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Orlando Magic hires Scott Skiles to be head coach

Scott Skiles has been hired to be the Orlando Magic's next head coach.

Scott Skiles has been hired to be the Orlando Magic’s next head coach.

(Jerry Lai / Associated Press)
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Scott Skiles will be the next head coach of the Orlando Magic, the team announced Friday.

Skiles was a member of the very first Orlando Magic roster during the 1989-90 season, and spent five years of his 10-year NBA career with the organization.

Skiles last coached the Milwaukee Bucks from 2008-2013.

As a coach, Skiles has amassed a record of 443-433 over 13 seasons in stints with the Phoenix Suns (1999-2002), Chicago Bulls (2003-08) and the Bucks. His last trip to the playoffs was in 2009-10.

The Magic fired Jacque Vaughn in February after two full seasons. He was replaced for the final two months of his third season by James Borrego.

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Orlando has not reached the postseason since the 2011-12 season, when Dwight Howard was still on the roster and Stan Van Gundy was coach.

“Scott clearly distinguished himself as a tremendous fit,” Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan said in a statement. “Our young roster will benefit greatly from Scott’s extensive head coaching experience and commitment to teaching smart, physical, unselfish basketball. We believe in Scott’s ability to establish a culture of winning habits and accountability that will help guide our team in a positive direction.”

The Magic has one of the league youngest rosters with an average age of 25.4 years.

“As we began our search, our internal discussions centered on finding a head coach with a solid résumé of NBA head coaching experience, great leadership qualities, a motivating communication style, and someone with a strong strategic acumen,” Magic CEO Alex Martins said. “We feel Scott brings a balanced approach in all those qualities and we look forward, with great confidence, to him leading our young men in helping us reach our collective goal of sustainable success.”

Follow Matt Wilhalme on Twitter @mattwilhalme

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