Skiles tried to tell hard-headed former GM Rob Hennigan that Payton wasn’t a starting point guard in the NBA and Hennigan, of course, disagreed. It was a predictable response from Hennigan, who ridiculously traded a first- and second-round pick to acquire Payton in the 2014 draft.
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What’s even more baffling is that Skiles, who played point guard in the NBA for a decade, was essentially overruled when he told Hennigan and Magic CEO Alex Martins of his concerns about Payton and other limited players on Orlando’s roster. Skiles quit after only one season because of his frustration with Hennigan.
“Scott certainly had his concerns; I don’t think that was any secret,” Martins told me when I asked him once if he should have listened to Skiles instead of Hennigan. “He made that very well known. He and I had several conversations about things during his tenure here.”
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Here’s all you need to know: Scott Perry, now the GM of the New York Knicks who was Hennigan’s right-hand man in Orlando, wanted nothing to do with Payton at the trade deadline. Instead the Knicks made a deal for Denver Nuggets backup point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.