Of all the people who jam-packed Amway Center's press conference room when the Orlando Magic formally introduced new coach Steve Clifford on Wednesday, perhaps no one listened to Clifford's answers as intently as players D.J. Augustin, Jonathan Isaac and Nikola Vucevic did.
Augustin, Isaac and Vucevic had never chatted at length with Clifford before, and all they really knew about Clifford came from what they heard from other NBA players or from facing Clifford's Charlotte Hornets teams.
Perhaps Augustin, Isaac and Vucevic would benefit from speaking with Hornets forward Marvin Williams.
Williams, who was coached by Clifford for four seasons, would provide a rave review.
"He takes what players do really well and he really focuses on those things, and he helps you develop your weaknesses," Williams told the Orlando Sentinel in a phone interview.
"I think that's where he makes players better. He instills confidence in them throughout his system. So players are very comfortable. They're very comfortable with where they stand with him as well. He's a very honest guy, very straightforward, and I think players do appreciate that because you always know where you stand with him. There's never any guesswork."
The Magic need some stability on their coaching staff, and team officials hope Clifford will provide additional, long-lasting structure. A few key players _ Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Vucevic _ have played for four coaches since the start of 2015. Clifford will be the fifth, succeeding Jacque Vaughn, interim coach James Borrego, Scott Skiles and Frank Vogel.
Clifford plans to spend time with as many of his new players as possible. He set aside part of Wednesday night to meet with Augustin before Augustin and Augustin's family returned to their permanent home in Houston for the next few months. Discussions with Isaac and Vucevic were in the offing, too.
"Just playing against Charlotte for all these years when he was there, obviously we struggled against them," Vucevic said. "I really liked the way they played. They rarely beat themselves. That's something that's very true. When we played them, they were very well-coached. They play hard. They know what they do. I think that's very important for us. They have an identity.
"I think that's going to really help us: have that identity going forward. Establishing who we're going to be as a team _ I think he can help us with that. But I'm looking just forward to meeting him, talking to him, [learning] how he sees us as a team, how he sees myself, what he thinks our strengths are, our weaknesses, what we can do."
Clifford's Hornets teams beat the Magic 11 consecutive times, so Clifford seems to have a grasp on Orlando's weaknesses and how to exploit them. But during his press conference, he insisted he needs at least five to six weeks to study Magic players on game tape before he gains a decent understanding of what they can do.
"We'll start to work together," Clifford said. "I want their input. And then I'll give them mine. We won't always agree, OK? But it's way too early for me to start judging anything."
But make no mistake: Clifford soon will become an expert about each player's game, Williams said.
Williams already had played for Clifford for two seasons when Williams became a free agent in 2016. The Magic were one of the teams that expressed interest in signing Williams, but Williams said he remained with the Hornets for a little less money _ $54.5 million over four years _ primarily because he enjoyed working with Clifford so much.
"He's very meticulous in the way he works," Williams said. "He's very sharp in the things that he does, and he just wants to win. I know guys here in Charlotte loved playing for him. I truly loved playing for him. I learned a great deal from him.
"I hope the Orlando Magic players are truly excited and truly understand what kind of coach they're about to get, because they're going to have a great time playing for him. They're going to love competing for him. And people in the organization as well. He's fun to be around. He's fun to work for. He just wants to win. He's all about winning."
