Early Thursday, Magic head coach Scott Skiles announced that he is resigning from his position, effective immediately, after just one season with the team:
This shocked a lot of NBA fans because Skiles hadn’t even been on the job for one full year. He joined the Magic at the end of June 2015 and, while the Magic missed the NBA Playoffs this season, they looked like a team headed in the right direction thanks to a young core that includes Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, and Mario Hezonja. But in a statement that he released after he told the Magic he was resigning, Skiles explained that he no longer feels as though he’s the “right coach” for the job:
No one was more surprised about all of this than Skiles’ own player, er, former player Evan Fournier. Shortly after Skiles announced that he was resigning, Fournier sent out a tweet that let everyone know that Skiles’ own players didn’t see this coming:
That led to Fournier's fellow French player Rudy Gobert, who plays for the Jazz, sending this:
Oladipo was also surprised, but he had a slightly different—and more reasoned—reaction to the news about Skiles:
It's currently unclear if Skiles will provide some more clarity as to exactly why he decided to leave the Magic in the near future. It seems odd that he chose to leave a pretty decent situation for the uncertainty that lies ahead. But for now, the Magic are on the hunt for a new head coach. Stay tuned to see who replaces Skiles in Orlando.
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