On Tuesday night, Magic great and current Memphis head coach, Penny Hardaway, announced that he will not be the next coach of the team he helped lead to one of our only two NBA finals appearances. The latest set back as a reeling franchise tries to find a leader.
I’ve told you before and now I’m convinced more than ever, no prime coaching candidate wants to take over the situation that the team is currently in (story HERE).
And that blame should lie squarely on the shoulders of this hopeless team’s front office.
Before writing this post, I thought of the reasons why Penny would turn us down to stay in Memphis, and some points like being part of a bullish college operation made it sound pretty appealing.
But the reasons for not wanting to come here are far more convincing.
The empty roster. The quiet market further aggravated by a team that apparently is scared to talk to reporters. And a culture of losing nurtured by the very way this team is ran everyday.
Sadly, it looks like we’re heading more and more away from a reputable coaching candidate that can jolt some life in to this team, and closer to an unknown who will calmly walk us down the aisle of mediocrity for the entirety of the immediate future.
This rejection stings because there is history here. It’s like one of the kids not wanting to join the family business.
Except we can’t blame him here. This business isn’t built to succeed. It’s currently built to lose and we can’t expect to set them up for failure that way.
Good luck, Penny.