The Magic's basketball operations department has “undergone a sweeping transformation over the last few months -- a metamorphosis that extends beyond the hiring" of GM Rob Hennigan, head coach Jacque Vaughn and a new assistant coaching staff, according to Josh Robbins of the ORLANDO SENTINEL. The department has “grown from 26 employees last season under former general manager Otis Smith to 33 employees this season under Hennigan.” The new regime includes “two assistant general managers; there was only one assistant general manager before.” The restructured department also “features someone who will focus on salary-cap management and on the minutiae of the collective bargaining agreement,” while another new position is “devoted to developing analytical systems.” It appears that Hennigan has “somewhat modeled the department on those of his two prior organizations” -- the Spurs and Thunder. The new-look basketball operations department is “26 percent larger than it was last season, but there is a hidden irony.” Magic CEO Alex Martins said that the department's “current overall salary -- even with more employees -- is less than it was last season.” Robbins noted it would make “logical sense that their first-year general manager, their first-year head coach and their young assistant-coaching staff are being paid less than their more experienced predecessors were paid.” That cost savings “likely enabled the organization to add more positions” (ORLANDO SENTINEL, 10/14).
