Magic to keep Hennigan, Vaughn through 2015-16 season

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Ty Wright / Valencia Voice

The Magic extended the contract of general manager Rob Hennigan though the 2015-16 season.

The Orlando Magic made a couple of moves on Friday that confirmed their commitment to general manager Rob Hennigan and head coach Jacque Vaughn.

Magic CEO Alex Martins announced that the team will exercise their fourth-year team options on Hennigan and Vaughn that will keep them in Orlando through the 2015-16 season.

Both Hennigan and Vaughn signed four-year deals when they arrived in Orlando two years ago, and Friday’s news will ensure both of them see their contracts out with the team.

During the two seasons that Hennigan has been in charge as GM, he has traded away the franchise scoring leader in Dwight Howard and has drafted players Andrew Nicholson, Kyle O’Quinn and Victor Oladipo.

Hennigan has been praised by many for the deal involving Howard, as it has allowed the team to acquire younger players critical to the team’s rebuild.

Howard was traded in a three-team deal that saw the Magic acquire Arron Afflalo and Al Harrington from the Denver Nuggets, Maurice Harkless and Nikola Vucevic from the Philadelphia 76ers and Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga from the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition to those players, the Magic also received five draft picks in the deal, including a first-round draft pick from the New York Knicks in next month’s draft.

Afflalo, Harkless and Vucevic all remain on the team from that deal and all figure to be a part of the Magic’s long-term plans. The first-round pick the team received from the Knicks will give the Magic two lottery picks, to go along with their own pick.

While the two seasons in which Hennigan and Vaughn have led the team haven’t gone the way many fans would have liked, the team has done a good job of positioning itself for the future with younger players and draft picks.

Reports surfaced on Saturday evening that Philadelphia 76ers rookie Michael Carter-Williams will win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award over Magic rookie Oladipo. Carter-Williams and Oladipo appeared by many to be the frontrunners for the award.

Carter-Williams averaged 16.7 points, 6.3 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 70 games for the 76ers this season, while Oladipo averaged 13.8 points, 4.1 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 80 games for the Magic.