It's Officially The NBA Offseason Now That Tom Izzo Is Linked To An NBA Job
You know, I’ve always said the NBA offseason doesn’t begin until K/Calipari/Izzo/Wright are linked to an NBA job. The Jay Wright to the Knicks got shut down pretty much instantly, but now we have Izzo to the Magic. I will say this.
While I do think it’s doubtful that Izzo leaves Michigan State, it wouldn’t exactly be the worst time to leave with everything going on there. Between the Larry Nasser situation and all the ESPN reports that came out the earlier this year about the football and basketball programs at Michigan State, it would be understandable to see Izzo take the jump to the NBA. Not to mention he’s dealing with the losses of Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson and Tum Tum Nairn from last year’s preseason No. 1 team. Don’t get me wrong Michigan State will still be good this year, but they won’t be the top-10 team that he had last season. This will be one more top-25ish than top-10. He does return Josh Langford, Cassius Winston and Nick Ward to build around, but it’s not crazy. Remember back in 2010, Izzo was reportedly mulling an offer over to take the Cavs head coaching job which he obviously turned down.
Now, the Magic are in a weird spot with their roster. They have a bunch of deadweight contracts that need to be moved and it’s unsure if they’ll match Aaron Gordon’s offer as a restricted free agent. They do have the No. 6 pick in the upcoming draft and drafted Jonathan Isaac last year, who suffered an injury-plagued rookie year. Is that enough to draw Izzo to the Magic? Probably not. The Magic will probably just hire Steve Clifford, the former Hornets head coach that is interviewing for the job today.