Magic's Top HC Targets After Jamahl Mosley Fired Following Loss to Pistons in NBA Playoffs

Coach Jamahl Mosley paid a price for the Orlando Magic's failure to close out their first-round series against the Detroit Pistons after building a 3-1 lead.

The Magic fired Mosley on Monday.

Between making three straight playoff appearances and boasting a young nucleus that should still have another level to reach, the Magic should generate some excitement from prospective candidates.

These three would be worth considering for Orlando.

Tom Thibodeau

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It's fair to ask whether Tom Thibodeau should be on the Magic's radar given how the last three years have unfolded. A coach who wins in the regular season but consistently hits a ceiling in the playoffs isn't a big contrast from what Orlando had in Mosley.

But this is a team in need of a culture reset.

Losing three in a row to Detroit and getting blown out by 22 points in Game 7 only reinforced the skeptics who believe something intangible is missing. Hiring Thibodeau in particular would be a way for the front office to tell the locker room the status quo is going to change.

Micah Nori

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Minnesota Timberwolves assistant coach Micah Nori was among the many names The Athletic's Eric Nehm and Fred Katz spotlighted last month when listing off possible first-time coaches who could be hired during this cycle.

"The Timberwolves consider him one of their locker-room connectors, someone capable of growing close with all types of personalities," Nehm and Katz wrote. "When he was with the Denver Nuggets, his guy became Nikola Jokić. At his current gig, he's tight with Anthony Edwards.

"Two jobs. Two All-Stars. Two personalities who could not be more opposite ends of the spectrum."

Mosley's firing follows months of rumors about tension between him and star forward Paolo Banchero. The problems may have extended well beyond that.

Rather than hiring a disciplinarian in the Thibodeau mold, pivoting in the exact opposite direction might be the better approach to change the overall vibes.

Based on his rapport with Edwards and Jokić before that, Nori would likely forge a stronger connection with Banchero than Mosley did.

Dusty May

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NBA insider Marc Stein reported Sunday that the Magic are "admirers" of Michigan coach Dusty May, though he might take himself out of the running for NBA jobs entirely.

May has only worked at the college level, and he agreed to an extension in the wake of the Wolverines' national title triumph. As recently as late April, however, he had yet to formally sign his deal. He described the situation as a "formality" in an interview with Front Office Sports.

The 49-year-old took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four and needed just two seasons to turn Michigan into a powerhouse.

Thanks to the transfer portal and NIL, leading a major program is a closer equivalent to working in the pros like never before. Poaching a major name from the college ranks might present less risk than it did in the past.

May is also a bit different from UConn's Dan Hurley, whose personality naturally leads you to question how he'd handle an NBA roster. He seems to strike the right balance between pushing his players without going over the top.