Magic Firing Jamahl Mosley is Painful but Expected

The Orlando Magic are moving on from Jamahl Mosley after five seasons, a move that feels both necessary for the franchise's ceiling and incredibly difficult given the culture he built.

Orlando Magic Head Coach Jamahl Mosley reacts to a play against the New Orleans Pelicans. | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orlando Magic fans are waking up on the first full day of the offseason with a massive change, firing head coach Jamahl Mosley after five seasons with the team.

Mosley finished 189-221, but was .500 or better with a playoff appearance in each of the last three seasons. He led the Magic to a 3-1 series lead as an 8-seed against the Detroit Pistons in the first round, but was unable to clinch that final victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs.

The Magic had higher expectations than a first-round exit this season, so their failure to reach that goal comes with consequences and Mosley's firing is the first of those. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it's 100 percent deserved.

A Disappointing End to Mosley's Tenure

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley looks on in the second half against the Detroit Pistons. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

I have covered a majority of Mosley's tenure with the Magic, starting when the team drafted Paolo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick at the end of his first season with the squad. He represented the team at the NBA Draft Lottery in Chicago when the ping-pong balls fell in their favor and the team truly rallied around him.

More than half of the roster hasn't known another head coach other than Mose and the other half have him to thank for reigniting their career, like Goga Bitadze, Moe Wagner and Wendell Carter Jr. He had belief in his players from Day 1 all the way until the bitter end.

Selfishly, as a media member, this is a gut-wrenching move. Mosley was always very professional with the media, even in precarious moments. He always handled his talks with the media with grace and professionalism, which isn't always guaranteed in the NBA. It was a pleasure to cover his tenure with the Magic.

Why Things Went South For Mosley

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham talks to Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Mosley often wanted his players to play with "joy," which is something that was embodied with him as a coach. The players responded to that, especially when they emerged as a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.

Once the Magic came into the season with expectations and they weren't reaching them, that's when I believe things started to spiral for Mosley, as the players weren't always playing with that "joy" as much as they were playing with the pressure of reaching their expectations.

Mosley also faced a ton of adversity planning for seasons with a full roster in mind. However, the Magic have been one of the teams most bit by the injury bug over the past five years. Mosley was unable to push the right buttons to pivot, which is understandable as to why he would shoulder the blame, but he is far from the only reason why Orlando failed to get out of the first round for a third straight season.

The Bottom Line

Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley during the first quarter against the Charlotte Hornets. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Two things can be true: Mosley is a great coach and it's the right time for him to go.

While Mosley's critics can point to his struggles with building an efficient half-court offense or making the right in-game adjustments during long runs, he was dealt some pretty poor hands when it came to injuries and he did the best with what he had.

Very few expected the Magic to get out of that game against the Charlotte Hornets in the Play-In Tournament, let alone taking the top-seeded Pistons to the brink of elimination by Game 5. However, it takes four games to win a series and the Magic never found that fourth victory despite having three chances to do so, including a prime opportunity at home up 24 points in the second half of Game 6.

That result in Game 6 was proof that it was the furthest Mosley was going to take this group. Had things shuffled in a different direction due to injury luck, the Magic likely wouldn't have been in that position to begin with. If Franz Wagner was never hurt, there's a good chance Orlando wins that series in five games.

However, injuries are part of the NBA and the fact of the matter is the Magic are still looking to get out of the first round for the first time since 2010. Change is needed and this is a way Orlando can do that in order to move forward. It's up to Jeff Weltman and the front office to find someone who can fill Mosley's shoes, which won't be an easy task.

Look for Weltman and the front office to target coaches that have experience winning in the playoffs, like 2021 NBA champion Mike Budenholzer or Billy Donovan, who led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Western Conference Finals in 2016.