NBA Notes: Magic, Kings, Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, Pelicans, Zion Williamson

Magic

The Magic changed the coach. If that doesn’t work, they may finally have to change something else.

Orlando fired Jamahl Mosley after last season and replaced him with Sean Sweeney, hoping the highly regarded former Mavericks and Spurs assistant can get more from a roster built around Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Jalen Suggs and Desmond Bane.

The question, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN put it, is whether Sweeney can fix the Magic or whether a significant trade eventually becomes necessary.

That’s particularly interesting because Orlando and major trades haven’t exactly been frequent companions under basketball operations chief Jeff Weltman.

The Magic considered significant moves last season and again this summer, per ESPN, before deciding to change coaches instead.

Now Sweeney gets his chance. If the offense continues to bog down when it matters, Weltman may eventually have to try something considerably less comfortable.

Kings

Zach LaVine and Domantas Sabonis are still in Sacramento. Whether either finishes the season there may depend partly on what happens next.

Both veterans have been available in trade discussions during recent transaction cycles, but general manager Scott Perry hasn’t found a deal he likes, according to ESPN.

So they remain Kings. At the moment, that might actually work for everybody.

Sacramento wants to improve on last season’s 22 wins. LaVine and Sabonis would presumably prefer to remind the rest of the league that they can still help somebody win.

Do that, and the Kings get better. Their trade value probably does, too. Funny how that works.

Pelicans

The Pelicans looked at a talented roster that didn’t win enough last season and essentially decided the players weren’t the problem. So they changed the coach.

New Orleans hired Jamahl Mosley and otherwise elected largely to run things back with a group featuring Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy, Dejounte Murray, Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen, as ESPN’s Michael C. Wright detailed.

There’s enough talent there to understand the thinking. There’s also Zion.

That means the usual question about health isn’t going anywhere, though ESPN notes Williamson may show a more consistent jumper this season.

If he’s healthy, the Pelicans could look considerably smarter for keeping the roster together.

We’ve written some version of that sentence before. Maybe this is finally the year they stop making us write it.