OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With Sean Sweeney, it was only a matter of time before he became a head coach.
That’s one of the reasons San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson wasn’t surprised when told that Sweeney was leaving the Spurs to take over as the new coach of the Orlando Magic. Sweeney and the Magic reached a preliminary agreement in the last few days; the Magic have yet to announce that the deal is finalized.
“Thrilled for Sean. He deserves it,” Johnson said Saturday before the Spurs played the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. “He’s had many opportunities of potentially becoming a head coach and so it was a matter of when, not if, even when I reached out to him to speak with him for the first time.”
Johnson is in his first full year as San Antonio’s coach, after serving 77 games as an interim coach last season in the aftermath of longtime coach Gregg Popovich suffering a stroke. He brought Sweeney in as his associate head coach last summer and tasked the defensive guru with fixing that side of the ball for San Antonio.
The results: The Spurs underwent a massive turnaround defensively from last season, with unanimous Defensive Player of the Year selection Victor Wembanyama leading the on-court charge — but Sweeney leading the way from the bench.
“Definitely happy for him,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “The impact that he’s had here has been tremendous. I mean, he’s challenged everybody to be better on the defensive end. He’s holding us to a certain standard. You know, I wish him all the luck.”
Sweeney started in the NBA as a video coordinator for the then-New Jersey Nets, and has since had assistant stints with the Nets, Milwaukee, Detroit, Dallas and San Antonio.
“Happy for Orlando, and happy for us as he’s in the Eastern Conference,” Johnson said. “But thrilled for Sean. I think it’s a really good situation. Know some people over there, it’s going to be a really good fit and well deserved and very happy for him.”
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