NBA Rumors: Orlando Magic to Interview Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs Executives for General Manager, According to Report

The Orlando Magic are set to interview for General Manager a trio of executives whose teams are participating in the Western Conference Finals, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The San Antonio Spurs have already granted the Magic permission to interview assistant GM and team vice president Dennis Lindsey, while the Oklahoma City Thunder will allow Orlando to interview Troy Weaver and Rob Hennigan. Like Lindsey, Weaver's assistant GM title also includes team vice president honors; Hennigan has a slash designating him as specializing in player personnel.

As such, the field for Orlando's next GM continues to grow: the team had already scheduled an interview with former New Orleans Hornets executive Jeff Bower to take place after Memorial Day, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday. Orlando's in the market for a new GM after parting ways with Otis Smith, who held the title of President of Basketball Operations, on Monday. The new GM will in turn lead the search for the team's next head coach, as Orlando also fired Stan Van Gundy on Monday after five seasons and one NBA Finals appearance.

Weaver and Lindsey are respected throughout the league as up-and-coming executives with a future as a GM. Weaver in particular is renowned, as Wojnarowski notes, for pushing the Thunder to select point guard Russell Westbrook with the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, "significantly higher than most NBA executives would've selected the future All-Star guard." In addition to earning two All-Star appearances, Westbrook has twice been named to the All-NBA Second Team.

It may not be easy to convince any of these three candidates to take over Orlando's program, particularly Lindsey: Wojnarowski explains he has previously withdrawn himself from consideration for positions with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors "that would've likely resulted in offers of the general manager title."

According to the Thunder's media guide, Weaver's responsibilities include "[assisting] General Manager Sam Presti with roster development and day-to-day basketball operations. In addition, he coordinates the team’s player personnel matters including NBA Draft preparation, player free agency and summer league roster." Hennigan is responsible for "overseeing the team’s professional, college, and international scouting departments, as well as assisting GM Sam Presti with all player personnel matters and day-to-day management of basketball operations."

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