Orlando Magic Wooing Shaquille O’Neil Towards GM Position

Future NBA hall of fame recipient Shaquille O’Neal could soon be returning to the NBA, but instead of hitting the court the big man could end up serving as the general manager for the Orlando Magic.

Sources close to the discussions told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard on Thursday that the big man could be brought in soon rather than later. That same source says while Shaq has no front office experience the team believe it could help them retain Dwight Howard and potentially attract other big names to the teams roster in the future.

The Orlando Magic are currently seeking a new general manager and a new head coach however Marc Stein has refused to publicly acknowledge any team decisions or meetings at this time.

Shaq played for the Orlando Magic from 1992 to 1996 and led the team to the NBA Finals in 1995.

While Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard have publicly feuded in the past over Shaq’s own “Superman” nickname, sources close to both men say they are friendly and often text message one another and Shaq has acted as a confidante for Dwight Howard during the past season.

It’s a well known fact that Shaq loves the city of Orlando, after leaving for the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996 he kept his home in the city and has held onto it ever since.

If Shaquille O’Neal accepts the Orlando Magic’s general manager position he could get a big boost in the coaching staff from former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan who is said to be seeking a position with the Charlotte Bobcats or Orlando Magic. Sloan retired last year after 23 seasons with the Utah Jazz.

Jerry Sloan sits in third place on the all-time regular-season NBA coaching victories list with 1,221 wins.