ORLANDO, Fla. – As News 6 sports director David Pingalore reported, the Orlando Magic announced Tuesday that it has hired Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond to the same position.
Hammond has been the GM of the Bucks for the past nine seasons. He replaces Rob Hennigan, who was fired by the Magic in April.
The move comes a day after Pingalore's initial report that Jeff Weltman was hired as president of basketball operations for the Magic.
In Hammond’s 26 years in the NBA, his teams have made 15 postseason appearances. Weltman served as assistant general manager under Hammond for five seasons (2008-13) and also worked with him in Detroit (2007-08).
"John (Hammond) brings tremendous experience and is a great talent evaluator," Weltman said. "He has experience in everything from day-to-day operations to player development. He built a great team in Milwaukee, and won a championship while in Detroit. We are very fortunate to have him as part of the Magic family."
"We are very excited to join Jeff (Weltman) and be a part of the team in Orlando,” Hammond said. “The Magic are a first-class organization all the way around, and we look forward to this tremendous opportunity. I want to thank the ownership in Milwaukee, Wes Edens, Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan for their support, and I certainly wish them well.”