NBA Rumors: Hornets, Magic to Interview Jerry Stackhouse Amid Knicks Interest
Former NBA player Jerry Stackhouse has become a hot commodity in the coaching ranks.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, the Charlotte Hornets and Orlando Magic plan to interview Stackhouse for their head coaching vacancies. Stackhouse also already has an interview lined up with the New York Knicks for their job.
The 43-year-old is the head coach of the Raptors 905, the G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors.
The squad won the G League title two years ago before falling short in the finals this season, and Stackhouse is confident in his ability as a coach.
"This is what I do. This isn't a fluke," he said last season, per Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. "I've been working at this thing for a while. A lot of people just see it now."
The 18-year NBA veteran spent time with eight different organizations in his playing career, earning two All-Star appearances with the Detroit Pistons. Now he will try to make it back to the league as a head coach and seems to have several quality opportunities.
The Magic make sense as a destination because former Raptors general manager Jeff Weltman took over as the team's president in May 2017. The organization hasn't had a winning record since 2011-12, so the bar could be low for Stackhouse if he replaces the fired Frank Vogel.
Stackhouse has the University of North Carolina connection with Michael Jordan, the owner of the Hornets. Steve Clifford was fired after five seasons with the organization, providing room for a fresh start.
It's impossible to count out the Knicks, however, who interviewed Stackhouse in 2014 "more for the position of player developmental coach," per Marc Berman of the New York Post.
Stackhouse will hope one of these interviews leads to an offer to be a head coach in 2018-19.
