The Magic yesterday hired former Bucks GM John Hammond as the team's new GM, and new Magic President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman and Hammond "should complement each other well," according to Josh Robbins of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. While Weltman has 28 seasons of NBA experience, he has "never led a basketball operations department until now." But Hammond "headed the Bucks' basketball operations department for the last nine years," so the addition of Hammond is "akin to balancing a ticket." Weltman and Hammond "know each other well" and have "proven they work together effectively." In '08, Hammond "hired Weltman to serve" as Bucks Assistant GM. Weltman remained with the Bucks for five seasons before the Raptors "poached" him. The Magic signed both Weltman and Hammond to "five-year contracts." One year remained on Hammond's contract with the Bucks, whose ownership group "intended to make" Assistant GM Justin Zanik the head of basketball operations beginning with the '18-19 season. Hammond was "expected to be moved into a role as a consultant." But the Bucks "let Hammond out of the final year of his contract so he could join the Magic" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/24).
FULL STEAM AHEAD: In Milwaukee, Matt Velazquez notes Hammond's move to join Weltman with the Magic "gives the pair nearly a month to prepare" for the NBA Draft on June 22. It is "not known whether any members of the Bucks staff will follow Hammond" to the Magic, something that "could impact" the Bucks' preparations for the Draft. Meanwhile, the Bucks' plan to shift Zanik into the GM role will get "put into motion a year ahead of schedule" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 5/24). ESPN.com's Marc Stein noted in formally announcing Weltman's hire yesterday, the Magic said that interim GM Matt Lloyd was "expected to stay with the organization." With numerous rival teams expecting the Magic to "wait until the end of the playoffs to make a serious run" at Cavaliers GM David Griffin, Magic officials "changed course abruptly over the weekend, choosing Weltman as the successor to the ousted Rob Hennigan" (ESPN.com, 5/23).
VETERAN VOICES: In Orlando, Mike Bianchi writes the Magic should be commended for "going out and hiring two veteran and proven talent evaluators" to lead a "battered and beleaguered front office." Bianchi: "What took so long to invest in a personnel department that has struggled for years to identify talent?" It is not known how "much the Magic spent" to hire Weltman and Hammond, but Bianchi writes he is "guessing it's two or three times more than they've spent in the past to hire a list of young, cheap, unproven front-office types." The last time the Magic "actually hired a proven basketball boss was the iconic Pat Williams -- their very first GM and the co-founder of the team." Now, after "enduring the worst five years in franchise history," the Magic "deserve credit for responding resoundingly and bringing in two outsiders with a combined 63 years of front-office experience." Magic CEO Alex Martins "obviously learned something from the Hennigan fiasco and has changed the entire structure and dynamic of the front office" (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 5/24).
