NBA: Orlando Magic hire OKC assistant GM Rob Hennigan

The Orlando Magic have hired Rob Hennigan, formerly the assistant general manager/player personnel of the Oklahoma City Thunder, to be their new general manager, Orlando Magic Chief Executive Officer Alex Martins announced in a press release Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time). “It is with great enthusiasm and optimism that we announce Rob Hennigan as our new General Manager,” said Martins in the press release. “Rob is an astute strategist and evaluator of talent who comes to the Magic family from two championship-level organizations. We feel he is an outstanding fit and the right choice to lead our Basketball Operations team in achieving our championship goals.”   Prior to his assistant role to the Thunder's Sam Presti, Hennigan had served as the team's director of college/international player personnel. Before that, he had a four-year stint with the San Antonio Spurs, becoming director of basketball operations back in September 2007. The Magic had fired head coach Stan Van Gundy and general Manager Otis Smith last May 21 (May 22, PHL time). The team had flirted with the possibility of tapping Phil Jackson in an front-office role, but those talks went nowhere. Hennigan will now have to find a new head coach for his team, and decide whether or not to keep disgruntled superstar Dwight Howard, who has a year left on his contract, or begin the rebuilding process by shipping him out for young talent and draft picks. The Thunder, Hennigan's former team, has a formidable core of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Serge Ibaka, all of whom were acquired through the NBA Draft. They are currently down 1-3 to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. - AMD, GMA News