. Same as the rockets. Gotta move suggs.
The Bains trade was a over pay, but the east is wide open. So that’s why they made it. Injury’s hurt but they could have made it to the east finals with this team. Beat Detroit, smack Cleveland. And new York
Its more of all the draft picks they gave up to get him. That was a huge package for a 3rd best player on your team.
“Suggs is a better combo guard who is a defensive shutdown guy.”
So young Derrick White on a great contract?
Good comparison lol I guess.
His contract isn’t great
Jalen Suggs’ Contract
Age 24: 35.0M (25% of the salary cap) – WE ARE HERE
Age: 25: 32.4M (Est 19.6% of the cap / 165M)
Age 26: 29.6M (Est 17% of the cap / 173M)
Age 27: 26.8M (Est 14.7% of the cap / 182M)
Age 28: 26.7M ( Est 13% of the cap / 200M)
Suggs contact isn’t great. It’s ABSURD. Easily one of the best values in the league. He has four more years of team control at 4th-5th starter money. During what will be his prime seasons.
De’Aaron Fox will be making 31% of the cap (61.6M) at Age 32 when Suggs is in the final year of his deal making a paltry 13%. That’s the power of a frontloaded declining deal.
A bargain contract structure like this is how Mikal Bridges got traded for all those firsts. Every contender pushed up against the apron is going to highly covet Suggs for the forseeable future (and that includes his own team, as currently constructed).
Bane has been a good addition and brings things the team sorely needs. The main thing they need to do is choose between Franz and Paolo. There’s too much overlap and it exacerbates the lack of shooting.
There’s not any overlap. There’s the ability of Mosley to not figure out how to work both of those guys at the same time. If you want to say there’s overlap, we could have said that about Jordan and Pippin two wings that played with each other, but they found a way to make them to work. Same with Paolo and Franz. Not saying you’re Jordan and Pippin. Obviously they don’t play the defense in Jordans. Jordan. I’m making the point that you got to be able to make players fit a roll and what they do and Mosley had zero offensive schemes. I agree. Bane is good. I wouldn’t have gave up that many pics for him but I understand what they were trying to do because they could have won the East this year. It’s not that far out of their grasp. They have a team. They would have gotten him back game 2or 3
Jordan and Pippen played in a different era where overlap wasn’t a thing because three pointers and interior team defense weren’t a thing. In 2026 you just can’t have a team like that.
Different era. Same game. There’s not one team that wins a championship by shooting. 3’s Curry is the best three-point shooter in NBA history but he doesn’t win championships cuz he shoot threes he wins championships because he kills you from the mid-range his off-wall movement and his ability to get to the rim. Same with every champion. Jayson Tatum and Brown. You gotta find a way to make them work. They can. You actually watched magic games. It wasn’t just him. Jalen suggs was in no man’s land half the time. Bane is a top of the lying glue piece but Tristan Sylvia also had good games. Had bad games because of the lack of offensive schemes
“Different era. Same game.”
Spoken like a man who hasn’t the foggiest idea what he’s been watching half his life. Might as well say the same about the Wilt/Russell era.
Haha remember before the playoffs you me down on how Jamal Mosley was one of the best coaches and you went on on a three common rant. And guess what? Guess who’s right again. Literally have the worst takes on here. Even Davy has learned and give some actual decent takes from here and there. You have no idea what you’re talking about The worst analysis on here. I doubt you’ve ever even played basketball. I doubt you’ve ever even scored five points in a pickup game and you speak on here like you know that basketball.
I just explained how the game exactly the same. Is it a little difference of course
“Haha remember before the playoffs you me down on how Jamal Mosley was one of the best coaches”
OH REALLY? You have a quote to back that up?
——————————
“And guess what? Guess who’s right again. Literally have the worst takes on here. You have no idea what you’re talking about The worst analysis on here”
You are a delusional old man clinging to nothing but your Confirmation Bias and ever dwindling ego. Obsessed with “feeling” right and reaffirming your pre-existing notions rather than actually learning & processing new information.
—————————
“I just explained how the game exactly the same. Is it a little difference of course”
You can’t even form a coherent sentence and you think you’re explaining anything. It’s just garbage in the wind.
Over pay for bane is one. Can’t blame the grizzlies for running with that offer. Bane is not a all star player to get that type of a offer. He could easily fixed the rioster at trade deadline but didn’t even after seeing how poorly they played during the season.
@ Gary
Paying Suggs $150 mil
Carter is not a serviceable center. He’s a back-up at best. Banchero isnt really a cornerstone piece either, just a stat padder. Also Jonathan Isaac is a terrible locker room guy. Waive him, he never plays anyway.
I wouldn’t say Banchero isn’t a cornerstone piece. But yesterday, they were times that he didn’t trust his teammates. Stats look good on paper but he wasn’t really happy playing with these guys it looked like, especially in the 3rd quarter.
Raz- If you noticed like I did that Banchero was guarded most of the time by Duren which doesn’t help your assessment that Duren is a guy the Bulls should target. I still say the Bulls can do better. If he were a rim protector he shouldn’t need help guarding Banchero. And you’re right Banchero trusted nobody on his team but himself so what does that say? As far as the press release it’s stock. We’d like to thank you Blah, Blah, Blah. They always leave out the last line. But you stink and now have to go away. LOL
He’s not a rim protector. I was vastly mistaken. He really played weak out there against him. He looks like he was having trouble moving laterally against Banchero on the drive and pull ups.
Banchero was livid with his team. I’m not sure why Bane only took 10 FGs is hilariously sad as well.
I don’t think Bane is is very good either frankly. But I haven’t seen a lot of him but he really didn’t have a good series. I don’t know if it was a one time thing or he really is that bad but he was definitely over paid IMO.
banchero is a stats guy but not a 2 way player on the court.
Suggs as the 5th pick in the draft that year has to be viewed as a bit of a disappointment at this time. Injuries have certainly impacted him, and he is a very good defensive player, but when you draft that high, you need to get more than that, and he has never really excelled at actually running the offense, which is probably job #1 for a PG.
They have a roster full of non shooting, defense and iso only players. And then traded 20 draft picks for another one of those.
if Mosley wasnt so inept on offensive planning then Orlando would’ve easily been more of a super team
I wonder if a new coach will be able to replicate that defense they had
Can Wagner and Banchero and Suggs play together? One of them seems like the odd man out. They need a real floor general.
They signed Tyus Jones about five years too late.
Jones (minus five years)
Bane
Wagner
Banchero
Carter Jr.
6th Man Suggs
That would have been a really good team.
Wagner’s injury really killed the Magic’s chances. There’s a lot of PGs in the upcoming draft…
They don’t have their first this year, goes to Orlando.
Going senile, i meant memphis. Smdh i sound like abe in here.
*Grizzlies
I think the answer to your question is no, i don’t believe that those three can play together and be a championship contender. There’s just enough shooting or primari ball handling from that threesome.
Billy Donovan has entered the chat.
Nobody can be upset with this firing. I don’t think it’s fair to fire a coach for an underwhelming season as long as the coach has control of the locker room and is respected enough. Mosley lost the locker room in Orlando and a winning team can’t be tuning out their head coach.
It’s very sad, but I was expecting this move. Forget about the season and all the injuries; this decision is about game six against Detroit. It was embarrassing for everybody in the second half of the game. Whatever happens please don’t hire Doc Rivers, I don’t think he is a good fit for this core.
Noooo.. Doc Rivers
My choice would be Tom Thibodeau
Veteran roster which he excels at.
Suggs and Wagner would shatter into pieces on day one.
Most predictable move of the offseason
Whoever the next coach is needs to A) hire a great shooting coach and B) convince Suggs to stop jacking up 3s unless he can get his % to a respectable level. Suggs almost single-handedly shot this team out of the series and shot selection was atrocious. Shot like he thought he was Steph Curry and it was brick after brick.
Orlando Magic’s agenda….
1- Hire a veteran coach (Thib)
2- Trade Jalen Suggs and waive Jonathan Isaac
3- Free agent players that could help Orlando… Coby White or Ayo Dosunmo
4- Clear space to re-sign AB
5- Hire better medical staff to prevent injuries.
You don’t waive that Isaac contract. It might be the top three worst contracts in the league. You need to trade that off to someone else
Jonathan Isaac’s contract isn’t fully guaranteed; I believe it is only guaranteed for $8 million if he is waived. Orlando can split those 8 million over 5 years and take that money out of the cap salary. But I don’t think that JI is going anywhere anytime soon, the DeVos family loves JI so much that I think that they will re-sign for the veteran minimum or get him a job in the front office. Jonathan Isaac will be with the Orlando Magic for life.
I might be wrong but it looks like 14M this year and two more years, the third year is what you are talking about. 2028-2029 is when is his non guaranteed year not next season
Isaac contract details:
2026/27: $8MM of $14.5MM guaranteed (would become fully guaranteed if he’s under contract through June 28)
2027/28: Non-guaranteed
2028/29: Non-guaranteed
Ayo could help any team, but wants to stay on the Wolves.
Isaiah Hartenstein wanted to stay on the Knicks. Ayo is going to follow the money.
The DiVincenzo injury might help him stick around but the reality is he plays the same position as Edwards.
Back to the lottery
I have no issue with this firing, but (regardless of who the next HC is) now it should be the FO that is on the clock.
The FO should not be safe merely because the roster is quite talented and still young. Those are good things. But it wasn’t superior talent evaluation skills that led to the roster. It was tanking, ping pong balls and a single present-for-future trade. Fair enough, it’s the NBA way, but it shouldn’t result in job security for the FO. The opposite, it should sharpen the focus on their real basketball moves, or the lack of them, particularly during the last couple of years as their young core grew into young veterans. I can’t give this FO anything better than an incomplete. Weltman has been around and has had some success. But the NBA is full of lazy/cowardly FO’s run by such people. He needs to prove he isn’t one of them.
Near as I can remember, the FO’s only multi-year veteran acquisitions in attempting to build out the roster involved the SG spot. First KCP, then Bane. I guess bringing in a great shooting SG, for a team that’s been horrible at outside shooting, sounds like a great move. It is. In 2k. In the NBA, its likely a good add, but the rest depends. I think ORL’s outside shooting problems were (and are) too systemic to be solved by a single player.
In a league with a sufficient talent base, and a reasonably fluid trade market, a trade of either Banchero or Wagner should have been explored. But that’s not the NBA. It’s always about what’s possible. A real elite player for elite player takes two competent and fearless FO’s. It rarely aligns that way.
I don’t like that call
I don’t like that call
This guy helped you reach a step last season that nobody knew you had. Playoffs this season
It’s not him that’s the problem, it’s the roster construction (Carter is a PF not a C, Suggs is a sixth man like Black) and a complete lack of veterans anywhere on the team. It’s a easy fix though. One or two trades and a couple smart signings could fix things but probably not