Monday evening, the Orlando Magic suffered an embarrassing moment, as a whiteboard appearing to list the team’s offseason plans was in the background of a photo tweeted out by Carlos Prunes, as his client, Patricio Garino, signed a contract with the team.
On the whiteboard were three different lists full of potential frontcourt targets for the team this offseason, either through free agency or trades. Mostly, it was just a list of players, but there were some quite interesting tidbits, including “(for AG?)“ next to Dario Saric’s name, which seems to suggest the team has at least thought about the possibility of a trade involving Aaron Gordon and Dario Saric.
Late Monday night, however, Magic GM Rob Hennigan tried to downplay the whiteboard, suggesting it was simply showing some potential options the team was laying out. Via the Orlando Sentinel:
Asked by the Orlando Sentinel for comment, Magic general manager Rob Hennigan said the lists are “not indicative of plans” and were “simply listing options, including some of which other teams have inquired about.”
And he is correct; the whiteboard itself is not really a big deal. Teams across the league make lists of of potential targets, and sketch out plans for the offseason. They just don’t have those ideas leaked to the general public via Twitter dot com. Well, most teams that is. (Hey, Brooklyn!)
But having it leaked is just the kind of minor embarrassment that never happens to championship level organizations. Now Hennigan and the Magic look like goofs, and he’ll likely have to put out a fire internally with Gordon. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s yet another rough moment for a young GM who is already on the hot seat.
