Magic's Daly Quits Coaching

Chuck Daly quit as coach of the Orlando Magic today after a season in which his team was upset by Philadelphia in the first round of the playoffs.

Daly, who coached two NBA champions in Detroit, was in the final year of a three-year contract worth $5 million.

"This is a finale for me in coaching," Daly said. "The mind is willing but the flesh is weak."

He said the Magic's playoff elimination in four games and tensions with star Penny Hardaway didn't play a role in his decision. Hardaway's future with the team is unclear and he plans to become a free agent this summer.

"It's time. It's as simple as that," Daly said.

The 68-year-old coach said that after too many trips this season in which he was traveling at 3 a.m., he decided it was time to leave coaching.

He will stay as a consultant to Magic general manager John Gabriel.

"What that amounts to, I don't know," he said. "I don't think anybody in this room knows that."

Orlando missed the playoffs in his first year, but this season tied for the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.

Despite the first-round playoff loss, Daly had described the lockout-shortened season as one of the most satisfying of his career.

His contract included a clause that gave him the option to continue coaching at $5 million a season, accept a position as a club consultant for $200,000 or leave Orlando for another job.

Daly coached the 1992 Olympic team to a gold medal in Barcelona. He and Lenny Wilkens are the only coaches to have won NBA and Olympic championships.

Daly, who led the Pistons to titles in 1989 and 1990, was hired by the Magic on June 3, 1997 and had a 74-58 regular-season record in two seasons.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994 and worked as a television analyst for three years before joining the Magic. He began his NBA coaching career with Cleveland in 1981-82 and guided the Pistons for nine seasons (1983-84 to 1991-92). Detroit had five 50-plus victory seasons under Daly.

Following the Pistons, Daly took over the New Jersey Nets for two seasons and led them to the playoffs both years.

When the Magic failed to qualify for the postseason in 1998, it the marked the first time Daly missed the playoffs after coaching a full season.

Daly has a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 years. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51.

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