Instant Grade: Magic Hire Sean Sweeney

The Orlando Magic are hiring San Antonio Spurs associate head coach Sean Sweeney to be the franchise's next head coach.

Sweeney succeeds Jamahl Mosley, who was fired following the team's Game 7 loss to the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. Sweeney will join the team once the Spurs' season ends either in the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder or the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks.

Here's a look at the pros and cons of hiring Sweeney for the Magic:

Pros to Hiring Sweeney

Sean Sweeney during warmups before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Sweeney is a young coach on the rise and is viewed as one of the top defensive minds in the NBA. The Magic want to brand themselves as a defensive team, and they will do that with Sweeney as their head coach. Sweeney has also guided some of the top players in today's NBA, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jalen Brunson, Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama.

Sweeney held a meeting with the Magic earlier this week in San Antonio, and it's clear that the Orlando front office was impressed. Sweeney has been successful in his recent stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Spurs. That recent success should help the Magic get over the hump in the East.

There is also a possibility that Sweeney uses some of his Milwaukee connections in Orlando, including a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo and a coaching staff that features Jason Kidd and Joe Prunty, who served as the Magic's lead assistant this past season. That could help bridge the gap and ease the transition from Mosley to Sweeney.

Cons to Hiring Sweeney

The Magic valued veteran head coaching experience in this search, but it's clear that it wasn't the biggest determining factor. Sweeney has not yet been a head coach in the NBA, which could put him at a disadvantage.

While he has been an assistant and associate head coach in some major games, being a head coach in the NBA is very different and the Magic will offer his first test while they are in the midst of a contending window.

What's the Grade?

The inexperience Sweeney may have as a head coach clearly did not cloud his entire candidacy. He provides the similar morals that Mosley had that built Orlando from a lottery-bound squad to a regular playoff team, but he comes at it with a different angle.

The defense will remain the team's identity, which is the right way to go when there is so much length and switchability among defenders. However, there is a bit of a different offensive approach that the Magic will need going into the future. If Orlando can find that next gear under Sweeney as a head coach, the Magic should reach new heights.

There is a lot of hope and promise with a hire like this, giving the Magic a lot of optimism moving forward.

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