Here is the official word from the Magic:

ORLANDO MAGIC NAME JACQUE VAUGHN HEAD COACH

Orlando, FL – Jacque Vaughn, who spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the San Antonio Spurs and was a member of their 2006-07 NBA World Championship team as a player, has been named head coach, Orlando Magic General Manager Rob Hennigan announced today. Vaughn becomes the tenth head coach in franchise history.

“We are beyond excited to name Jacque Vaughn as our head coach,” Hennigan said. “As we navigated through our coaching search, we quickly saw that Jacque’s spirit and leadership strengths made him the clear choice. We are confident that his diligence, attention to detail and communication style will help establish the bedrock of our culture moving forward. His commitment and passion to building a sustainable program will help steer our organization for years to come.”

During Vaughn’s two seasons on San Antonio’s staff, the Spurs compiled a regular season record of 111-37 (.750).

Vaughn was originally selected in the first round (27th overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft by Utah. He played 12 years in the NBA from 1997-2009 with Utah, Atlanta, Orlando, New Jersey and San Antonio, averaging 4.5 ppg. and 2.5 apg. in 776 career regular season games.

Vaughn played 80 games (48 starts) with the Orlando Magic during the 2002-03 season, averaging 5.9 ppg., 2.9 apg. and 1.5 rpg. in 21.1 minpg.

As a collegian, Vaughn played four years at Kansas University. He was named Second Team All-America during both his junior (1995-96) and senior (1996-97) campaigns by The Associated Press. Vaughn concluded his collegiate career as the school’s all-time leader in assists with 804. He was named the Big Eight Conference Player of the Year in 1996 and the Newcomer of the Year in 1994.

Vaughn also excelled off the court, being named a two-time First Team GTE Academic All-American and the 1996-97 GTE Team Member of the Year, signifying him as the top student-athlete among Division I basketball players, after posting a 3.72 GPA. He earned his degree in business administration while at KU.

(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Since the Orlando Magic and Otis Smith decided to part ways on May 21, we’ve heard a lot of names connected with a job, including several bigger names.

That list included Phil Jackson in some capacity, but he is no longer a candidate.

Before we take a look at the list, it should be known that the Portland Trail Blazers, who also are currently without a general manager, have narrowed their search to three. Per Jason Quick of The Oregonian, Jeff Bower, David Morway and Neil Olshey are the three finalists.

Here are the candidates the Magic are showing interest in.

Jeff Bower

Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel reported former Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower was a serious candidate for the job and interviewed with the Magic Wednesday.

Bower took over for Byron Scott as the Head Coach of the Hornets when Scott was let go. He helped build a Hornets team that won 56 games and came within one game of advancing to the Western Conference Finals in 2008.

As injuries mounted and some players moved on (Tyson Chandler), the Hornets regressed and they let Bower go in 2010.

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(Andrew Melnick is Howard the Dunk’s lead blogger, ESPN Florida’s Magic Insider (http://ESPNFlorida.com) and is the co-host of the ESPNFlorida.com Insiders Show Sunday mornings at 10:00 am EST. Subscribe to his RSS feed, add him on Facebook and follow him onTwitter to follow him daily. You can download the HTD app here)